Interesting quirk - U.S. agrees ceasefire with Iranian militia

Victor

At first I though this was either a typo or ignorance somewhere along the line, but yes the American have been fighting Iranians. :rolleyes:

http://home.eircom.net/content/reuters/worldnews/600559?view=Eircomnet

U.S. agrees ceasefire with Iranian militia
From:Reuters
Tuesday, 22nd April, 2003

AS SAYLIYA CAMP, Qatar (Reuters) - The U.S. military in Iraq has agreed a ceasefire with the People's Mujahideen, an armed group of Iranian dissidents which had been backed by Saddam Hussein, a senior commander says.

"We've had some encounters of various sorts with the People's Mujahideen. Some of our actions involve targeting them with lethal fire," Brigadier General Vincent Brooks told a briefing at U.S. Central Command war headquarters in Qatar on Tuesday.

"At this point a ceasefire is in effect and some Mujahideen have moved into assembly areas...in non-combat formation."

Armed with tanks and artillery, the group also known as the Mujahideen i-Khalq has sought to overthrow Iran's Islamic government for more than a decade.

The U.S. government, which has included the group on a list of "terrorist" organisations, estimated recently that it had several thousand fighters, most of whom were based in Iraq.

A U.S. official said the Mujahadeen members had assembled at a number of unspecified sites while negotiations continued on whether they would be treated the same way as other prisoners of war. If so they would be released at the end of hostilities.

"We had dropped a lot of leaflets telling people how to surrender and that's exactly what they've done," the official said. "They've put their equipment and themselves in a position that they're clearly not a fighting formation."

hmmm

umm so, they're an iranian opposition group located inside Iraq who were financed by Saddam?

Éomer of Rohan

Smart move on the part of the People's Mudjahadeen LOL. It may be that the Americans turn around and use them to force through reform in Iran - or at least the threat of them.

sanvean

so ... they're a terrorist group who are attempting to overthrow the iranian government ... who the US is less than happy with. so, why are the US at odds against them? surely they could see a common cause? or is what these mujahedeen wish to replace the government with worse in the eyes of the americans?

Éomer of Rohan

US Government's definition of 'worse regime' :

Human Rights Record: Irrelevent
Not Free marketeers willing to sell the souls of their own people to us
Not interested in the expansion of American military power and cultural dominance
Not willing to be bought come voting time in the UN