The More Things Change...
August 12, 1952 — The Buffalo Courier-Express
August 12, 1952 — The Buffalo Courier-Express
| The Mossadegh Project | January 29, 2015 |
Middle East turmoil and journalistic ignorance prevail, 6½ decades after this heavily biased, factually flawed editorial made it to print. Nice title, though...
If You Want Trouble,
There’s Plenty in the Middle East
Take Iran for example—indeed, as the most conspicuous example. There that weird character, Premier Mossadegh, stirs the populace to violent hatred of Britain and America [nonsense] — and then turns and wails for American and British economic aid against the Communists who are busily capitalizing [on] the mob spirit inflamed by Mossadegh himself.
Mossadegh seems to be getting away with it to some extent. At least, according to the Associated Press, “American officials are suggesting privately that if Britain could find a way to relax her economic blockade of Iran and permit oil to be sold to the outside world, Mossadegh’s anti-Communist influence on a badly split country would be reinforced.” [AP—August 11, 1952]
There is a note of probably unintentional irony in that reference to “Mossadegh’s anti-Communist influence.” Realists in the United States, Britain and elsewhere must wonder just what changes, if any, the most rabid Communist would make in Mossadegh’s present policy toward the Western powers.
In Egypt, too, there is an aspect of split personality in development of national policy. In America and, to a lesser extent, in Britain there seems to be a cheerful assumption that the regime which overthrew King Farouk [Naguib and Nasser] will be disposed to co-operate with the West. There is not a vast deal of evidence to back up this rather wishful thinking.
Related links:
The Chronic Crisis — The Morning Herald, December 3, 1952
After Mossadegh the Deluge — Alsop brothers, August 13, 1952
Iran Is Headed Toward Disaster — UPI, August 11, 1952
MOSSADEGH t-shirts — “If I sit silently, I have sinned”
