HOW DID WE GET HERE?
MIDDLE EAST CHAOS Part 1
IRAN
The Middle East, while an area of unrest for decades, has reached an unprecedented time of violence and instability. This did not just come about by bad luck, but by a series of poor diplomatic decisions and interventions by Western powers and the desire by Islamic leaders for an Islamic Government or Caliphate.
We will try to be as brief as possible and still provide an objective background for this subject.
We must keep in mind that 85% of the Muslim world population is Sunni (mostly in southeast Asia) and 15% is Shia. This split can be traced back to the death of the Prophet. It was a dispute over who the successor should be...the Sunnis believed Abu Bakr was the most qualified to succeed as caliph by consensus of the community. The Shias believed succession should go to the closest blood relative Ali Ibn Abi Talib. This was the beginning of the divide that has led to wars and disputes for over 1300 years. While Sunni and Shia Muslims have lived side by side, intermarried, and fought along side each other for long periods of time, there often comes a period when a fight for supremacy erupts. The desire for a Caliphate or Islamic government is espoused by both sects of Islam, neither side would be happy with the rule of the other.
Iran is approximately 95% Shia, Azerbaijan 90%, Iraq 75%, Bahrain 70%, also large minorities in Yemen, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Lebanon. The rest of the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Asia, are Sunni. The population of Shias could be 30% in the Middle East. While their differences started over succession, there are also other differences in their beliefs. We are giving this information as it is important background for understanding the Middle East situation, but this could be a very long subject in itself.
While Iran has been able to remain an independent country for over 2 millennium, it has had a continuing interaction with both Britain and Russia, sometimes in conflict and sometimes in cooperation. Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan were once part of Persia, but were ceded to Russia in the 19th Century. Much of the early trade in Iran was controlled by Britain. During WW2 Iran tried to remain independent, but eventually was occupied by British, Russian and American troops.
Mohamed Reza Shah Pahlavi ascended to the throne in 1941.The British owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. and extracted and marketed Iranian oil. When WW2 ended, Iran set out to modernize the country. While the Shah vowed to act as a constitutional monarchy, he increasingly involved himself in governmental affairs and engaged in manipulation of the political process and opposed or thwarted the Prime Ministers. In 1951 the Iranian Parliament voted to nationalize the oil industry, controlled by Britain. Dr. Muhammad Mosaddegh was elected prime minister after the assassination of his predecessor. Britain responded with threats and sanctions and tried unsuccessfully to move the US under Truman to take action against Mosaddegh. By 1952 Mosaddegh was becoming more dictatorial and demanded control of the military. The Shah refused and Mosaddeq resigned. He was reinstated after riots demanded he return. He then conducted a national referendum to dissolve parliament. The Shah fled to Baghdad.
Mossadegh, an aging, eccentric academic, was immensely popular with people. He was a nationalist, not a communist, although he had some support of the communists. In 1953 when Eisenhower became president, the British and others were able to convince Washington that Mosaddegh was about to align Iran with the USSR. The Army, loyal to the Shah, with help from the CIA and Britain overthrew and arrested Mosaddeq. This coup earned the USA and Britain the lasting hatred of large sectors of the Iranian public. Mosaddegh remains a folk hero of Iranian Nationalism.
The Shah took advantage of the politics of the cold war. He was a ally of the west, and friendly to Israel. He initiated reforms including land reform, extending voting rights to women and eliminating illiteracy. There was opposition to these reforms by Shia clerics and supporters of the status quo. The Shah responded by suppressing and persecuting his opposition through his security and intelligence organization, SAVAK, which used tactics including arbitrary arrest, imprisonment, exile and torture. Israel was accused of helping the Shah organize SAVAK.
The Ayatollah Khomeini was exiled to Iraq from Iran in 1965. He moved to France in 1978. He was an opponent of the Shah and preached an absolutist theocratic rule. His ideas where propagated into Iran by books and cassettes smuggled into Iran. The Shah, suffering from cancer left Iran on Jan. 16. 1979. He appointed Shapour Bakhtiar as Prime Minister. Bakhtiar was unable to keep order, and invited Khomeini back to Iran. Khomeini returned on February 1, 1979. Mass purges began, with many executions, including four military generals. In March a referendum was held, with only one form of government on the ballot, an Islamic Republic, and was approved by 98% of voters in non-secret elections.
