How many of you believe in the line that we are to blame for the 1979 Iranian revolution due to Mossedegh overthrow?

SPC Erich Guenther — Tue, 07 May 2019 13:15:50 -0400

I keep seeing this story laid out again and again on the internet mostly by people that read a book or watch the news and just parrot what was told them without any further research. But lets look more deeply at the Mossedegh overthrow by the CIA. First stated it was in response to Nationalization of BP's Oil Fields but neglects to mention that reverse of the nationalization of BP's oil fields never happened after the coup. Seems to me if that was a key objective of the coup.......why was it backed away from afterwards? My feeling based on the read of history and what was going on at the time was the real fear that drove the coup was the fear of spreading communism. Though Mossedegh was at one time popular much of his popularity at the time of the coup was gone. In fact, the Ayotollah at the time in Iran and his fundamentalist clerics at the time wanted to dump Mossedegh at the time and even approached the United States for money at one point. Interestly now the Clerics in Iran paint a different viewpoint of history that it was the evil United States, neglecting to mentioning that at that time they sided completely with the United States in wanting this guy gone. Futher reading history from my interpretation it seems clear to me the whole proposal to nationalize the oil fields was done by Mossedegh to boost his political support at the time........it was more a nationalist move than it was Economic. Seems to me that Mossedegh knew already at that point his term in office was nearing it's end. While I understand that we shouldn't have done what the CIA did. How many people out there think that if we didn't intervene the coup or removal of Mossedegh would have happened anyway? Would it have been democratic or another coup financed by another means apart from the CIA? We will never know of course. But I do not believe the Iran as a complete victim stories on this event that are being told. If they were true you wouldn't have had segments of Iranian society fragmenting in their support of this guy. They would have been 100% behind him..........and they were not. In fact there is some evidence segments of Iranian society were already mobilizing to ensure his term in office was limited (ie the Clerics at the time).

Response by CPT Jack Durish made May 7 at 2019 1:31 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Tue, 07 May 2019 13:31:57 -0400

I laugh at the arrogance that the U.S. can orchestrate anything. Thankfully, our government is so inept (always has been) that if it were "ept", we would have to fear it. American influence has always been the product of it's most influential citizens (typically powerful businesses looking out for their own interests). Of course, even they couldn't actually orchestrate a public disturbance let alone a coup d' etat, if the local officials were so damn corruptible. I remember an interview with some officials of Summa Corporation who once sailed a tanker to Mexico and filled it with crude oil purchased for the mere price of a few bribes. They did it on a bet. "Government" in the Arabian Peninsula has always been among the most corruptible and remains so today.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made May 7 at 2019 1:39 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 May 2019 13:39:29 -0400

The rural communities were against the Shah and now the same rural communities are against the current murderous despotic regime

Response by SPC Angela Burnham made May 7 at 2019 2:38 PM

SPC Angela Burnham — Tue, 07 May 2019 14:38:32 -0400

Well, it was the British who put Reza Shah in power, The British and Soviets who deposed him in 42' and put his son in power. BUT, it was the CIA and MOSSAD who initially organized the Shah's secret police, SAVAK. SAVAK was used extensively to crack down on dissidents and other political enemies of the Shah.

To give you an idea of how extreme SAVAK was, the Federation of American Scientists found them guilty of "the torture and execution of thousands of political prisoners". The FAS list of SAVAK torture methods included "electric shock, whipping, beating, inserting broken glass and pouring boiling water into the rectum, tying weights to the testicles, and the extraction of teeth and nails."

Ultimately, those forces answered to the Shah, and the responsibility lay with him. Especially when he had the son of Ayatollah Khomeini executed, it's not hard to see why the revolution happened. But just because he was the one who pulled the trigger doesn't absolve the fact that we (the US) basically sold him the gun.