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Leaders of third world nations who work in the interest of their people have never been favoured by western powers as it is in direct conflict with their own interests. In fact they are either directly removed using pretexts that supposedly justify their removal or indirectly, by creating friction among the people of the target nation and thereby weakening national unity. History is a testament to this fact. Africa, the Middle East, south America have all experienced this brutal strategy, which up until today is the modus operandi. This article deals with the overthrow of Iran ’s government in 1953, its consequences on the Iranian people, and it’s relevance to our historical and contemporary political circumstance. Eritrea through the decades has learned to stand up for itself, totally reliant on its resilient and industrious people..

All the Shah’s men written by ‘Stephen Kinzer’ describes ‘how the CIA overthrew Iran's first democratically elected government in order to restore the Shah, and get U.S. oil companies to obtain the exclusive oil concession the Brits had had up until that point.’ [1]

The overthrow of Prime Minister Mossadegh was the culmination of a ruthless campaign to steal Iran ’s oil resources. The British alongside other powers of that era had become accustomed to pilfering poorer nation’s wealth. The British Empire had amassed great wealth as a result of such practice stretching back hundreds of years.

The only reason the British and the Russians could get a foothold in Iran was due to the weakness and self serving nature of its ruling elite especially the Qajar dynasty. They ruled Iran from the late 18th century to early 20th century. The Qajars sold off the country’s assets to foreign companies and Governments to sustain their lavish lifestyles at the expense of the Iranian people. It didn’t seem to disturb them that the country was increasingly falling under the control of foreign powers as long as they were rewarded for it, much in the same way that the weyane clique is exploiting Ethiopia now.

The British Government had seized the opportunity to purchase concessions to explore, process and export oil on substantially favourable terms to the British. This deal was to haunt Iran for generations to come and ultimately shackle Iran to Imperialist Britain. The company that exploited Iran ’s oil in partnership with the British Government was called Anglo Persian oil Company later renamed Anglo Iranian Oil Company and then British Petroleum (BP).

The Iranians realised the injustice that was perpetrated on them but were either powerless or too corrupt to do anything about it, until that is Mohammed Mossadegh took up the fight. “Mossadegh was devastated by his countrymen’s failure to rise up in righteous anger against the Anglo-Persian Agreement”. [2] Mossadegh’s motivation was not financial but the well being of his country which set him apart from other Iranian leaders.

Mossadegh became a member of the Majlis (Parliament) in 1924 where he highlighted the problems facing Iran . He once said “If bringing prosperity to the country through the work of other nations were of benefit to the people, every nation would have invited foreigners into its home. If subjugation were beneficial, no subjugated country would have tried to liberate itself through bloody wars and heavy losses.”[3] Mossadegh proved to be a thorn in the side of the corrupt ruling elite that had sucked the life out of the ordinary Iranian. For this reason he was not able to progress in his political life so long as he opposed the interests of the self serving minority that run the country. Mossadegh nevertheless marched on emboldened by the “Awakening nationalism and political consciousness”[4] of the Iranian masses.

The British Government and the AIOC were not only draining the country of its major asset but had restricted the Iranians from acquiring the skills to enable them to run their oil industry. As if that was not bad enough they went even further down the exploitation path by not allowing the Iranians to audit the books, and treating Iranian oil workers as sub-human beings, in effect barring them from owning their resources and the right to benefit from it. Most Iranians saw the oil company as a “thriving state within a stricken state.”[5]As talk of nationalisation of the AIOC gathered pace, the British resolve to hold on to their gains in Iran strengthened. Nevertheless Iran nationalised the oil industry in 1951, renaming the company ‘The National Iranian Oil Company’. Mossadegh summed up the country’s situation when he spoke at the U.N headquarters in New York in 1951 saying

“My countrymen lack the bare necessities of existence. Their standard of living is probably one of the lowest in the world. Our greatest natural asset is oil. This should be the source of work and food for the population of Iran . Its exploitation should properly be our national industry, and the revenue from it should go to improve our conditions of life. As now organized, however, the petroleum industry has contributed practically nothing to the well-being of the people or to the technical progress or industrial development of my country. The evidence for that statement is that after fifty years of exploitation by a foreign company, we still do not have enough Iranian technicians and must call in foreign experts……”[6]

Britain had perfected its colonisation skills by the time it had taken over Iran . It was adept at manipulating subjugated nations to forward its own interests at the expense of the indigenous people, it was after all known as the British Empire that had grown fat through exploitation and deception. Winston Churchill a product of the imperial generation described the oil bonanza in Iran as “a prize from fairyland beyond our wildest dreams.”[7]

