Does anyone here remember the disposal of the Shah of Iran?

[CatWoman]

Exactly what went on there?

I wasn't into world events then, but I do remember him coming here for cancer treatment.

I understand that if his son returns to Iran, he will immediately be put to death.

[Punkingal]

1. He fled the country when Khomeni took over..

and was in Mexico, but no one really wanted to give him asylum. When Jimmy Carter allowed him to come here for cancer treatment, they took over our embassy in Iran, leading to the hostage crisis, and Carter's defeat. (At the time, the news programs every night said, "This is the ___ day of the hostage crisis." Imagine if they had that on there about how many days Osama has been free!)

[CatWoman]

2. I remember that -- it was the birth of "Nightline"

but what prompted the Iranian people to turn against him like that did?

I remember the Ayatollah taking power, but I thought that was after the Shah fled.

[Jacobin]

4. His secret police force "Savak" was

brutal and killed and tortured dissenters. He had a military dictatorship kinda like Saddam's but he was friendly to the U.S. so we thought it was cool.

They deposed him gleefully and an ayatollah came to power. This is the blueprint for what will happen in Iraq IMHO.

[DinahMoeHum]

3. The year was 1979 - the Shah left Iran in January of that year. . .

and the hostage crisis began in November of that year.

The Ayatollah Khomeini had spurred on his followers and other resisters of the Shah's regime through the use of cassette tapes smuggled into the country from France, his place of exile.

Many Iranians consider what happened in the months and years that followed as payback for the US-CIA-sponsored overthrow of their democratically-elected president Mossadegh in 1953. Even today, the repercussions of that time can still be felt - and the Iranians have ver-r-r-r-r-y long memories.

Unfortunately, the neo-cons in the US have a very long memory as well, but it only stretches back to 1979 and what they look upon as humiliation of the US since then. All this shit about PNAC, arming Saddam Hussein, sending troops into Lebanon (and retreating after that barracks bombing in October 1983) is basically about REVENGE for what happened to Americans in that part of the planet for over 20 years. They're very big on revenge. Just ask PNACers like Michael Ledeen.

As far as the son of the Shah is concerned, hardly anybody in Iran wants a return to those days - even if they today protest against the harsher measures of their theocratic government.

:evilfrown:

[yellowcanine]

5. I suspect you mean deposal

I doubt he ended up like Jimmy Hoffa in a landfill in New Jersey.

[CatWoman]

6. well either way you look at it

he was disposed and deposed.

that's what they do to despots :P

[kcwayne]

7. The Shah was a well connected dictator

By well connected, I mean that he had lots of friends here in the US because he was doing alot of business with Ross Perot's EDS, oil companies, etc.

He professed to be trying to move Iran into the 20th century, towards a democratic and secular state. Of course this was BS that was used to sell the US support of this sadistic dictator that violated human rights at the drop of a hat. It was this support of a brutal dictator that was despised by most Iranians that led to the daily chants of "Death to America" in Iran's mosques. It is yet another shining example of the grotesque hypocrisy of US foreign policy.

He viewed himself as a modern day emperor, judging by his raid of the country's treasury, silly emperor fashions and countless palaces. He was a player in European and US social circles.

The Shah's downfall came from his oppression of the ayatollahs and use of brutal methods of torture and killing by his secret police. Iran was a country that wanted to embrace the 9th century Islamic version of society, with the mullahs leading the charge. The Shah tried to keep the peasants in their place with murder, terror, and torture. The ayatollahs won, and started their own cycle of murder, terror, and torture to compel Iranians to bend to the ayatollah's vision of Islam.