t r u t h o u t | US Policies May Have Contributed to Iran Revolution, Study Says »
Posted By dissent 4 months, 2 weeks ago in News
A new report based on previously classified documents suggests that the Nixon and Ford administrations created conditions that helped destabilize Iran in the late 1970s and contributed to the country's Islamic Revolution.
A trove of transcripts, memos and other correspondence show sharp differences over rising oil prices developing between the Republican administrations and Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi in the mid-1970s, says a report to be published today in the fall issue of Middle East Journal, an academic journal published by the Washington-based Middle East Institute, a think tank.
The report, after two years of research by scholar Andrew Scott Cooper, zeros in on the role of White House policymakers -- including Donald H. Rumsfeld, then a top aide to President Ford -- hoping to roll back oil prices and curb the shah's ambitions, despite warnings by then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger that such a move might precipitate the rise of a "radical regime" in Iran.
"The shah is a tough, mean guy. But he is our real friend," Kissinger warned Ford, who was considering options to press the monarch into lowering oil prices, in an August 1974 conversation cited by the report. "We can't tackle him without breaking him."
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dissent
we live in a culture of war.
let's make it a culture of peace.
"my country is the world. and my religion is to ...
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hyperbola4 months, 2 weeks ago
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Actually, the modern version started about a century ago with the Brits. Between them and us, we imposed a government on Iran several times in the 20th century. The Shah's father was already an example of us imposing a monarch on Iran.
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hyperbola4 months, 2 weeks ago
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There is a really excellent recent movie about the history of Iran in the 20th century from French director Jean-Michel Vecchiet. I learned a lot about what came even before Mossadegh from it.
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Here is the trailer in english.
IRAN, THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR - trailer
By going back in time over 100 years, “Iran, a Powerhouse unveiled” will explain the role and strategy of Iran in global politics as it is about to celebrate in January 2009 the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. A reference documentary on the past and present challenges of Iran to the Middle East and beyond.
This film is a narrative. With a plot. To tell the story of Iran, it focuses on the duel that, since 1908, has pitted Teheran against, first London, then Washington. This duel is more than just a ghost haunting the Iranian conscience. It summarizes the entire 20th century. It crops up in every major division of our era. It is at the heart of East/West, Occidental/Oriental and even Northern hemisphere/Southern hemisphere relations. In telling the tale of Iran, it tells the tale of the world, of our history....
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hyperbola4 months, 2 weeks ago
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With a quick look, I could only find the complete film in french.
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Iran: une puissance dévoilée
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hyperbola4 months, 2 weeks ago
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and in spanish.
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Irán, potencia de Oriente
“CIEN AÑOS DE UNA NACIÓN”
http://www.rtve.es/FRONT_PROGRAMAS?go=111b735a516a...
(click on the "videoteca" button at the left)
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tehranchik4 months, 2 weeks ago
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The major difference between then and now is that the Shah was our man. Kissinger was right with his warning. We got more than we bargained for with the Islamic revolution. We lost total control of Iran. Not quite what we planned. This regime is in no way a friend to the US and other western powers.
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That's what is different about today.-
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dissent4 months, 2 weeks ago
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like i said... we put 'em in, we take 'em out. we build 'em up, we tear 'em down. and then we spin it all away.
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we may disagree, tc, as to the degree of our government's involvement in today's events but i'm sure we can agree that it would be unlikely that it is the non-active participant obama now totes it to be. especially in the light of having, over the last 2 years, invested substantial sums into this very purpose -- the destabilization of iran. -
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tehranchik4 months, 2 weeks ago
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I don't completely disagree with you at all. I'm very well aware of the wickedness of our government. AND I won't say that we haven't tried to upset the balance of power in Iran. I was there in '79. There was nothing but talk of the americans bringing down the shah. There is a difference this time. We don't have the insiders we once had. We simply haven't had the same advantage of '79.
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dissent4 months, 2 weeks ago
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What does Kissinger have to do with what is happening right now?
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this should be self-explanatory.
the article is about the iranian revolution which makes kissinger pertinent to this thread. the revolution is a historical event closely related, chronological and consequentially, to the events of today, ie. one thing leads to another. just as the events of 1953 led to the events of 1979. nothing ever happens in a vacuum. this is no different
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cleare4 months, 2 weeks ago
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uh...duh.
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of course our policies have had impact on the iranian revolution(s).
i understand that we need to protect our interests overseas, but we need to lead by example, not intervention.
time to get our own political house in order and stop mucking about the the political processes in other countries, however strategically important (or not.)
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