Britain started covert and overt operations to try and remove Mossadegh’s administration by force. To have any chance of success it had to involve the U.S. It is an Irony that Britain at that time was nationalising its own industries but could not tolerate another sovereign country to do the same with its own industry. The U.S had been hesitant to get involved initially but had changed course after the Second World War under the leadership of President Dwight Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers in charge of the CIA and the State department. Coincidentally the Dulles brothers who were described as fierce Cold War Warriors were instrumental in the illegal annexation of Eritrea by Ethiopia . John Foster Dulles was quoted as saying “From the point of view of justice, the opinion of the Eritrean people must receive consideration. Nevertheless, the strategic interests of the United States in the Red Sea Basin and world peace make it necessary that the country be linked with our ally Ethiopia .”[8] That unjust policy remains to be the default position of the U.S to this day.

The British used every dirty trick in the book to try to subvert Mossadegh’s administration. All their operations were directed by staff working at the British Embassy in Tehran . Their strategy of destabilising Iran was cunningly devised to inflict pain on the Iranian people thereby breaking their will. This was to be achieved by crippling Iran ’s economy by “making it impossible for the National Iranian Oil Company to function”[9] while at the same time forming clandestine networks that would undermine the authority of the Majlis. The British were bribing key figures in the country in order to help them remove Mossadegh from power, until diplomatic links between Iran and Britain were severed by Mossadegh towards the end of 1952. Eisenhower’s election in November 1952 alongside the Dulles brothers propelled the Americans to take the leading role in planning the removal of Mossadegh.

Kermit Roosevelt the grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt was appointed as the CIA field commander who would oversee the whole operation from inside Iran . The future Prime Minister of Iran General Zahedi had already been nominated and primed by way of bribes to assist the British restore their colonial power in Iran . The clandestine network of paid subversive elements made up of members of the “armed forces, the Majlis, religious leaders, the press, street gangs, politicians, and other influential figures”[10] built up by the British was still intact and so was easily reactivated by Roosevelt . The Americans named the coup ‘Operation Ajax’ and had approved the dispatch of $1 million to the CIA station in Tehran to finance it. The coup was meticulously planned by personnel working at the highest level in the American Administration. In those days Iranians had great respect for the Americans believing that they would side with them in their struggle against Britain . Ultimately it was that naivety in believing in the Americans that lost them their freedom and their struggle.

The coup was designed to look like the people had had enough of Mossadegh and decided to revolt against his administration. The CIA’s covert plan was to mobilise paid thugs in order to create havoc in the streets whilst chanting pro Mossadegh slogans. This was to create confusion amongst the masses, whilst the plotters were busy in the background orchestrating the final blow that would see the fall of Mossadegh. The press under the direct influence of the CIA played a major part in the process of dislocating the people from its government. Articles that appeared in the daily papers were usually written by agents whose main task was to create instability by way of fear and paranoia amongst the masses.

Iran became the launching pad for the U.S hegemonic dreams, using defence against communism as its pretext. It is sad to see that the developing world is still faced with these cunningly deceptive and exploitative powers till this present day. Other countries in the Middle East, South America and Africa are still being manipulated for the benefit of the rich and powerful elite in the so called developed nations. The methods used by the British and the Americans can be described as ‘Psychological Warfare’, designed to intimidate and ultimately subjugate nations that decide to choose their own destiny. Eritrea ’s current situation in terms of its desire to create a viable nation in the face of American intervention is comparable to Iran ’s past and present circumstance.

Eritrea at the present moment is much stronger than Iran was in 1953, in terms of national cohesion, strong leadership and common identity, created as a result of our common struggle against oppression. Our independence was not offered to us on a silver plate, but was gained through hard sacrifice. It is for this reason that we have been able to withstand external interference without tearing at the seams. The armed conflicts and psychological warfare designed to break the will of our nation hasn’t worked, on the contrary it has enabled us to focus more intensely on the task of nation building. The current ‘Warsay-Yik’alo’ programme is a testament of Eritrea ’s strength. As Eritrean Nationals who live in the Diaspora, we must do all we can to support our country now, so that in the future we can live in a country that is both viable and sustainable.




