iPhone app iPad app Android phone app Android tablet app More

America's Role in Iran's Unrest

Much has been said about President Obama's recent statement that the US should not "meddle" into Iran's election process. Many conservatives feel the President should speak out more about the Iranian crisis. Rush Limbaugh said that President Ronald Reagan would always call out injustice when he saw it.

Let's take a look at that and see where our past meddling has gotten us. The history of Iran goes back thousands of years but let's start with the 20th century. During World War I and II, both the United States and Great Britain relied on Iran's oil for their machines of war. (http://dc-meh.blogspot.com/2009/04/foreign-domination-in-iran-1918-1953.html) After WW II Britain continued its military occupation of Iran to guard their oil interests.

Mohammad Mosaddeq, Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953 was famous for his passionate opposition to foreign intervention and for being the architect of the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry. He felt that Iranians should share the oil 50-50 with the British instead of being totally controlled by Great Britain.

Needless to say, this did not sit well with Great Britain and the United States and their respective leaders, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Mosaddeq was removed from power in a 1953 coup d'etat funded by the British and US governments and led by General Fazlollah Zahedi. The Shah (Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi who had been in exile) was returned to power and Zahedi was appointed Prime Minister. The lasting effect of the Coup is chronicled in the book "Mohammad Mosaddeq and the 1953 Coup in Iran," edited by Mark J. Gasiorowski and Malcolm Bryne. Below is an excerpt:


This coup eventually led to dissatisfaction of the Shah's monarchy within the Iranian populace. Thus seeds were planted that produced the 1979 Iranian Revolution where the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became Supreme Leader and made Iran an Islamic Republic officially marrying government and religion. It has been called an event that "made Islamic fundamentalism a political force ...from Morocco to Malaysia." Some Iranians explain the revolution as a time which "promised us heaven, but...created a hell on earth."

An Iranian-American friend of mine who came to this country when he was seventeen (thirty two years ago) believes the Revolution has turned out to be a disaster. The Ayatollah and Mullahs rule Iran with an iron fist while oppressing women, gays, and youths. The recent unrest in Iran over the June election results bears this out. (NCR-Iran.org)

Another example of serious meddling by the United States is the Iran-Iraq war which lasted from 1980-1988. In 1983, the Reagan Administration provided chemical and biological weapons to Saddam Hussein, leader of Iraq to assist in their fight against Iran. (www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/arming_iraq.php)

As we all know, Hussein would later invade Kuwait in 1990 leading to the First Gulf War with President George HW Bush and after 9/11, the invasion of Iraq by his son, President George W. Bush becoming the Iraq War (or the Second Gulf War) which continues to this day.

To recap, with Iran, the United States of America in the last five decades has supported a coup against a popular leader which allowed the Shah to be replaced by an Islamic Revolution, and supplied chemical and biological weapons to its enemy, Iraq, during the Iran-Iraq war. And Americans wonder why there is so much anti-American sentiment in Iran!

Some conservative commentators are unhappy with what they call an "apology" tour of the Middle East by President Obama. In my eyes, we have a lot to apologize for, especially to Iran.

  • Comments
  • 6
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Comments are closed for this entry
View All
Recency  | 
01:46 PM on 06/18/2009
Don't be ridiculous! - Does ANYONE actually believe the CIA will tell the president what the people with the REAL power make it do? - Silly duds.
Pearl Bay, Australia
07:48 PM on 06/17/2009
One of the few sane articles dealing with Iran seen here.
06:01 PM on 06/17/2009
"the US should not "meddle" into Iran's election process."

Too late Bush signed a $400 million directive to conduct clandestine operations within Iran to destabalize their regime and Obama has once again embraced one of Bush/Cheney's policies!
01:01 AM on 06/19/2009
I had not heard that but I am not surprised. It's probably related to the Iraq war. I'm hoping Obama will do the right thing. I think he is right to not denounce the election results as it will be seen as meddling. I already read an article today saying Iran is accusing the US of being too involved. Obama has to walk a thin tightrope.
Political agnostic
05:22 PM on 06/17/2009
I am not surprised by the lack of comment on this. We Americans do not have the moral backbone to own up to our mistakes. Yes Iran hates us but they have the right. We provided them with enough heartache to last a lifetime. Do they want nuclear weapons? Of course they do but not for the rediculous goal of using them against Israel but to defend against U.S. interference. The U.S does not dare try any strongarm tactics with any country that has nuclear weapons. I almost want them to have these weapons just so we will leave them alone. As far as they lies we are told about the relationship with Israel, we need to understand that yes Iran would like to go toe to toe with Israel but they want a man to man fight not a nuclear fiasco. Israel has illegal nuclear weapons that were provided by the U.S. If Iran obtains nuclear weapons they will be held in reserve to keep the U.S off their backs and I don't blame them.
07:47 AM on 06/18/2009
The rhetoric we are constantly being fed about Iran's desire to "wipe Israel off the map" is just that, AIPAC rhetoric--It was a mistranslation that has been beneficial for Israel to incite fear and take attention away from the daily oppression of the Palestinians and the failure to move ahead with the process of peace and the creation of actual land borders.

Ahmadinejad was not speaking militarily, it was not a statement intended to incite war. The actual quote expressed the desire for the" Zionists regime to vanish from the page of time". Look it up, it's quite interesting how quickly the warmongering neocon chicken hawks glommed onto the mistranslation as the number one reason we should be hostile towards Iran. Iran, unlike Israel, has not started any military offensives in the past 200 years.

Iran has never said they want to start a war of any kind with Israel, that is a perpetual promotion by the Israel Lobby and it's many many think tanks i.e. the American Enterprise Institute, Project for the New American Century, Center for Security Policy, Middle East Media Research Institute, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Middle East Forum, National Institute for Public Policy and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. They spread fear of Iran as they make the rounds as fair minded political pundits on MSM talk shows. They keep the hate alive to insure the continuation of the lucrative war profiteering that is central to the cause.