Executions were expanded, Kurds, Arabs, Turkomans and other minorities demanded autonomy. Suppression of most rights was the rule and a free press and expression were forbidden. The Sunni neighbors were fearful of a spread of this ideology. The new government allowed the American embassy to be overrun and hostages to be taken. Boycotts and sanctions were imposed by the west. Neighboring countries were being subverted by propaganda from Iran. Economic conditions were deteriorating in Iran. This was the beginning of the chaos that was to follow.
Iranians that I knew in the early 1980's could not return home and their families could not leave. They detested the reign of the Shah and the excesses of SAVAK, but feared that their lives would be short if they attempted to return home.
While Iran has been able to remain an independent country for over 2 millennium, it has had a continuing interaction with both Britain and Russia, sometimes in conflict and sometimes in cooperation. Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan were once part of Persia, but were ceded to Russia in the 19th Century. Much of the early trade in Iran was controlled by Britain. During WW2 Iran tried to remain independent, but eventually was occupied by British, Russian and American troops.
Mohamed Reza Shah Pahlavi ascended to the throne in 1941.The British owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. and extracted and marketed Iranian oil. When WW2 ended, Iran set out to modernize the country. While the Shah vowed to act as a constitutional monarchy, he increasingly involved himself in governmental affairs and engaged in manipulation of the political process and opposed or thwarted the Prime Ministers. In 1951 the Iranian Parliament voted to nationalize the oil industry, controlled by Britain. Dr. Muhammad Mosaddegh was elected prime minister after the assassination of his predecessor. Britain responded with threats and sanctions and tried unsuccessfully to move the US under Truman to take action against Mosaddegh. By 1952 Mosaddegh was becoming more dictatorial and demanded control of the military. The Shah refused and Mosaddeq resigned. He was reinstated after riots demanded he return. He then conducted a national referendum to dissolve parliament. The Shah fled to Baghdad.
Mossadegh, an aging, eccentric academic, was immensely popular with people. He was a nationalist, not a communist, although he had some support of the communists. In 1953 when Eisenhower became president, the British and others were able to convince Washington that Mosaddegh was about to align Iran with the USSR. The Army, loyal to the Shah, with help from the CIA and Britain overthrew and arrested Mosaddeq. This coup earned the USA and Britain the lasting hatred of large sectors of the Iranian public. Mosaddegh remains a folk hero of Iranian Nationalism.
The Shah took advantage of the politics of the cold war. He was a ally of the west, and friendly to Israel. He initiated reforms including land reform, extending voting rights to women and eliminating illiteracy. There was opposition to these reforms by Shia clerics and supporters of the status quo. The Shah responded by suppressing and persecuting his opposition through his security and intelligence organization, SAVAK, which used tactics including arbitrary arrest, imprisonment, exile and torture. Israel was accused of helping the Shah organize SAVAK.
The Ayatollah Khomeini was exiled to Iraq from Iran in 1965. He moved to France in 1978. He was an opponent of the Shah and preached an absolutist theocratic rule. His ideas where propagated into Iran by books and cassettes smuggled into Iran. The Shah, suffering from cancer left Iran on Jan. 16. 1979. He appointed Shapour Bakhtiar as Prime Minister. Bakhtiar was unable to keep order, and invited Khomeini back to Iran. Khomeini returned on February 1, 1979. Mass purges began, with many executions, including four military generals. In March a referendum was held, with only one form of government on the ballot, an Islamic Republic, and was approved by 98% of voters in non-secret elections.
Executions were expanded, Kurds, Arabs, Turkomans and other minorities demanded autonomy. Suppression of most rights was the rule and a free press and expression were forbidden. The Sunni neighbors were fearful of a spread of this ideology. The new government allowed the American embassy to be overrun and hostages to be taken. Boycotts and sanctions were imposed by the west. Neighboring countries were being subverted by propaganda from Iran. Economic conditions were deteriorating in Iran. This was the beginning of the chaos that was to follow.
Iranians that I knew in the early 1980's could not return home and their families could not leave. They detested the reign of the Shah and the excesses of SAVAK, but feared that their lives would be short if they attempted to return home.
PART 2 TO FOLLOW
Originally published 12/8/2015
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