	Same game, different name, America ’s hegemonic dream By Yonas Goitom Leaders of third world nations who work in the interest of their people have never been favoured by western powers as it is in direct conflict with their own interests. In fact they are either directly removed using pretexts that supposedly justify their removal or indirectly, by creating friction among the people of the target nation and thereby weakening national unity. History is a testament to this fact. Africa, the Middle East, south America have all experienced this brutal strategy, which up until today is the modus operandi. This article deals with the overthrow of Iran ’s government in 1953, its consequences on the Iranian people, and it’s relevance to our historical and contemporary political circumstance. Eritrea through the decades has learned to stand up for itself, totally reliant on its resilient and industrious people.. All the Shah’s men written by ‘Stephen Kinzer’ describes ‘how the CIA overthrew Iran's first democratically elected government in order to restore the Shah, and get U.S. oil companies to obtain the exclusive oil concession the Brits had had up until that point.’ [1] The overthrow of Prime Minister Mossadegh was the culmination of a ruthless campaign to steal Iran ’s oil resources. The British alongside other powers of that era had become accustomed to pilfering poorer nation’s wealth. The British Empire had amassed great wealth as a result of such practice stretching back hundreds of years. The only reason the British and the Russians could get a foothold in Iran was due to the weakness and self serving nature of its ruling elite especially the Qajar dynasty. They ruled Iran from the late 18th century to early 20th century. The Qajars sold off the country’s assets to foreign companies and Governments to sustain their lavish lifestyles at the expense of the Iranian people. It didn’t seem to disturb them that the country was increasingly falling under the control of foreign powers as long as they were rewarded for it, much in the same way that the weyane clique is exploiting Ethiopia now. The British Government had seized the opportunity to purchase concessions to explore, process and export oil on substantially favourable terms to the British. This deal was to haunt Iran for generations to come and ultimately shackle Iran to Imperialist Britain. The company that exploited Iran ’s oil in partnership with the British Government was called Anglo Persian oil Company later renamed Anglo Iranian Oil Company and then British Petroleum (BP). The Iranians realised the injustice that was perpetrated on them but were either powerless or too corrupt to do anything about it, until that is Mohammed Mossadegh took up the fight. “Mossadegh was devastated by his countrymen’s failure to rise up in righteous anger against the Anglo-Persian Agreement”. [2] Mossadegh’s motivation was not financial but the well being of his country which set him apart from other Iranian leaders. Mossadegh became a member of the Majlis (Parliament) in 1924 where he highlighted the problems facing Iran . He once said “If bringing prosperity to the country through the work of other nations were of benefit to the people, every nation would have invited foreigners into its home. If subjugation were beneficial, no subjugated country would have tried to liberate itself through bloody wars and heavy losses.”[3] Mossadegh proved to be a thorn in the side of the corrupt ruling elite that had sucked the life out of the ordinary Iranian. For this reason he was not able to progress in his political life so long as he opposed the interests of the self serving minority that run the country. Mossadegh nevertheless marched on emboldened by the “Awakening nationalism and political consciousness”[4] of the Iranian masses. The British Government and the AIOC were not only draining the country of its major asset but had restricted the Iranians from acquiring the skills to enable them to run their oil industry. As if that was not bad enough they went even further down the exploitation path by not allowing the Iranians to audit the books, and treating Iranian oil workers as sub-human beings, in effect barring them from owning their resources and the right to benefit from it. Most Iranians saw the oil company as a “thriving state within a stricken state.”[5]As talk of nationalisation of the AIOC gathered pace, the British resolve to hold on to their gains in Iran strengthened. Nevertheless Iran nationalised the oil industry in 1951, renaming the company ‘The National Iranian Oil Company’. Mossadegh summed up the country’s situation when he spoke at the U.N headquarters in New York in 1951 saying “My countrymen lack the bare necessities of existence. Their standard of living is probably one of the lowest in the world. Our greatest natural asset is oil. This should be the source of work and food for the population of Iran . Its exploitation should properly be our national industry, and the revenue from it should go to improve our conditions of life. As now organized, however, the petroleum industry has contributed practically nothing to the well-being of the people or to the technical progress or industrial development of my country. The evidence for that statement is that after fifty years of exploitation by a foreign company, we still do not have enough Iranian technicians and must call in foreign experts……”[6] Britain had perfected its colonisation skills by the time it had taken over Iran . It was adept at manipulating subjugated nations to forward its own interests at the expense of the indigenous people, it was after all known as the British Empire that had grown fat through exploitation and deception. Winston Churchill a product of the imperial generation described the oil bonanza in Iran as “a prize from fairyland beyond our wildest dreams.”