[Spridgets] FW: hydrogen filling station in Los Angeles

[B- Evans]

Craig wrote:   "The first democratically elected govenment in Iran was
overthrown by the U.S CIA backed group( can you say Shah of Iran?) on Aug
22, 1953... (the day I was born)



Alas, we have so many who never lived through an era first-hand, yet wish to
ignore the reality of history, preferring instead to follow the questionable
lead of those who would denigrate the United States.  Thus, they prefer to
see world affairs in easily simplistic black and white.



1 -- The early 1950s were some of the most dangerous years of the Cold War
as the term duck and cover and backyard bomb shelters were daily reminders
of the conflict.   Despite the presence of those who faintly said, Id
rather be Red than dead, Americans were remarkably united in their
opposition to the spread of Communism.



2 -- Both the West and USSR each sought to gain client states--Persia being
one.



3 -- Mohammad Mosaddeq was hardly the poster boy for clean government, and
was never, ever democratically elected by the people.



4 -- Mosaddeq became prime minister ONLY through the assassination of the
prime minister legitimately elected by parliament;  a prime minister who
favored the Shah and opposed the nationalistic demands of Mosaddeq.



5 -- Backed by Iranian Communists, Mosaddeq masterminded the nationalization
of Iranian oil facilities, even though it was literally incapable of
managing the industry WITHOUT the aid and presence of the Soviet Union, a
factor directly imperiling American influence and interests in an unstable
area of the world.



6 -- As Mosaddeq turned sharply towards imposing a Communist government on
Persia, both the Persian middle class and the Shia raised serious opposition
and engaged in plots.  The Shia were particularly fearful of religious
repression under a Communist government.



7 -- The overthrow of Mosaddeq may have been encouraged and funded, in part
by British Government with the legal and legitimate assistance of the CIA,
but it was still a POPULAR uprising.



8 -- Great Britain, not the U.S., was the primary mover in the Wests
opposition to Mosaddeq.  It was the British Anglo-Iranian Oil Company that
had been stripped of his property, assets and investments.



It is incredibly naove, if not deliberately misleading and wrong-headed to
assert, The first democratically elected govenment in Iran was overthrown
by the U.S CIA backed group( can you say Shah of Iran?) 



And now, back to your regularly scheduled program.



(Just remember, I did not introduce the subject of Persian politics.)