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June 19, 2009
Proxies and Politics Again
Posted by Derek
Anyone who needs pointers on setting up an Iran proxy server, drop me an e-mail; I'll send over the information. There are quite a few technical updates, but I'll only inflict them on those who need 'em. And as for this news story, the Boston Globe reporter asked me "Hey, you're that In the Pipeline guy", aren't you?"
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1. Reader on June 21, 2009 8:27 PM writes...
Looking back at the history, what US has done to the people of Iran have been not that decent:
[from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran#Recent_history_.281921.E2.80.93present.29 ]
In 1951 Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh was elected prime minister. As prime minister, Mossadegh became enormously popular in Iran after he nationalized Iran's oil reserves. In response, Britain embargoed Iranian oil and, amidst Cold War fears, invited the United States to join in a plot to depose Mossadegh, and in 1953 President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized Operation Ajax. The operation was successful, and Mossadegh was arrested on 19 August 1953. After Operation Ajax, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's rule became increasingly autocratic. With American support, the Shah was able to rapidly modernize Iranian infrastructure, but he simultaneously crushed all forms of political opposition with his intelligence agency, SAVAK. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became an active critic of the Shah's White Revolution and publicly denounced the government. Khomeini was arrested and imprisoned for 18 months. After his release in 1964 Khomeini publicly criticized the United States government. The Shah was persuaded to send him into exile by General Hassan Pakravan. Khomeini was sent first to Turkey, then to Iraq and finally to France. While in exile, he continued to denounce the Shah.......
Permalink to Comment2. Derek Lowe on June 22, 2009 7:51 AM writes...
Reader, you forget that I'm married to an Iranian woman. I get to hear about 1952 at regular intervals, let me tell you - and about the British, too, who have quite a history in Iran as well.
But these things don't disqualify either country (or their citizens) from holding opinions on the current situation, or from doing what they think is right about it. In my case, no matter what the US did to Mossadegh's government, or did to prop up the Shah, I think I have a responsibility to support Iranians *today* who are demonstrating for the right to vote, to assemble, and to express their opinions.
That said, I agree with people who say that the US government can't jump in with both feet on the side of the protesters, because that would just give the Iranian government the pretext to claim that it's all evil foreign interference. Heck, they're doing that anyway. But I'm not the US government.
Permalink to Comment3. reader on June 22, 2009 8:19 PM writes...
Well, Derek, certainly my comments were not meant to you, but to the general history, or to the US government.
It's obvious US government has always been more interested in countries with natural resources or with good geo-positions :-)
With regard to the drugs, US government could have done much better job to save lots of lives in Africa...
Permalink to Comment4. daen on June 23, 2009 10:19 AM writes...
Hiawatha Bray is the coolest name for a reporter, ever.
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