alt.politics.republicans

50 Years After the CIA's First Overthrow of a Democratically Elected
Foreign Government We Take a Look at the 1953 US Backed Coup in Iran
/ ?sid=03/08/25/1534210

This month marks the 50th anniversary of America's first overthrow of
a democratically-elected government in the Middle East.
In 1953, the CIA and British intelligence orchestrated a coup d'etat
that toppled the democratically elected government of Iran. The
government of Mohammad Mossadegh. The aftershocks of the coup are still
being felt.

In 1951 Prime Minister Mossadegh roused Britain's ire when he
nationalized the oil industry. Mossadegh argued that Iran should begin
profiting from its vast oil reserves which had been exclusively
controlled by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. The company later became known
as British Petroleum (BP).

After considering military action, Britain opted for a coup d'état.
President Harry Truman rejected the idea, but when Dwight Eisenhower took
over the White House, he ordered the CIA to embark on one of its first
covert operations against a foreign government.

The coup was led by an agent named Kermit Roosevelt, the grandson of
President Theodore Roosevelt. The CIA leaned on a young, insecure Shah to
issue a decree dismissing Mossadegh as prime minister. Kermit Roosevelt had
help from Norman Schwarzkopf's father: Norman Schwarzkopf.

The CIA and the British helped to undermine Mossadegh's government
through bribery, libel, and orchestrated riots. Agents posing as
communists threatened religious leaders, while the US ambassador lied
to the prime minister about alleged attacks on American nationals.

Some 300 people died in firefights in the streets of Tehran.

Mossadegh was overthrown, sentenced to three years in prison followed
by house arrest for life.

The crushing of Iran's first democratic government ushered in more
than two decades of dictatorship under the Shah, who relied heavily on
US aid and arms. The anti-American backlash that toppled the Shah in
1979 shook the whole region and helped spread Islamic militancy.

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Johnny Asia, Guitarist from the Future
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"I will make a bargain with the Republicans.
If they will stop telling lies about Democrats,
we will stop telling the truth about them." -

Adlai Stevenson, former Illinois Governor
and democratic presidential candidate.