The CIA-Backed Coup
in Iran that Obama Failed to Mention
"Mixed into this cocktail
of damnation is the memory that the Shah was put back on the throne by a CIA-led
coup in 1953 - against the wishes of Iran's civil society. … In regard to this coup, Obama will eventually have
to speak - to the Iranian people."
Iran has a very bad image.
That has a lot to do with its President. But there are vastly more political
facets to that nation.
Barack Obama has acted as an
usher. Iran may wish to resume its rightful place among nations and stay out of
trouble; after all, it doesn’t really belong in the axis of evil. Now diplomacy
as well as sincerity should define the political discourse between the two
countries. It is high time to clarify some of what hasn’t been articulated due to
political incorrectness.
Iran has a parliament, which
is called the Majlis.
Two weeks ago, it took the president - who is still called Ahmadinejad - and
beat him over the head with his budget proposal. Ahmadinejad wanted to ease public
displeasure over huge price increases by pushing through a one-off rebate of €50
per person [$68 per person]. To the opposition - but also to a majority of government
MPs - this smelled of “election pork.” They refused to accept his budget. That
is something that the Duma in
Moscow would never have the guts to do; and lawmakers in other countries who
don’t know whether their conscience belongs to them or their parties should get
hold of the translated minutes of the Majlis debate.
So Iran has a parliament. But
before they are chosen by the voters they are vetted by the Assembly of Experts,
the Expediency
Council and other supervisory councils of the high clergy. But the voters
are there. Iran is still an authoritarian state - but a large portion of the population
is anti-authoritarian. We call this civil society. That means, among other
things, that the rhetorical gaffes of President Ahmadinejad don't reflect the
views of the majority - even if he says what he means. And even then, one is
advised to listen closely and interpret carefully so that the well-informed don't
laugh aloud again when he sounds not only like a Holocaust denier, but a
complete anti-Semite.
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S NEW YEAR MESSAGE TO IRAN
The Jewish religion,
Christianity, and the Zoroastrian religion are legal. A tiny minority of five
of the 270 MPs in the Majlis - are followers of these faiths. They aren't permitted
to hold senior government posts - and neither are the far more numerous Sunnis.
To make sure none of these groups overstep the bounds of toleration or attempt
to proselytize, the Ayatollahs monitor them closely. As far as Islam is
concerned, becoming an apostate warrants death - and not only in Iran.
That is the historical basis
for the persecution of Iran's largest religious minority, the Bahá'ís. Since
the birth of this religion at around 1840, some of those of the "proper"
faith have prosecuted them as apostates, without evidence accusing them of being
spies for Israel, engaging in subversive activities on behalf of the United
States and seeking to reinstate the monarchy [the Shah].
[Editor's Note: While Bahá'ís
believe in Muhammad, the Bahá'í teachings challenge traditional Islamic beliefs,
including the need for a priesthood and the entire Shiite ecclesiastical
structure. Since the Islamic Republic is ruled by the clergy, the Bahá'í are in
a very tenuous position].
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi had
indeed put politicians from Bahá'í families to the service of his dictatorship.
The unbearably arrogant Amir Abbas Hoveyda
was head of state; Parviz Sabeti was a torturer and the chief of the feared
secret police; and there were other ministers. Even the Shah’s personal physiciancame from a Bahá'í family.
To be sure, all had withdrawn themselves from their religious community before
assuming office, which is a process that the Bahá'í faith expressly permits.
Mixed into this cocktail
of damnation is the memory that the Shah was put back on the throne by a CIA-led
coup in 1953 - against the wishes of Iran's civil society [Democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed
Mosaddeq was toppled as a result]. In regard to this coup, Obama will eventually
have to speak - to the Iranian people.
