Myopic Stubbornness

September 19, 1952 — The Bakersfield Californian


The Mossadegh Project | June 6, 2016                      


This northern California newspaper editorial, published not long after King Farouk was ousted in Egypt, followed their lead editorial, Another Middle East Coup, about Gen Fouad Shehab’s recent military coup in Lebanon.

“The news from Lebanon is not surprising; it is to be expected in view of the complex turmoil which is stirring the Middle East with a frenzy which is novel in its distinction”, they wrote. “There is a pattern developing there which is most comprehensible, at least to those who take the trouble to understand it.”




Look, World, No Hands!

The realizations which have troubled the intellects of the Middle Eastern peoples; there are others, such as the truth that the elders of the lands have been grossly ignorant of the needs of their countries and arbitrary in their rule. The people, long held in thrall by ignorance, religious fantasies, political chicanery and traditional beliefs, have been awakened by contact with representatives of western nations who spent time there during the war and left the door wide open to change.

These people are asking questions and are not satisfied with the answers they get from the officials who respond in the traditional manner. That strong men should arise in Lebanon and in Egypt at present is to be expected. It is part of the change through which these nations will pass. Turkey emerged from such a period with an enlightened outlook on world problems and an ability to meet them today which far surpasses any other nation in that part of the world. For more than a decade, the Turks were ruled by a despot, but one who understood better than anyone else their needs.

There is the question of how far the Communists will be able to infiltrate these uprisings, and some say they are waiting for the right opportunity. This may be so, and at least one Middle East diplomat has seized upon this belief as a weapon with which to bargain with the west. He is Alia Hyar Saleh, [Allahyar Saleh] the new Iranian ambassador who has told Secretary of State Acheson, [Dean G. Acheson] on instructions from the weeping Mossadegh, that Iran may fall into the hands of the Communists unless Britain capitulates to her in the matter of claims arising in the current oil dispute.

Those who know the situation there believe that if Iran “falls” into the hands of the Reds, it will be Mossadegh who will throw it there through his myopic stubbornness. But they doubt very much that it will go to the Communists, because even the Iranians are winning reforms from Dr. Mossadegh and he will be compelled to continue. He is not likely to allow the Reds such control, in spite of his seeming aptitude at using them as a threat with which to drive his bargains.


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Related links:

Sore Need For The First Team | Santa Cruz Sentinel-News, Oct. 18, 1951

Iran Is Prime Problem | The Bakersfield Californian, November 20, 1952

Retarded Nations Trying To Catch Up | The Times Record, October 8, 1952



MOSSADEGH t-shirts — “If I sit silently, I have sinned”

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