All the Shah′s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror

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foreign correspondent and the author of books on Nicaragua ( Blood of Brothers) and Turkey ( Crescent and Star), Kinzer has combed memoirs, academic works, government documents and news stories to produce this blow-by-blow account. He shows that until early in 1953, Great Britain and the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company were the imperialist baddies of this tale. Intransigent in the face of Iran's demands for a fairer share of oil profits and better conditions for workers, British Foreign Secretary Herbert Morrison exacerbated tension with his attitude that the challenge from Iran was, in Kinzer's words, "a simple matter of ignorant natives rebelling against the forces of civilization." Before the crisis peaked, a high-ranking employee of Anglo-Iranian wrote to a superior that the company's alliance with the "corrupt ruling classes" and "leech-like bureaucracies" were "disastrous, outdated and impractical." This stands as a textbook lesson in how not to conduct foreign policy. (July)

In its words, America tried to convince the world that its values – of freedom, openness, and self-determination – were demonstrably better than the tyranny, oppression, and censorship animating the Soviet Union. In its actions, though, the United States showed no trust in its system, and resorted to undermining popular will and supporting oppressive leaders in the misguided belief that any means justified the ends. The Cold War could have been a contest of ideas. Instead it was a race to the bottom, with the rulebook thrown aside. During my entire life, I have regarded Iran and Iraq as part of the "troubled Middle East" with its occasional bursts of anger and violence directed at the United States. Even after 9/11, when the US launched military action in this region, I couldn't say that I could unravel the geopolitical complexities that characterize this corner of the world. I have now read a few nonfictions set in Iran in the 20th century, and none of them, including the latest, had been written in a purely objective tone. But at least, All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror offered an explanation for the anti-Western sentiment. Half a century ago, the United States overthrew a Middle Eastern government for the first time. The victim was Mohammad Mossadegh, the democratically elected prime minister of Iran. Although the coup seemed a success at first, today it serves as a chilling lesson about the dangers of foreign intervention.In this book, veteran New York Times correspondent Stephen Kinzer gives the first full account of this fateful operation. His account is centered around an hour-by-hour reconstruction of the events of August 1953, and concludes with an assessment of the coup's "haunting and terrible legacy." i123045101 |b31813003563953 |dbelow |g- |m231219 |h18 |x0 |t1 |i2 |j300 |k190215 |n11-18-2021 00:58 |o- |a955.053 KINZER,S 2008But the author′s real accomplishment is his suspenseful account of Persia′s centuries–old military, political, cultural and religious heritage, in which Mossadegh′s face–off with London comes as the stirring climax to a drama that began with "Cyrus, Darius, and Xerxes, titans whose names still echo through history." By the 1930s, most Iranians had come to regard the abject misery they plunged into with every passing decade of exclusive British control of their one great natural asset as another passing calamity in a long history of the same. But with the global stirring of post–World War II nationalism, Anglo–American Oil pushed them to the breaking point. The press played the showdown like a prize fight, "the tremulous, crotchety Premier versus Britain′s super–suave representative, Sir Gladwyn Jebb," in Newsweek′s account. The Daily News groused, "Whether Mossy is a phony or a genuine tear–jerker, he better put everything he′s got into his show if he goes on television here." Time magazine had made him its Man of the Year. Now came "the decisive act in the dramatic, tragic and sometimes ridiculous drama that began when Iran nationalized the Anglo–American Oil Co. five months ago." Wherever the former (Anglo-Persian Oil) company may operate in the future, it will never again operate in Iran. Neither by trusteeship nor by contract will we turn over to foreigners the right to exploit our oil resources." All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror is a book written by American journalist Stephen Kinzer.

More people are reading the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Our independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective, too. So when I think about this book I wonder: is it really offering an impartial account of history, by focusing so much on blaming the US for everything?Also - since Herodotus’ times, history gets much more interesting if you insert a bit of bias and subjective narrative.... without that, it easily becomes a very dry collection of facts and sources. The situation became chaotic in 1953 and this is where Kinzer’s narrative goes off balance. The National Front started to split and numerous powerful groups (like the industrialists and the clergy) distanced themselves from Mosaddeq. This division, which had numerous causes, is mostly viewed as a result of foreign influence and the work of CIA and MI6 agents. By only relying on reports and correspondents of British and Americans, Kinzer fails to realize that this split most probably would’ve still happened as a result of the unstable political quagmire caused by the unresolved oil issues. He gives the impression that this shift in power dynamics was mostly the result of subversive activities which is far from the truth. Economic and diplomatic pressures from Britain and the United States had already taken their toll on the National Front, much more so than subversive activities.