U.S., Britain are Iran’s axis of evil.
Ayatollah Aliv Khamenei
As frustrating as it was for Americans to see protesters in Iran being shoved off the streets and back into their apartments and dorms, to know that this “revolution” would quickly wither under the whip of the Iranian dictatorship, given the history between our two countries, Barack Obama’s restraint — no doubt advised by Hillary Clinton’s State Department — has been the wise thing to do.
To the Iranian leadership and to many Iranians themselves, the United States and its foreign policy ally, Great Britian, are Iran’s “Axis of Evil.” Together we represent a two-headed Satan that has done more than meddle in their affairs — we have literally, cruelly changed the history of the Iranian people.
What the Iranians remember about the past is more important that what we have conveniently forgotten.
As Roland Martin points out in a CNN commentary, what most Americans remember is the Iranian hostage crisis after the fall of Shah Pahlavi in 1979. That event destroyed the Carter presidency and brought to Iran the clerical dictatorship that now rules so ruthlessly.
But the historical events that matter most to Iranians today concern a coup d’etat that was instigated by the British and assisted, at first reluctantly, by the Americans.
In 1953 Iran had a democratically elected president, Mohammed Mossadegh. His crime in the eyes of the British who had deep colonial roots in that part of world was to take back from the British control of Iran’s oil fields. The fact that the British never had full legal rights to the oil didn’t matter: oil is oil and legalities and democratic principles be damned! Although the CIA chief in Iran, Mr. Goiran, opposed the coup, he was over-ruled by Kermit Roosevelt and the State Department. The coup took place, Mossadegh was exiled, and the Shah — our dictator — was installed in his place.
Of course, the official “excuse” for the coup wasn’t oil. The British convinced the U.S. to participate in order to better contain Soviet influence in that region. That was an easier sell in the early days of the Cold War. And as The Guardian points out, Britain’s interference in Iranian affairs goes back to the 19th century.
Iran, perhaps correctly, has accused the Twin Satans of having a hand in stirring up post-election violence in that country. Would we be surprised if we had? And let’s not be surprised if the Iranians look at Britain and the U.S. as an Axis of Evil no less dangerous and untrustworthy as the one George Bush identified at the beginning of his presidency.
Should we leave Iran alone? I think our history suggests that we have no other choice.
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