US-Funded "Iran Primer" Needs
Editing
United
States Institute of Peace Assembles "50 Top Experts" on Iran
| Arash Norouzi |
"In 1953, Iran went through a second burst of democratic activism. An
elected government led by Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh challenged the
second and last Pahlavi shah, who was also heavily influenced by foreign
powers. Mossadegh's four-party coalition advocated constitutional democracy
and limited powers for the monarchy. It also wanted to nationalize Iranian
oil after the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company refused a 50-50 profit-sharing deal.
The shah's attempt to have Mossadegh dismissed backfired; the backlash
forced the monarch to flee to Rome. Foreign powers restored the monarchy.
The CIA and British intelligence orchestrated riots that forced Mossadegh
to resign and allowed the young king to return to the Peacock Throne for
another quarter century."
"Defying international law, Iranian students responded by seizing the
U.S. Embassy in a drama that dragged out for 444 days."
"Newly elected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for Israel to
“vanish in the pages of time.” The statement was widely interpreted as a
call for Israel to be wiped off the face of the earth."
A new book and web project from the United States Institute of Peace, a
Washington think tank funded by the U.S. Congress, aims to be an
authoritative reference, yet contains some false information.
The Iran Primer [link] assembles "50 top experts"
to produce a comprehensive, categorized overview of the Islamic Republic,
which, they predict, is "sure to become a key text on the subject of Iranian
policy". Its centerpiece is "The Challenge of Iran" which offers contextual
background dating back to Ancient Persia. The article was written by the
editor herself, veteran journalist and author Robin Wright, a specialist on
the Middle East and Iran. Yet Wright's brief summary of the Mossadegh period
contains deceptive language and one glaringly non-factual detail:
Mossadegh's political demise came about through a violent military coup
which took place on August 19,
1953. Army officers armed with tanks and guns attacked Mossadegh's
residence and set fire to it, fully intending to kill him, as mobs looted
his belongings. Mossadegh managed to escape the scene with his life, yet the
coup succeeded in its task- the overthrow of Iran's legitimate government.
The following day, he had no choice but to turn himself in to the new coup
regime. During the November show trial conducted in military tribunal court,
Dr. Mossadegh repeatedly insisted he was the legal Premier of the country.
At no point did he "resign" from his post following the events of 28 Mordad,
as it is known in Persian.
An essential component of the CIA plan to overthrow Mossadegh (TP-AJAX) was
having the reluctant shah "dismiss" Mossadegh by royal decree, then arrest
him upon refusal. Saying "The shah's attempt to have Mossadegh dismissed
backfired", gives the false impression that he acted independently.
After this first act of treachery failed, the Shah chose to flee to Rome. No
one "forced" him to do so, as Wright claims ("The backlash forced the
monarch to flee to Rome.")
Wright's misleading description of the coup gives the impression that
Mossadegh had somehow knocked the Shah off his
throne, and that an Anglo-American plot swooped in and rescued him
("Foreign powers restored the monarchy."), when in fact Mossadegh,
who had always upheld Constitutional monarchy for the country, had no such
aims.
Later in the article, Wright makes a point of mentioning the illegality of
the 1979 US embassy takeover...
Here's why all this matters.
The US Institute of Peace deems The Iran Primer rather significant,
describing it as "an unprecedented project by 50 of the world’s top scholars
on Iran representing some 20 foreign policy think tanks, eight universities,
and senior foreign policy officials from six U.S. administrations". For a
report that intends to be a reliable guide on contemporary Iran, their
fact-checking standards could use an upgrade.
For example, three different experts refer to Madeline Albright's cautious
acknowledgement of the U.S. role in the 1953 coup during a 2000
speech as an apology. It's a common misnomer among pundits, but factually
inaccurate. One expert goes so far as to claim that the former Secretary of
State "formally apologized".
To their credit, they avoid repeating one ubiquitous Iran cliché (a huge mistranslation regarding
Israel), but a correction is still in order. In the "Timeline of
Iran's Foreign Relations" section, it states that on March 27, 2005:
Read the follow-up:
US Insitute of Peace Corrects "Iran Primer" Errors...Sort Of
Related links:
The US and Shah Acted Illegally, Not Mossadegh
All the Sham's Men: How the CIA Used 'Anti-Communism' to Destroy Iran's Democracy
The Dulles Brothers: How To Wreak Havoc in Guatemala and Iran
MOSSADEGH t-shirts — "If I sit silently, I have sinned"
