The demonization of Iran

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

The demonization of Iran

by Patrick Cockburn

The demonization campaign against Iran has the earmarks of a prelude for a military attack by the U.S. and Israel against Iran. The propaganda is very similar to that heaped upon Iraq?s Saddam Hussein in 2002. In both cases, an isolated state with limited resources is portrayed as posing a genuine threat to the region and the world.

Iran has long been denounced in Washington as the source of much of the evil in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and its Sunni allies see the hand of Tehran behind protests in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia?s oil-rich Eastern Province. As the last US forces leave Iraq by the end of the year, there are dire warnings of Iraq becoming an Iranian pawn.

This demonization of Iran at times seems to set the stage for a military attack on Iran by the US and Israel. The propaganda build-up is very similar to that directed against Saddam Hussein?s Iraq in 2002. In both cases, an isolated state with limited resources is presented as a real danger to the region and the world. Unlikely and sometimes comical conspiracy theories are given official credence, such as the supposed plot of an Iranian-American used-car dealer in Texas teaming up with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington. Iran?s nuclear program is identified as a threat in much the same way as Saddam Hussein?s non-existent WMD.

It therefore came as a shock when the distinguished Egyptian-American lawyer Cherif Bassiouni, who led the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry into this year?s unrest, said flatly in his 500-page report last week that there is no evidence of Iranian involvement in events in Bahrain. This had been a core belief of Bahrain?s royal family and the monarchs of the Gulf. Fear of Iranian armed intervention was Bahrain?s justification for calling in a 1,500-strong Saudi-led military force on March 14 of this year before it drove demonstrators from the streets. Bahrain even got Kuwaiti naval vessels to patrol the coast of the island in case Iran should try to deliver weapons to the Shia pro-democracy protesters.

No doubt the kings and emirs of the Gulf sincerely believe their own conspiracy theories. Many of those tortured during the brutal repression in Bahrain have since given evidence that their torturers repeatedly asked them about their links to Iran. Middle-aged hospital consultants were forced to sign confessions admitting that they were members of an Iranian revolutionary plot. After accepting the Bassiouni report, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa said that, though his government could not produce clear evidence, Tehran?s role was evident to ?all who have eyes and ears?.

Edited December 8, 2011 by Neobond
Full article copy/paste not allowed

[DocM]

Iran doesn't need anyone to demonize them - they're doing a fine job all by themselves.

[Motoko.]

Iran doesn't need anyone to demonize them - they're doing a fine job all by themselves.

The U.S put the current regime in charge during the 70s and the Shah, what are you talking about?

[jakem1]

I read today that it's 300 years since Iran started a war. Compare that to the US and it's pretty clear who the rogue nation is.

[DocM]

The U.S put the current regime in charge during the 70s and the Shah, what are you talking about?

Everything that's happened since since Carter The Stupid let the mullahs take over in 1979.

[+Xinok Subscriber²]

Iran doesn't need anyone to demonize them - they're doing a fine job all by themselves.

To repeat what I've stated before, "The United States is responsible for turning Iran into what it is today".

[DocM]

Just like when you have to put down your dog if it goes mad; how it got that way is irrelevant, it still has to go down. The rest is just arm waving.

[mattking]

I think it's also important to remember that there is a massive distinction between the Iranian government and the Iranian people.

[DocM]

ABSOLUTELY!! They're being hurt the most, so far.

[+Xinok Subscriber²]

Just like when you have to put down your dog if it goes mad; how it got that way is irrelevant, it still has to go down. The rest is just arm waving.

It's not just Iran, but Iraq and Afghanistan as well. The US supported Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war, only turning on him when he became an inconvenience. The US used Afghans to fight the Soviets, then just left them to fester. The US is responsible for creating so much wrong in this world, so if any government needs to be "put down"...

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

To repeat what I've stated before, "The United States is responsible for turning Iran into what it is today".

How so? The US needs to be put down?

[+Xinok Subscriber²]

How so? The US needs to be put down?

This documentary sums it up pretty well.

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

This documentary sums it up pretty well.

Maybe if one is a terrorist. What I see is hogwash propaganda. I remermnber this much better:

http://www.historygu...age_crisis.html

On November 4, 1979, radical Iranian students seized the United States Embassy complex in the Iranian capital of Tehran. The immediate cause of this takeover was the anger many Iranians felt over the U.S. President Jimmy Carter allowing the deposed former ruler of Iran, Shah Reza Pahlavi, to enter the U.S. for medical treatment. In Iran, this was believed to be an opening move leading up an American-backed return to power by the Shah. The crisis which followed this seizure created a near state of war, ruined Jimmy Carter's presidency, and began an environment of hostility between America and Iran which continues to this day.

