Not a big Newt fan, but I don’t see the big deal here. He couldn’t shake her hand (customs), so he bowed. And is she really a “terrorist” because she used to be part of the Ayatollah’s posse? Today, her group OPPOSES the Mullahs who are the enemy. The enemy of my enemy....etc. Duh. Also, this is in The Atlantic, home of that double-gated douchebag Andrew Sullivan. ‘Nuff said.
The real issue seems to be that they are designated a terrorist organization by the Washington government because they presently wage irregular warfare against the regime in Iran. From the article:
“Maryam Rajavi, the woman who so warmly received Newt Gingrich’s bow, is the president-elect of the NCRI. But she’s better known as the “principal leader” of Mujahadeen-e-Khalq or MEK, which is officially designated by the United States as a terrorist group. (The MEK, designated a terrorist group by the European Union until 2009, is also the largest group within the NCRI.) The MEK participated in the 1979 Iranian revolution, but later turned against the theocratic government, which it has opposed in part with terrorist attacks against Iranian officials, embassies, and civilians.”
If they were doing the same thing for the other side I suppose they would be “Freedom Fighters”, such as those we assisted in Egypt and Libya.