No More Ultimatums — Or Else
September 13, 1951 — U.S. Editorial

The Mossadegh Project | July 25, 2013                              


Non-syndicated piece which ran in the editorial section of newspapers coast to coast between around September 13-28, 1951.



EXTREMISM SOLVES NO PROBLEMS

The ultimatum is not a device calculated to smooth the progress of diplomatic discussion. Britain undoubtedly made a mistake when its representative at the recent Iranian oil talks handed an “or else” statement to Premier Mossadegh.

Mossadegh now has chosen to compound the error by issuing an ultimatum to Britain resume talks within two weeks or “get your technicians out of the oil refinery at Abadan”.

There’s no question that Mossadegh, irked by Britain’s ultimatum and driven by his country’s extremists, felt it necessary to be utterly unbending in attitude. But when he broke off the talks he found he had gone too far. Many members of the Iranian parliament did not support that move.

Nor do they support his current ultimatum. Unable to win approval of the lower chamber, Mossadegh has insisted upon flinging the gauntlet to Britain anyway.

What is needed is a less stiff-backed manner on Britain’s part, and an Iranian team on the other side which is not goaded by fear of assassination into acts of wild, unreasoning extremism. It’s possible those conditions might never exist so long as Mossadegh is premier.


Newspapers who ran this editorial under their masthead included:

The Daily Times (New Philadelphia, Ohio) — September 13, 1951
The Mt. Vernon Register-News (Mt. Vernon, Illinois) — September 13, 1951
The Sandusky Register (Sandusky, Ohio) — September 13, 1951
The Rhinelander Daily News (Rhinelander, Wisconsin) — September 14, 1951 (Extremism)
The Chippewa Herald-Telegram (Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin) — September 14, 1951
The Plain Speaker (Hazleton, Pennsylvania) — September 15, 1951 (Extremism Is No Solution)
The Shamokin News-Dispatch (Shamokin, Pennsylvania) — Sept. 17, 1951 (The Hot-Headed Way)

The News-Dispatch had several edits: “felt the necessity of being utterly unbending” replaced “felt it necessary to be utterly unbending”, and “There is no question that Mossadegh” replaced “There’s no question that Mossadegh”. Also, the very last sentence was omitted.

The Courier News (Blytheville, Arkansas) — September 17, 1951
The Biloxi Daily Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi) — September 17, 1951 (Extremism Solves No Problem)
The Statesville Daily Record (Statesville, North Carolina) — Sept. 17, 1951 (Extremism Solved No Problem)
The Bismarck Tribune (Bismarck, North Dakota) — Sept. 17, 1951 (Extremism Solves No Real Problems)
The Daily Chronicle (Centralia, Washington) — September 19, 1951
The Dixon Evening Telegraph (Dixon, Illinois) — September 19, 1951 (Extremism Solves No Problem)
The Brownsville Herald (Brownsville, Texas) — September 20, 1951 (Extremism Solves No Problem)
The Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Texas) — September 25, 1951
The Albany Democrat-Herald (Albany, Oregon) — September 28, 1951
The Lead Daily Call (Lead, South Dakota) — September 28, 1951 (Extremism Is No Solution)
The Deadwood Pioneer-Times (Deadwood, South Dakota) — Sept. 28, 1951 (Extremism Is No Solution)


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Related links:

Deadlock In Iran | U.S. Editorial, September 17, 1951

Holocaust | The Citizen-Advertiser, October 18, 1951

Adding Insult To Injury | U.S. Editorial, May 26, 1951



MOSSADEGH t-shirts — “If I sit silently, I have sinned”

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