Though fear of an American-backed return by the Shah was the publicly stated reason, the true cause of the seizure was the long-standing U.S. support for the Shah's government. Reza Pahlavi ruled Iran from 1941 to 1979, with a brief period of exile in 1953 when he fled to Italy due to a power struggle with Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh. Because Mossadegh's policies and announcements created concern over access to Iranian oil, oil prices, and possible Soviet influence in Iran, the United States and British intelligence services aided Iranian military officers in a coup to overthrow the Prime Minister. After his return to power, the Shah established a very close alliance with the United States. The U.S. supplied weapons, training, and technical knowledge that aided the Shah in modernizing his country. However, the Shah ruled as a dictator, using SAVAK, his secret police, to terrorize his political enemies. The Shah was opposed by both the Marxist Tudeh Party, and by fundamentalist Islamic leaders who believed his policies and his reliance on the Americans were corrupting Iranian society.

[Soulsiphon]

Iran doesn't need anyone to demonize them - they're doing a fine job all by themselves.

My first reaction when I read the title.

It's not just Iran, but Iraq and Afghanistan as well. The US supported Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war, only turning on him when he became an inconvenience. The US used Afghans to fight the Soviets, then just left them to fester. The US is responsible for creating so much wrong in this world, so if any government needs to be "put down"...

You're more than welcome to try. Just don't cry when you, your children, and everything you hold dear are scorched.

To repeat what I've stated before, "The United States is responsible for turning Iran into what it is today".

Not quite. It's not a parking lot...yet.

[Tech Star]

-snip-

They did that TO SEND A MESSAGE that the American government was ABUSING their power and thought they could do whatever they wanted. The Iranian's don't hate the people in the US or any place in the world. They hate the government.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93United_States_relations#The_1979_revolution[/url'>]On November 4' date=' 1979, the revolutionary group Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, angered that the recently deposed Shah had been allowed into the United States, occupied the American embassy in Tehran and took American diplomats hostage. The 52 American diplomats were held hostage for 444 days.

In Iran, the incident was seen by many as a blow against American influence in Iran and the liberal-moderate interim government of Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan, who opposed the hostage taking and resigned soon after. [b']The hostage takers felt that their action was connected to the 1953 American-backed coup against the government of Prime Minister Mosaddeq.

"You have no right to complain, because you took our whole country hostage in 1953.?[/b]

said one of the hostage takers to Bruce Laingen, chief U.S. diplomat in Iran at the time. Some Iranians were concerned that the United States may have been plotting another coup against their country in 1979 from the American embassy.

Then do you also remember this:

http://en.wikipedia...._Air_Flight_655

Iran is doing nothing wrong. Their land and their lives. Who the **** is the world to tell them what they can do and can't do when the whole world is more corrupt than them. That's the whole point.

[IbSta]

Not quite. It's not a parking lot...yet.

Stupidest post goes to you. I was born in Iran and despite what everyone thinks it's a beautiful place. I've been there 3 times since we moved to Canada when I was only 4 years old. My parents fled the country when it was going through a regime change and even after all the hard time my parents had we still make time once a year to go back and see family. It's a whole different place but it's not that far off...they do sell beer, and you are allowed to smoke. In different cities woman don?t have to have their hair covered it's changing...for the better? Who honestly knows? I wouldn?t go to a thread and bash America so I?d appreciate if you showed some respect as well.

Thank you.

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

They did that TO SEND A MESSAGE that the American government was ABUSING their power and thought they could do whatever they wanted. The Iranian's don't hate the people in the US or any place in the world. They hate the government.

Then do you also remember this:

http://en.wikipedia...._Air_Flight_655

Iran is doing nothing wrong. Their land and their lives. Who the **** is the world to tell them what they can do and can't do when the whole world is more corrupt than them. That's the whole point.

By providing medical care to a dying person. Beam Me UP.

[+Xinok Subscriber²]

http://www.historygu...age_crisis.html

On November 4, 1979, radical Iranian students seized the United States Embassy complex in the Iranian capital of Tehran. The immediate cause of this takeover was the anger many Iranians felt over the U.S. President Jimmy Carter allowing the deposed former ruler of Iran, Shah Reza Pahlavi, to enter the U.S. for medical treatment. In Iran, this was believed to be an opening move leading up an American-backed return to power by the Shah. The crisis which followed this seizure created a near state of war, ruined Jimmy Carter's presidency, and began an environment of hostility between America and Iran which continues to this day.

The US supported Saddam Hussein's invasion of Iran, a war that lasted for 8 years, killed half a million people, and involved the use of chemical weapons by Saddam. A hostage crisis by a bunch of students in which nobody died simply doesn't compare.

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

The US supported Saddam Hussein's invasion of Iran, a war that lasted for 8 years, killed half a million people, and involved the use of chemical weapons by Saddam. A hostage crisis by a bunch of students in which nobody died simply doesn't compare.

So, what is your point? Iran is an evil, terrorist nation. Hussein did that, the US did not condone it and the UN and or any other nation did nothing about it until the US took out Sadamn.Sadamn killed more of his own people than Iranians.

