This could be said of US conduct with regard to al Qaeda s precursors in Afghanistan in the 1980 s, and of its current dealings with terrorist groups such as the People s Mujahadeen Organization (MKO), and the Kurdish PEJAK and PKK. The MKO, which was once on Saddam Hussein s payroll and responsible for the loss of many innocent lives in Iran and Iraq, is now under the protection of the US government in Iraq and operates freely in the US itself.