Dennis Kucinich: Iran Had a Democracy, We Helped Destroy It (speech)

Kucinich: We Destroyed Iran's Democracy

Dennis Kucinich on Mossadegh and the 1953 Coup

Congressman Dennis Kucinich "Iran had a democratic government which was overthrown because of oil", said Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH), in a speech on the House floor on September 19, 2006. His review of the 1953 coup against Mossadegh is one of the most expansive ever introduced into the U.S. Congressional Record.

The speech was given during a House of Representatives debate on the recognition of the 100 year anniversary of Iran's Constitutional Revolution [H. Res. 942, Recognizing Centennial Anniversary of Iranian Constitution of 1906]. Kucinich was the only representative to point out the hypocrisy of celebrating Iran's historical efforts toward freedom and democracy, while ignoring the United States' own role in demolishing the very freedoms Iranians had fought so long to attain.

House of Representatives - September 19, 2006

I want to thank the gentleman from California [Tom Lantos], and I appreciate your commitment to constitutional democracies. My statement here today, while I can certainly agree with the sentiment that was expressed and the spirit of this resolution with respect to hoping for constitutional democracies, I think we need to look at the letter of the resolution and put it in the context of the Administration's policies.

First of all, this particular resolution expresses its profound hope that the people of Iran will once again enjoy a democratic government in the spirit of the Iranian Constitution of 1906. I would like to read from some research that is available on the web, Recent Iranian History, from Wikipedia. It says that: with the rise of modernization in the late 19th century, desire for change led to the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1905 to 1911. In 1921, Reza Shah Pahlavi staged a coup against the weakened Qajar dynasty.

During World War II, Britain and the USSR invaded Iran from August 25 to September 17, 1941, to stop an axis-supported coup and secure Iran's petroleum infrastructure. The allies of World War II forced the Shah to abdicate, in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whom they hoped would be more supportive.

In 1951, a pro-democratic nationalist, Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, rose to prominence in Iran. Now, Mossadegh was elected its first Prime Minister. As Prime Minister, Mossadegh alarmed the West by his nationalization of an Anglo-Iranian oil company that was later named BP, which controlled all the country's oil reserves.

Britain immediately put an embargo on Iran. Members of British Intelligence Service (BIS) approached the United States under President Eisenhower in 1953 to join them in Operation Ajax, a coup against Mossadegh. President Eisenhower agreed and authorized the CIA to assist the BIS in overthrowing Mossadegh. The Shah at first attempted to formally dismiss Mossadegh, but this backfired and Mossadegh convinced the Shah to flee to Baghdad.

Regardless of this setback, the covert operation soon went into full swing, conducted from the U.S. embassy in Tehran under the leadership of Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. Agents were hired to facilitate violence, and as a result protests broke out across the nation, anti- and pro-monarchy. Protesters violently clashed in the streets, leaving almost 300 dead. The operation was successful in triggering a coup, and within days pro-Shah tanks stormed the capital and bombarded the Prime Minister's residence. Mossadegh surrendered and was arrested on the 19th of August, 1953, tried for treason, and sentenced to 3 years in prison.

Now, keep in mind that on March 8 of 1951, Mossadegh submitted to the Iranian mullahs his proposal to nationalize Iran's oil. According to the Cornell University library, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, most of whose stock was owned by the British Government, had been paying Iran much less than the British Government took from the company in taxes. Mossadegh's nationalization bill scared the company into concessions that were made too late. The Premier was committed to nationalization. Much to the surprise of the British, he went through with it right down to the expulsion of British technicians, without whom the Iranians could not run the Abadan refinery. Results? The West lost the Iranian oil supply, and the Iranian Government lost the oil payments.

When we are talking about democracy in Iran, Iran had a democratic government which was overthrown because of oil. So let's celebrate democracy and not try to at the same time praise a process that resulted in an overthrow of democracy.

I think when we look at this particular resolution, you have to read these resolutions to the letter to get an idea of what is going on here.

Here we are expressing the profound hope that the people of Iran will once again enjoy a democratic government in the spirit of the Iranian Constitution of 1906. They had a democratic government. The U.S. helped overthrow it.

One of the last resolutions, we talked about initiating an active and consistent dialogue with other governments in the European Union, in order to persuade the Government of Iran to rectify its human rights practices. We should be talking to the government of Iran, if we object to their human rights practices.

Resolution 415 says human rights will be considered a significant factor in the foreign policy of the United States with regard to Iran, but we are not stating that with the other countries that have violated the human rights of their citizens.

My concern is that, while these resolutions, in and of themselves, may have elements that are salutary, at the same time you have to put them in the context of the Administration's policy, which is a buildup to war against Iran. That is why I am raising a note of caution here. You have to see why we have three resolutions on the floor of the House dealing with Iran, on the same day our President is before the United Nations making a statement which characterizes Iran in much the same way that Iraq was characterized before the United Nations in another visit by the President. I think we have to be very cautious about the path this country is taking.

We can stand for democracy and human rights in Iran. We can do all of those things without taking steps and letting our efforts -- which might be in good faith, by the way -- without letting those efforts be used as a buildup towards war. I am saying, look at all of this in the context in which it is occurring.

Look at Time magazine this week, and look at the stories that have been published in The New Yorker. Watch the development of this Administration with respect to covert activities in Iran.

Madam Speaker, you might be interested to know that in our House Subcommittee on Government Operations, which has jurisdiction over national security and international relations, we were supposed to have a classified briefing by the State Department and by the Department of Defense on this issue on what is going on in Iran. They refused to appear. They still refuse to appear. They are not accountable to Congress. I am raising this issue, so my colleagues know that you have to look at the context in which these resolutions are being offered.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for the opportunity to present these observations.

[H. Res. 942 was agreed to by recorded vote: 413 - 2 in Roll No. 457. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Ron Paul (L-TX) voted Nay; Michael Capuano (D-MA) and Barney Frank (D-MA) voted Present].

Dennis Kucinich Interview- May 14, 2008

Professor Hooshang Ahmirahmadi of the American Iranian Council interviewed Rep. Kucinich at the Congressman's Capitol Hill office about US-Iran relations [May 14, 2008].

AHMIRAHMADI: The US and Iran have been in hostile terms for almost thirty years. Has the time come for the relations to be normalized?

KUCINICH: Yes, relations should be normalized between the US and Iran. It's quite unfortunate that the United States has not made diplomatic initiatives or has ignored diplomatic initiatives that were made by Iran in the last four years. The people of Iran have had a longstanding respect for and love for the American people. And the people of Iran have been forgiving of America's illegal interventions in the internal affairs of Iran going back to the days of Mossadegh when the CIA helped overthrow his government. So people have a capacity for forgiveness even though they don't forget it. We have to understand that we have much in common with Iran. Our people have aspirations of freedom. Our people have a desire for economic progress. Our people have aspirations for security and peaceful relations with neighbors. Iran can be a very important partner with the United States in creating a new peace in the Middle East.