Grady Seeks Fulfillment Of U.S. Role In Mid-East
Doris Fleeson — September 26, 1951

The Mossadegh Project | January 16, 2021                      


Syndicated newspaper columnist Doris Fleeson wrote about the next step for Henry Grady and wife after his resignation as U.S. Ambassador to Iran.




Grady Holds U.S. Is the Dominant Power In Middle East, Should Set Policy There

By DORIS FLEESON

Columnist Doris Fleeson (1901-1970) ATHENS, Sept. 26. — HENRY F. GRADY is returning to Washington from his unsuccessful mission to Iran without a chip on his shoulder but prepared to fight for the principle that the United States as the dominant power in the Middle East must pursue an American policy there.

The former ambassador to Iran believes, as do many here, that his country does not sufficiently appreciate either its own strength or British weakness in this area so long marked for its own by the empire on which the sun has set. He fully shares the military convictions of the importance of the Middle East to the defense against Russia; he is therefore ready to battle a policy of drift or feeble optimism with respect to the Iranian crisis.

Reported to Want Jap Post

Grady, however, unlike some others who have not been satisfied with the urgency of the American effort in their part of the world, expects to do battle from within the Administration ranks. He is both a political liberal at home and an internationalist abroad; the Gradys happen to be also party Democrats. Mrs. Grady is a former national committeewoman from California and state vice chairman. [DNC official and former actress Lucretia del Valle]

It was understood in Washington when he yielded to White House pressure to undertake the difficult Iranian chore that Grady had expressed a desire to be his country’s first ambassador to Japan and that promises from high authority were categorically expressed to him. Lately, however, even before he raised questions about United States tactics in Iran, his name has not been mentioned in that connection.

Grady is confining his interviews en route home to the seriousness of the situation in Iran. He is wholly candid about that and though he does not explicitly state it, his desire that his country shall be the honest broker in the conflict between Iran and Britain, rather than Britain’s unquestioning backstop, shines through.

Mrs. Grady Also a Leader

What he will do when he returns, beyond reporting to the State Department he will not discuss publicly. But of course he is far too knowledgeable about Washington not to understand the angles.

The Gradys

Mrs. Grady is as much a leader and perhaps a better politician than he is have been troubleshooters for Democratic Presidents Roosevelt and Truman for a long time. Their posts have included only the hard ones: India, Greece, Iran. It can be expected that they will seek to end their careers not on the Iranian note but in fulfillment of the pledges made to them regarding Japan. [Narrator: Iran was the end]

The Administration has some political considerations to weigh also in welcoming the Gradys home. California is the second largest state in the union, its convention delegation and electoral vote among the great prizes of 1952. And President Truman makes like a man who wants to run for re-election.


Alternative titles:

Grady Has Some Candid Advice

Grady to Report U.S. Must Lead In Middle East — Ex-Envoy Ready to Fight Policy of Drift in British-Iranian Crisis



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Related links:

President Harry Truman’s Testy Letter to Amb. Henry Grady (Nov. 18, 1952)

U.S. Prepared To Bargain in Mid-East | Constantine Brown, September 8, 1952

U.S. Ambassador Henry Grady Meets New Premier Mossadegh: May 2, 1951



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