a little history on the U.S. and Iran


Posted by gypsyfrocksbedlam ® , Oct 05,2003,01:28   MetroBlab
Following up on the below discussion of Iraq, a little more on Western adventures in the Middle East. This shit is hilarious: an almost-botched coup to overthrow a nationalist president who liked to wear pajamas and cry in public. That's a really interesting site, btw; hard to tell exactly, but it looks like it's an Iranian site put up by people inside the country trying to provide a somewhat objective view of their history. The disclaimer has lots of interesting things in it that tell you what kind of environment they're operating in. Meanwhile, if you want a Western source, here's the New York Times regurgitating the same declassified CIA material.

There's just all kinds of fascinating stuff in here. Did you know Norm Schwarzkopf's dad was involved? Me neither. And I love the fact that the CIA took credit for the coup and used it to bolster their efforts in Guatemala. Another success story for U.S. foreign policy -- unless, of course, you're stupid or unlucky enough to actually live in Guatemala.

There are people who call this kind of thing the "Blame America First" school of history. (I believe Jeanne Kirkpatrick invented that phrase.) Fuck that -- I'm not blaming America, I am an American, thank you very much. I'm blaming the idiots and Ivy League jackasses of both parties who made a fucking hash of American foreign policy for the last 50 years. It's not a matter of blaming "America," it's a matter of holding people accountable for their actions. I thought that's what Republicans and conservatives believed in, for chrissake.

Followups


oh, and a bonus for OIG

Re: a little history on the U.S. and Iran -- gypsyfrocksbedlam
Posted by gypsyfrocksbedlam ® , Oct 05,2003,01:39   MetroBlab
The thing that prompted the U.S. intervention in Iran? It was because the Brits got all freaked out when Iran nationalized its oil industry.

Of course, there are no historical parallels between that and L. Paul Bremer III insisting that the Iraqi oil industry must be privatized before an Iraqi government is formed.