David wrote:

On Sat, 23 Apr 2005 15:06:25 GMT, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote

Operation Ajax
Operation Ajax (1953) (officially TP-AJAX) was an Anglo-American
covert operation to overthrow the then-government of Iran and Prime
Minister Mohammed Mossadegh and restore the exiled Shah Mohammed Reza
Pahlavi to the throne.

Rationale for the intervention included Mossadegh's socialist rhetoric
and his nationalization, without compensation, of the oil industry
which was previously operated by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. The
newly state-owned oil companies saw a sharp drop in productivity and,
consequently, exports; this resulted in the Abadan Crisis, a situation
that was further aggravated by a British-imposed economic blockade
intended to coerce Mossadegh into reprivatization. In addition, the
appropriation of the companies resulted in Western allegations that
Mossadegh was a Communist and suspicions that Iran was in danger of
falling under the influences of the neighboring Soviet Union. But
Mossadegh refused to back down under international pressure.

A significant reason for the coup was an oil deal whereby the UK and
the U.S. divided Iranian oil while giving minor pieces to Dutch and
French interests. For the U.S., another important factor was Iran's
border with the Soviet Union. A pro-American Iran under the Shah would
give the U.S. a double strategic advantage in the ensuing Cold War, as
a NATO alliance was already in effect with the government of Turkey,
also bordering the USSR.

In planning the operation, the CIA organized a guerrilla force in case
the Stalinist Tudeh Party seized power as a result of the chaos
created by Operation Ajax. According to formerly "Top Secret"
documents released by the National Security Archive, Undersecretary of
State Walter Smith reported that the CIA had reached an agreement with
Qashqai tribal leaders in southern Iran to establish a clandestine
safe haven from which U.S.-funded guerrillas and intelligence agents
could operate.

Operation Ajax was the first time the Central Intelligence Agency
orchestrated a plot to overthrow a democratically-elected government.
The success of this operation, and its relatively low cost, encouraged
the CIA to successfully carry out a similar operation in Guatemala a
year later. However, many historians argue that dissatisfaction with
the reinstalled Shah led directly to the 1979 Islamic Revolution in
Iran. Iran has not returned to democracy since Mossadegh's overthrow;
Western countries have raised serious concerns about its potential
development of nuclear weapons and continuing support for anti-Israeli
Islamic terror groups, particularly the Lebanese Hezbollah.

The leader of Operation Ajax was Kermit Roosevelt, Jr., a senior CIA
agent, and grandson of the former President of the United States
Theodore Roosevelt. While formal leadership was vested in Kim
Roosevelt the project was designed and executed by Donald Wilber, a
career contract CIA agent and acclaimed author of books on Iran,
Afghanistan and Ceylon.

Payback's a mother****er.



Still too cowardly to answer my questions?

You better watch out for that MF, with your sick view of the world.

--
Former professional electron wrangler.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida