I had close relatives working in Iran during the the period of governance by the Shah of Iran, who was a Progressive, with Western values. He worked hard on liberalizing the culture, especially women. The cities were cosmopolitan. I recall many conversations during this time with them and the requisite “Sunday night slide show” of Iran when they returned to the the U.S. at times to visit. When I ran across this clip I felt dreadfully sad. It brought to mind the pictures I had seen in the 1960’s- 1970’s. The swamp remains with its lies and deceptions.
Last week I posted Iran’s Rouhani Makes First Visit Ever To Iraq To “Bypass Unjust US Sanctions”
The post wasn’t a barn burner.. not even close. Just let the headline sink in. All I ask.
Looking at these women now, I can only wonder about them. Forty years later.
Information shows how Khomeini fooled Carter into helping him overthrow US ally, while deceiving US public.
The BBC reports that Khomeini had made several overtures to US presidents, asking them to encourage the Iranian military to stand down and allow the uprising to succeed. In exchange, he promised to continue the warm relationship between the two countries.
The first message was sent to President John F Kennedy in 1963, but arrived only two weeks before he was assassinated. The next known attempt came in January 1979, as the Ayatollah prepared to return home from exile.
American officials in Tehran were already aware of the rumbles of discomfort and were looking for a way out of the situation, despite publicly supporting the Shah and Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar. “The best that can result, in my view, is a military coup against Bakhtiar and then a deal struck between the military and Khomeini that finally pushes the Shah out of power,” wrote Deputy National Security Adviser David Aaron.
A couple days later, President Carter encouraged the Shah to “leave promptly.” He never returned to Iran. (Ed. In fact, the Shah was very sick at the time.)
The Ayatollah’s message arrived just as US officials were thinking of ways to quietly back the Islamists. The two sides began secret talks, which culminated in American assurances that it was not opposed to overthrowing the monarchy. For his part, Khomeini repeatedly promised that Iran would view the US as a friend and would continue selling oil to all countries except for Israel and South Africa. He even convinced the US that there was no need to remove its weapons, because the US military would still be welcome to operate in the country.
Analysts have pointed out how well Khomeini succeeded in deluding the Americans. “Unlike Carter, Khomeini pursued a consistent strategy and played his hand masterfully. Guided by a clear vision of establishing an Islamic republic, the ayatollah engaged America with empty promises, understood its intentions, and marched toward victory,” the BBC notes.
While this information has only now been revealed to the public, it would presumably have been available to the Obama administration during last year’s nuclear negotiations with Iran. Though we are in a different century and Ayatollah Khomeini has been replaced by Ayatollah Khamenei, Secretary of State John Kerry and President Barack Obama regularly assured the public that Iran was negotiating in good faith and could be trusted, just as the Carter administration believed.
After the deal was signed, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes admitted that the US government lied to its constituents and allies, and had been secretly preparing for a nuclear agreement with hardliners in Tehran.
Shortly after Rouhani was elected in 2013, he and Obama exchanged letters, and Obama later publicly reached out to Iran in a speech to the UN General Assembly.
In November of that year, it was revealed that a preliminary deal between Iran and the West was made possible due to secret talks that the United States and Iran held for more than half a year and were authorized by Obama himself.
Those discussions were kept hidden even from America’s closest friends, including its five negotiating partners and from Israel.
The reason for the skewed presentation of the talks’ timeline, said Rhodes on Sunday, was to enable the administration to sell the deal to a wider audience.
After the deal was struck last July, Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, explained to the Times how Washington’s foreign policy objectives focused on Iran.
Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who was also interviewed in the same article, noted that his job at the time of negotiations was to keep Israel from striking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Speaking of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Panetta noted that “They were both interested in the answer to the question, ‘Is the president serious?’ ”
“And you know my view, talking with the president, was: If brought to the point where we had evidence that they’re developing an atomic weapon, I think the president is serious that he is not going to allow that to happen.”
Asked whether he would make that assessment now, Panetta answered, “Probably not.”
Regarding the media’s support for the deal, Rhodes admitted in the interview that “We created an echo chamber.”
Rosen report on Ben Rhodes lying to Americans on Iran deal
BUNKERVILLE | God, Guns and Guts Comrades! 