[redfish]

Though fear of an American-backed return by the Shah was the publicly stated reason, the true cause of the seizure was the long-standing U.S. support for the Shah's government. Reza Pahlavi ruled Iran from 1941 to 1979, with a brief period of exile in 1953 when he fled to Italy due to a power struggle with Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh. Because Mossadegh's policies and announcements created concern over access to Iranian oil, oil prices, and possible Soviet influence in Iran, the United States and British intelligence services aided Iranian military officers in a coup to overthrow the Prime Minister. After his return to power, the Shah established a very close alliance with the United States. The U.S. supplied weapons, training, and technical knowledge that aided the Shah in modernizing his country. However, the Shah ruled as a dictator, using SAVAK, his secret police, to terrorize his political enemies. The Shah was opposed by both the Marxist Tudeh Party, and by fundamentalist Islamic leaders who believed his policies and his reliance on the Americans were corrupting Iranian society.

Some facts about Iran that aren't part of most discussions:

1. Islamic clerics in Iran don't hate the United States for the coup of Mossadegh and the return of the Shah; they supported the return of the Shah themselves and supported the United States for helping. They only turned against the Shah when he started Westernization policies. So whenever the Iranian government talks about the evil coup by the Americans, they're being disingenuous.

2. Those in Iran who supported the Shah did so because they were afraid that Mossadegh's control of the government and his political rhetoric would eventually give power to Communists in Iran, who were funded by the Soviet Union. If the United States stayed out of Iran's affairs, what may have likely happened is instead of a pro-Western dictator, there would have been a pro-Soviet dictator. That is, there would have been a dictator either way.

3. Fundamentalist Islam was on the rise in Iran since the 30s, when fascism was on the rise in Europe; just, unlike in Europe, they were not destroyed by the war. The Shah's Westernization policies, and claims of the Shah being a puppet, were just an excuse for them to seize power.

4. The Shah nationalized Iran's oil industry, openly going against Western interests; this makes the criticism that the US supported the Shah because of oil a bit strange.

[Tech Star]

By providing medical care to a dying person. Beam Me UP.

Noob.

The Islamic revolutionaries wished to extradite and execute the ousted Shah, and Carter refused to give him any further support or help return him to power. The Shah, suffering from cancer, requested entry into the United States for treatment. The American embassy in Tehran opposed the request, as they were intent on stabilizing relations between the new interim revolutionary government of Iran and the United States.

Despite agreeing with the staff of the American embassy, Carter agreed after pressure from Kissinger, Rockefeller, and other pro-Shah political figures. The move was used by the Iranian revolutionaries to justify their claims that the former monarch was an American puppet, and this led to the storming of the American embassy by radical students allied with the Khomeini faction.

How do you not understand this? By supporting the Shah, the US basically told Iran f-u, in the middle of a revolution, we don't support you. As a result, that's why Iran hates the American government.

Too many people are too uneducated in politics to be even be talking about it. :rolleyes: Thankfully none of you are running any of the worlds nations or none of us would be alive right now.

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

Noob.

How do you not understand this? By supporting the Shah, the US basically told Iran f-u, in the middle of a revolution, we don't support you. As a result, that's why Iran hates the American government.

Too many people are too uneducated in politics to be even be talking about it. :rolleyes: Thankfully none of you are running any of the worlds nations or none of us would be alive right now.

Listen, I was at The Cleveland Clinic when The Shah was there. He had the entire 4th floor. Please keep your hate to yourself, I am not a noob.How do you not understand what Country you live in? If you like Iran so much why do not you move there?

[redfish]

How do you not understand this? By supporting the Shah, the US basically told Iran f-u, in the middle of a revolution, we don't support you. As a result, that's why Iran hates the American government.

Too many people are too uneducated in politics to be even be talking about it. :rolleyes: Thankfully none of you are running any of the worlds nations or none of us would be alive right now.

Yes, Iranian clerics hate the United States because the President allowed the Shah to get treatment for cancer. How could people be so stupid not to see it!

[compl3x]

Poor Iran. It truly does try to do the right thing by its people and neighbors, but those gosh darn Westerns keep bullying them. A pox on them!

[DocM]

The ties between the Nazi's and Persia need exploring.

German-Persian ties go back a long ways, at least to 1819, but in the 1930's Reza Pahlavi's close ties with the Nazi's started worrying people; they were building all manner of infrastructure and basically turning Persia into a client state and source of war materials. In a 1935 effort to impress Nazi Germany he even requested other nations to address his country as "Iran," Persian for Aryan. From 1939 until 1941 Nazi Germany was Iran's #1 trade partner, which ended when the Allies forced Reza Pahlavi out, installed his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and also removed the pro-Nazi bureaucracy.

Now, please regale us on how this was wrong. < crickets >

Unfortunately this contact with the Nazi's also included the transfer of large quantities of "educational" materials, much of which had a distinct anti-semitic flare that paralleled the Nazi influence on the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine and Egypt that we're still dealing with.