[7] Britain started covert and overt operations to try and remove Mossadegh’s administration by force. To have any chance of success it had to involve the U.S. It is an Irony that Britain at that time was nationalising its own industries but could not tolerate another sovereign country to do the same with its own industry. The U.S had been hesitant to get involved initially but had changed course after the Second World War under the leadership of President Dwight Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers in charge of the CIA and the State department. Coincidentally the Dulles brothers who were described as fierce Cold War Warriors were instrumental in the illegal annexation of Eritrea by Ethiopia . John Foster Dulles was quoted as saying “From the point of view of justice, the opinion of the Eritrean people must receive consideration. Nevertheless, the strategic interests of the United States in the Red Sea Basin and world peace make it necessary that the country be linked with our ally Ethiopia .”[8] That unjust policy remains to be the default position of the U.S to this day. The British used every dirty trick in the book to try to subvert Mossadegh’s administration. All their operations were directed by staff working at the British Embassy in Tehran . Their strategy of destabilising Iran was cunningly devised to inflict pain on the Iranian people thereby breaking their will. This was to be achieved by crippling Iran ’s economy by “making it impossible for the National Iranian Oil Company to function”[9] while at the same time forming clandestine networks that would undermine the authority of the Majlis. The British were bribing key figures in the country in order to help them remove Mossadegh from power, until diplomatic links between Iran and Britain were severed by Mossadegh towards the end of 1952. Eisenhower’s election in November 1952 alongside the Dulles brothers propelled the Americans to take the leading role in planning the removal of Mossadegh. Kermit Roosevelt the grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt was appointed as the CIA field commander who would oversee the whole operation from inside Iran . The future Prime Minister of Iran General Zahedi had already been nominated and primed by way of bribes to assist the British restore their colonial power in Iran . The clandestine network of paid subversive elements made up of members of the “armed forces, the Majlis, religious leaders, the press, street gangs, politicians, and other influential figures”[10] built up by the British was still intact and so was easily reactivated by Roosevelt . The Americans named the coup ‘Operation Ajax’ and had approved the dispatch of $1 million to the CIA station in Tehran to finance it. The coup was meticulously planned by personnel working at the highest level in the American Administration. In those days Iranians had great respect for the Americans believing that they would side with them in their struggle against Britain . Ultimately it was that naivety in believing in the Americans that lost them their freedom and their struggle. The coup was designed to look like the people had had enough of Mossadegh and decided to revolt against his administration. The CIA’s covert plan was to mobilise paid thugs in order to create havoc in the streets whilst chanting pro Mossadegh slogans. This was to create confusion amongst the masses, whilst the plotters were busy in the background orchestrating the final blow that would see the fall of Mossadegh. The press under the direct influence of the CIA played a major part in the process of dislocating the people from its government. Articles that appeared in the daily papers were usually written by agents whose main task was to create instability by way of fear and paranoia amongst the masses. Iran became the launching pad for the U.S hegemonic dreams, using defence against communism as its pretext. It is sad to see that the developing world is still faced with these cunningly deceptive and exploitative powers till this present day. Other countries in the Middle East, South America and Africa are still being manipulated for the benefit of the rich and powerful elite in the so called developed nations. The methods used by the British and the Americans can be described as ‘Psychological Warfare’, designed to intimidate and ultimately subjugate nations that decide to choose their own destiny. Eritrea ’s current situation in terms of its desire to create a viable nation in the face of American intervention is comparable to Iran ’s past and present circumstance. Eritrea at the present moment is much stronger than Iran was in 1953, in terms of national cohesion, strong leadership and common identity, created as a result of our common struggle against oppression. Our independence was not offered to us on a silver plate, but was gained through hard sacrifice. It is for this reason that we have been able to withstand external interference without tearing at the seams. The armed conflicts and psychological warfare designed to break the will of our nation hasn’t worked, on the contrary it has enabled us to focus more intensely on the task of nation building. The current ‘Warsay-Yik’alo’ programme is a testament of Eritrea ’s strength. As Eritrean Nationals who live in the Diaspora, we must do all we can to support our country now, so that in the future we can live in a country that is both viable and sustainable. Reference 1 The Lessons of History: "All The Shah's Men" BUZZFLASH READER REVIEW 2 All the Shah’s Men p 56 3 “ “ p 59 4 “ “ p 77 5 “ “ p95 6 “ “ p123 7 All The Shah’s Men p39 8 The Unites States commits another historic mistake in the horn of Africa (Meadna Editorial) 9 All The Shah’s Men p115 10 “ “ p151