Critical Examination - Essay Example

Critical Examination of "All the Shahs Men" History has it that Mohammad Mossadegh was the second most popular political leader of Iran in the 20th century. Ayatollah Khomeini only eclipsed his rule. Even, though, they came from different backgrounds and opposing principles, they both shared a common belief. They believed that Iran should depend on no other nation, but on deciding on trivial matters. Therefore, they were opposed to foreign influence and domination. Meanwhile, America believes that it is their duty to foster peace, in the world, at all costs no matter the consequences. This book “All The Shah’s Men” explores the outcome of American, foreign policy in Iran that has elicited hate from the Iranians by focusing on the coup that culminated into Mossadegh’s forceful removal from office(). Kinzer, the author of the book, believes that the terror existing in the Middle East is because of the coup that occurred in Iran in 1953 where US was actively involved. Additionally, he tries to connect the attacks of September 11 on US World Trade Centre with the Islamic revolution in Iran that occurred in 1979. This revolution was a reaction to Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh’s affair that resulted into his restoration as the prime minister and rejected the socialist intentions on Iran. This book is quite thrilling as Kinzer creatively builds suspense and explains the motivations of all those who took part. He also provides a procedural account of “Operation Ajax”, an operation that was established to oust Mossadegh. “The operation Ajax envisioned in intense psychological campaign against Prime Minister Mossadegh, which the CIA had already launched” Kinzer, 6. He also introduces readers to the history of Iran, but at the same time, he focuses less on the Americas fears of rising communism in the Middle East. Even, though, Mossadegh himself was not a communist, most of his support was drawn from his political party, Tudeh, which was growing in power and popularity. It is intriguing to note that Kinzer and Iranians have different beliefs concerning the circumstances leading to the expulsion of Mossadegh from power. Kinzer believes that this ejection was due to the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) involvement. However, this is contrast to the common belief of most Iranians who believe that he was driven from office due to his alienation Iran’s Clergy and the middle class merchants. This is so because the clergy and the middle class merchants formed the vital support for any politician who wanted to win. In addition, Kinzer argues that it was only a matter of time for Iran to develop into a democracy. He, therefore, put this blame on Americas support for Mohammad Rezza Shah whom he portrays as a dishonest dictator. This is because following the ejection of Mossadegh these efforts were hindered. Therefore, he posits that the development of Anger among Iranians towards Shah and the subsequent ejection of Monarchy by Ayatollah was just a delayed action to this coup that took place some years back. In the book, this cause and effect scrutiny is exploratory as though Kinzer is on a detective mission. Kinzer explores this despite the growing appeals for extremism in the region that has been witnessed in the recent past. In the book, the coups code name is Operation TP-AJAX that was initiated by Britain M16 in reaction to the nationalization of Iranian oil that British had assumed its control since the early 1900s. “...early years of the twentieth Century a British company, owned mainly by the British government, had enjoyed a lucrative monopoly on the production and sale of Iranian oil” (Kinzer, 2). Even, though, it is considered as a triumph, it turns out to be one of the deadliest tragedies in history of Iran. This operation was among the many that were conducted, during the cold war by CIA, to destabilize governments. This includes the 1954 coup in Guatemala, and 1961 devastating intervention in Cuba. In most of these operations, the same opposition to the US as that of the Iranian case was in the offing. This story of Mossadegh’s overthrow begins nearly a century before it occurred. This was due to the major problems the Qajar dynasty faced due to their deep interests in luxury other than nationhood. This led to the sale of Iran’s effective power of oil to the British. However, the election of Mossadegh was a savior to some these problems. Therefore, this meant that calls for the British to form an empire were outdated, for it was time for colonial powers to break free from their colonists. This was further enhanced by the rejection of Britain’s efforts by the US. The impatience of Truman who was the president of America at the time and his support for nationalist movements made a foundation for a coup. The later involvement of Eisenhower, President of America, and Winston Churchill led to a finding that it was necessary, for the communist moves to be stopped to salvage the oil reserves from falling into the hands of the Soviet Union. This argument received an immense backing of supporters in Eisenhower administration like the Dulles brothers who headed the CIA. However, Eisenhower did not want to be actively involved and, therefore, left the battle to the Dulles and Kermit Roosevelt who oversaw the ejection of Mossadegh from government on August 19 1953. “Roosevelt was clever and well trained, and behind him lay immense international power” Kinzer, 7. Flaws Kinzer zooms on these events breathlessly, as one would think of a detective story. However, even though he uses a style that makes reading easy, he is seen to make many statements without referring to the Iranian people. The only Iranians mentioned in the book are the Rashidian brothers who are funded by the CIA. However, The Iranians also appear on the scene twelve years after Mossadeq’s death, but they are only mentioned (). This is despite the fact that the Iranian people were the moving force behind the anti colonial movement. These people were present as oil and industrial workers and as large crowds National Front meetings in defense of their freedom. Nevertheless, what comes from this narrative is his clear pessimism of western politicians on matters that should be left to the country. In addition, Kinzer has drawn a twenty-six year period from the ejection of Mossadegh from power and the Iranian revolution. This radiates some serious misgivings about his analysis of the whole story. This is also reflected in the increased length of time between Mossadegh event and September 11 attacks. The latter undermines the reader’s faith in Kinzers understanding of history especially of the war times. However, there are many lessons to the reader that this coup against Mossadegh shows how deliberations people perceive to be short lasting may have dreadful and long lasting consequences. . In addition, the coup also demonstrates the dangers that can be inherent in a foreign policy that is based on principles. This is in reference to the presidential doctrines of Truman and Eisenhower. Meanwhile, Eisenhower did not take care of details before acting, and it is this that led him to supporting Winston Churchill without looking for alternatives. This is because he was driven by his concern about “Red menace”. If US had given the right support to Iran by not letting the Red Menace carry them away, Iran could have developed into none of the finest democracies in the world. This book is extremely engrossing and educative altogether. This is because it sheds some light on the one of the most influential US involvements in the Middle East and its subsequent effects. It may be a story to remind people of the importance of history, for people should learn from history that gives them life experiences that happen in their everyday lives. Reference Kinzer, Stephen. All the Shahs men: an American coup and the roots of Middle Eastern terror. New York. John Wiley & Sons. 2008. Print. Read More