In 1953, Mossaddeq (pic) took over English and American oil assets in Iran. No compensation was paid, so on 4 April 1953, CIA director Allan Dulles approved US$ 1 million to be used "in any way that would bring about the fall of Mosaddeq". CIA's Tehran station launched a media campaign and the chief of the CIA's Near East and Africa division, Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. arrived in Tehran to direct operation Ajax. The coup was planned by agent Donald Wilbur. Pro-Mosaddeq supporters, who were actually paid plants of the Ajax operation, threatened Muslim leaders with "savage punishment if they opposed Mosaddeq", creating the impression that Mosaddeq was cracking down on dissent, and stirring anti-Mosaddeq sentiments within the religious community. Mosaddeq then moved to dissolve the heavily-bribed parliament, under his emergency powers. The cut it short, Mossdegh was jailed and Iran was secured as a Western ally for the next 40 years. America was then young and potent, and the Dulles brothers, the Roosevelts, from the maligned WASP elite were ruling the country for the good of humanity. Those were the times...
3 comments:
Either your numbers are off, or I don't understand how a "western ally" created the Iran hostage crisis only 26 years later.
"...the good of humanity."
You're at it again, J. Thanks.
Rashkov,
Thanks for the correction. 25 happy years, not 40. Then came Jimmy Carter twith his good intentions.
Do you think Operation Ajax was a mistake?
The way America is reacting (or not reacting) to Hugo Chavez of Venezuela reveals that many in Washington think so.
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