The United States hasn't liked Iran for a long time. In some quarters of Tehran the feeling has been mutual for a lot longer.
In 1951 Mohammad Mossaddeq was appointed as premier of the country. Shah Reza Pahlavi was sitting on the throne so no one really paid much attention. They should have because Mossaddeq proved to be a fervent nationalist who was sick and tired of foreigners exploiting his country's national resources. Not to mention he considered the Shah nothing more than a western lackey, something His Majesty was apparently unaware of.
Mossaddeq began moving to nationalize Iran's oil fields and all of a sudden things changed radically. The British pushed the Shah into attempting to remove his premier, but Mossaddeq was having none of it. He marshalled his supporters and wave after wave of Iranians rampaged through the streets in protest. It became ugly enough the Shah decided to leave the country for, "medical reasons."
By August of 1953 the CIA, thinking anyone nationalizing anything must be a communist son of a bitch, had bribed enough of the Iranian military that they, along with pro Shah forces, pulled a coup. Mossaddeq was chucked into prison and a healthier feeling Shah returned to the country to take strict control over the situation. One of his first moves was to hand over 40% of Iran's oil fields to American corporations.
After being released from the slammer Mossaddeq remained under house arrest for the rest of his life. His followers simmered in the shadows all the while. The former premier died in 1967. The Shah stayed a firmly committed U.S. ally in that ideological struggle called the cold war, most likely because he was King and it's good to be King, plus America was sending him billions in cash and military aid.
However, as we know all things must come to an end. Reza Pahlavi's came in early 1979 when his government collapsed due to his increasing unpopularity and the political unrest it inspired. A few days later, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini showed up to fill the vacuum. With the Shah on the lam and Khomeini condemning all things American, it was only a matter of time before something awful happened. In November it did. Iranian students and others took the U.S. embassy by force and much of the staff was held hostage for 444 days.
While the vast majority of Americans still know nothing about the ill fated Mohammad Mossaddeq almost all of us are aware of the embassy falling in Tehran and the year plus long hostage crisis which ensued. It prompted a tsunami of ill will toward Iran so severe that many even thought Saddam Hussein was a good guy--for a while anyway.
Fast forward to Thursday.
Thanks to U.S. drones, Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani and others, to quote a line from the old comedy show SCTV, "blew up real good."
His death followed that of an American contractor on December 27th in Northern Iraq and an attempted take over of the American embassy in Baghdad. The Pentagon blamed both incidents on Iran's Quds Force, which Soleimani commanded.
According to Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo the killing of Soleimani wasn't about revenge though. On Friday Pompeo told the press that offing the Iranian commander was necessary to disrupt an, "imminent attack," in the region. Trump took a break from schmoozing with pals at Mar a Lago to tell us the American drones took out Soleimani to, "prevent a war, not start one."
Really?
In 2011 the same Donald Trump predicted Barack Obama would start a war with Iran before the 2012 election because he was a weak negotiator and needed a conflict to ensure his re-election. Obama didn't bite, however it is starting to look suspiciously like Trump has.
No one is saying Qassem Soleimani was a good guy, or should be mourned. However, let's face it, Donald Trump has been known to play fast and loose with the truth--you know--congenitally--on a daily basis--like forever.
And now he is the one needing to make sure he gets re-elected.
Yes, for those of us who have been around long enough to remember the Gulf of Tonkin scam and the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction con this is a tough sell. Especially when it comes from a guy who never ceases to lie about everything, even when he knows he'll be caught, or, as we've seen lately, even when he already has.
Happy 2020, America. Just buckle up, because this is going to be a rough one.
1-4-20
This presidency is very toxic, no question about it. My question, was the killing of the general an act of war, or an assassination? Does it matter? I have long advocated targeting the top people who foster all of this misery, but did our president seek advice from our people in that region as to the feasibility of doing it this way, at this time? I fear we know the answer to that.
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