What do Binyam Mohamed, Elkassim Britel and Ahmed Agiza have in common? All three are using the American Civil Liberties Union (aclu) to sue a U.S. company for assisting the Central Intelligence Agency in allegedly illegal activities. Oh, and they have something else in common too: All three are suspected to be al Qaeda operatives.

That three suspected terrorists can sue an American company for providing assistance to the American government is ludicrous. But that’s not the most astonishing part of this story: These suspected terrorists are receiving legal assistance from one of America’s most prominent unions.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan for transporting these three men under the cia’s “extraordinary rendition program.” This program, which has been operating since at least the early 1990s, enables the cia and other U.S. government agencies to seize and transfer suspected terrorists and other criminals to countries or to secret U.S.-run facilities on foreign soil to be interrogated.

According to the charges filed by the aclu, Jeppesen Dataplan assisted the cia in transporting the three terror suspects to secret locations in Egypt and Morocco, where the company knew they would be subsequently interrogated and possibly tortured. The extent of Jeppesen’s involvement in the cia operation included providing flight and logistical support services, including customs clearance and security for cia aircraft and crew.

“Jeppesen’s services have been crucial to the functioning of the government’s extraordinary rendition program,” aclu staff attorney Steven Watt said. “Without the participation of companies like Jeppesen, the program could not have gotten off the ground.”

Watt unintentionally makes a good point: Without assistance from Jeppesen, it would have been more difficult for the cia to transport and interrogate three men suspected to be operatives of the same terrorist organization that helped plan and conduct the 9/11 attacks. What’s wrong with that? The ACLU is fighting to prove that Jeppesen “knew or reasonably should have known that they were facilitating a torture program.” Forget the audacity behind calling the interrogation of suspected terrorists a torture program. Why should whether or not Jeppeson knew about it make its actions illegal? The merits or legalities of such government activities are certainly subject to public scrutiny and debate, but American companies should be able to assist the American government in defending the American people.

In principle, the aclu’s case against Jeppesen dictates that any private company providing support to America’s military or intelligence activities is liable to be prosecuted. Lockheed Martin Corporation and General Dynamics supply much of the military hardware and defense systems that the American government uses in Iraq, Afghanistan and against terrorists around the world. Does the aclu believe these companies should be prosecuted for helping the American government fight its enemies?

If the aclu wins this case, it could quickly unravel into a widespread litigious nightmare, particularly for companies that assist the government in military, intelligence and defense projects. We believe it is unlikely to win. Still, 20 years ago, no one would have imagined the aclu being the legal conduit for suspected terrorists to sue U.S. companies for helping the American government defend the nation. Today, rather than fulfilling its original purpose to defend the persecuted, the aclu has become just another politically correct mouthpiece, as well as a weapon in the hands of America’s terrorist enemies.