Most Americans do not know that the U.S. overthrew democracy in Iran in 1953 with the covert operation that took down Muhammad Mossadeq, a populist. All Iranians are all too aware of US intervention. That coup, like others, largely utilized the power of press in creating false reports to sway public opinion. Today countries like Iran, Venezuela, Sudan, and other non-state actors deal with incessant and deliberate propaganda. The CIA's 1953 overthrow of the elected leader of Iran, Mohammad Mossadegh was preceded by a media smear campaign by the CIA, which is estimated to have controlled 4/5 of Tehran's newspapers. Such a high degree of control and the fact that the CIA "succeeded" in its mission is enough to make you question how much influence and control the CIA has over the American politicians and media.
Latin America has largely woken up to this reality after 50-plus years of such distorted reality. As we see the Obama Administration return to "smart power" calls for the use of clandestine power over raw force, we will also see the return of "human rights" agendas. Human Rights is a convenient platform for criticism of people like Ahmadinejad or Hugo Chavez, but never about US puppets and allies. It is important that people seek verification and depth in dealing with the media. With regard to the Iranian conflict, something we will cover in detail as time goes on, we have posted a relevent, albeit slightly skewed, lecture recently held at the Middle East Institute below.
Summary:
The Middle East Institute is proud to host a discussion with Trita Parsi and Michael Singh on the prospects for a diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear crisis in the wake of recently imposed UN and US sanctions. Their discussion will draw upon a forthcoming Middle East Journal article entitled "The Case Against the Case Against Iran" written pseudonymously by a European diplomat, who argues for greater engagement by regional actors like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Russia and China to mediate and mitigate Iran's nuclear ambitions. What are the next steps the U.S. and the international community should be taking? Parsi and Singh will shed light on strategies under consideration.
Summary:
The Middle East Institute is proud to host a discussion with Trita Parsi and Michael Singh on the prospects for a diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear crisis in the wake of recently imposed UN and US sanctions. Their discussion will draw upon a forthcoming Middle East Journal article entitled "The Case Against the Case Against Iran" written pseudonymously by a European diplomat, who argues for greater engagement by regional actors like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Russia and China to mediate and mitigate Iran's nuclear ambitions. What are the next steps the U.S. and the international community should be taking? Parsi and Singh will shed light on strategies under consideration.
0 comments:
Post a Comment