Mistaking the War on Terror
Parastou Youssefi
Issue date: 11/8/06 Section: Op-Ed
- Page 1 of 3 next >
Some at KSG (re: "KSG Liberals: Get Real on Terrorism") offer a one-dimensional and crude reason for Iran's (and the region's) current state of affairs and policies: religion. They choose to ignore the complex and nuanced history of post-colonial power plays and Western energy dependence.
Religion's appeal, or rather the notion of a "clash of civilizations," lies in its convenient and simplistic view of the world explained by archaic Cold War (re)formulations. It is easier to blame Islam than to do a more thorough analysis.
Let's get one thing straight: this current "war on terrorism"-or rather war on Islam as is manifested- has nothing to do with religion. There is no ideological clash between West and East or between Christianity and Islam. Rather this conflict is about land, power, and money, a fact too often ignored and underestimated by myopic US foreign policy debates.
Take August 1953, a date that is ingrained in the historical consciousness of 70 million Iranians. This date marks the CIA-led coup of the first democratically elected leader, Mohammad Mossadeq, after his decision to nationalize oil. After generations of rule by a despotic monarchy, Iranians had elected their own ruler with the hope of progress, autonomy and freedom.
And the American government crushed that hope.
The people of Iran were then subjected to a repressive, corrupt dictator in US-backed Reza Pahlavi (the Shah), who led killing sprees by his notorious secret police SAVAK to maintain power.
Fast forward to 1979, when the Iranian revolution deposed the Shah. A charismatic leader emerged who promised democracy and freedom, an end to the totalitarian days of the Shah and political choice for the Iranian people. But as soon as Ayatollah Khomeini came to power, he revealed his authoritarian intentions and solidified his brutal dictatorship during the eight arduous years of the Iran-Iraq war.
The consequences of that fateful 1953 coup are not confined to Iran alone. Authoritarian, US-backed regimes exist in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq. And here we are in 2006 facing an Iranian leader who has nuclear ambitions, continues the repressive tradition of his predecessors, and spews ideological -- including anti-Israeli -- rhetoric.
Religion's appeal, or rather the notion of a "clash of civilizations," lies in its convenient and simplistic view of the world explained by archaic Cold War (re)formulations. It is easier to blame Islam than to do a more thorough analysis.
Let's get one thing straight: this current "war on terrorism"-or rather war on Islam as is manifested- has nothing to do with religion. There is no ideological clash between West and East or between Christianity and Islam. Rather this conflict is about land, power, and money, a fact too often ignored and underestimated by myopic US foreign policy debates.
Take August 1953, a date that is ingrained in the historical consciousness of 70 million Iranians. This date marks the CIA-led coup of the first democratically elected leader, Mohammad Mossadeq, after his decision to nationalize oil. After generations of rule by a despotic monarchy, Iranians had elected their own ruler with the hope of progress, autonomy and freedom.
And the American government crushed that hope.
The people of Iran were then subjected to a repressive, corrupt dictator in US-backed Reza Pahlavi (the Shah), who led killing sprees by his notorious secret police SAVAK to maintain power.
Fast forward to 1979, when the Iranian revolution deposed the Shah. A charismatic leader emerged who promised democracy and freedom, an end to the totalitarian days of the Shah and political choice for the Iranian people. But as soon as Ayatollah Khomeini came to power, he revealed his authoritarian intentions and solidified his brutal dictatorship during the eight arduous years of the Iran-Iraq war.
The consequences of that fateful 1953 coup are not confined to Iran alone. Authoritarian, US-backed regimes exist in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq. And here we are in 2006 facing an Iranian leader who has nuclear ambitions, continues the repressive tradition of his predecessors, and spews ideological -- including anti-Israeli -- rhetoric.
Be the first to comment on this story