A Wake-Up Call

June 24, 1951 — The Binghamton Press (Letter)


The Mossadegh Project | December 10, 2013                   


Here is an unusually judicious letter to the editor from the Sunday edition of The Binghamton Press, known as The Sunday Press. There is no full name given, as the newspaper identified letter writers by their initials only.




British Blind To New Era In Mid-East

Binghamton, N.Y.
June 20, 1951

To the Editor of The Press:

The situation in Iran is admittedly serious but not necessarily as serious as some would have us believe. Indeed it need not be serious at all if the British Government and the owners of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. would only wake up and realize and recognize that a new era has arisen in Asia. The people of Iran have a determination, and rightly so, to acquire their independence and begin the long struggle to the much needed advancement of this disease-ridden, backward country. The peace of the world would not be threatened at all if the British could rid themselves of the antiquity of colonialism. Once they get that out of their heads, the many crises that arise in Asia would diminish to almost zero.

Strong, affirmative and consistent foreign-policy is what is needed in the Middle East and Asia as a whole. Opposing communism is not enough; instead America and the free world should develop an affirmative policy of their own and support it. If the communists support it, that doesn’t necessarily make it too bad for us to support. The Western World should contribute heavily to the development of the vast natural resources and to the general advancement of the existing living conditions.

The Western world should express its appreciation of Dr. Mossadegh’s determination to continue to flow the oil to the Western markets, for it is better to get the oil by any peaceful means possible rather than have it denied altogether because of some grafting, profiteering persons.


C.E.M.


What Went Wrong in Iran? | Amb. Henry Grady Tells All (1952)
What Went Wrong in Iran? | Saturday Evening Post, Jan. 5, 1952

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Related links:

Oil Management Plan | Letter to Editors of The Binghamton Press, July 19, 1951

Mossadegh Fights For Oil In Name of Iranian Poor | U.S. News & World Report, July 1951

The Bystander Is Too Innocent | LIFE magazine, August 11, 1952



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

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