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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Rational Iran and the Great Power Games

 Since the 1950’s when the CIA under the leadership of covert operatives F. Roosevelt Jr and Schwarzkopf Sr. initiated a coup against the Iranian Nationalist leader Mossadegh to install the Shah of Iran who was more "sympathetic" to our oil interest,  the US has been playing games in Iran. Along with the US geopolitical partners - Britain, Russia, France, Russia, and Israel---Iran became a pawn as well as major power player in the Middle East for the next sixty five years. Not once in that period of time under Iran’s respective leaders—Shah Pahlavi, Ayatollah Khomeini and his son Ayatollah Khameini and President Ahmadenijad has there been any evidence of "irrational" or "crazy" thinking. In fact, Iran's leaders, except for the Shah, who was exceedingly weak and not very bright, have shown an uncanny ability to manipulate the US, Britain, and Israel into varying positions of confrontation and eventual cooperation.

During the brutal reign of the Shah and SAVAK (Iranian intel), the Iranian clergy convinced the CIA to place the Ayatollah Khomeini under safe keeping with our once ‘helpful’ ally Saddam Hussein for protection against SAVAK. In 1979, the Iranian clergy convinced our CIA again to return Khomeini to Iran where he was eventually installed as the leader of Iran after having overthrown the Shah without the help of the CIA who was completely caught off guard. In 1979, I had, as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under the Carter Administration, four hundred members of our US Embassy of whom only eight spoke Farsi. Despite the entreaties by Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher that Ayatollah Khomeini was ‘crazy’,  I tried to explain to him that he was extremely ‘sane’ and would ‘carry out’ his long espoused agenda of making Iran into an Islamic State for the next six hundred years. Weeks later, the Iran Hostage began for the second time. Before the infamous Iranian Hostage Siege that began in April 30, 1980 and lasted for years, there was actually a hostage siege before that where our brave Ambassador Sullivan was taken hostage in his own house, again as a result of faulty US intelligence, specifically manipulated by a very effective Iranian Revolutionary Guard counter –intelligence effort. 

The American hostages were released by Reagan on his inaugural day- no one had been aware that there had been illegal negotiations undertaken for months prior to the official release of the hostages which Reagan and other Republicans had initiated against the protests of Democratic officials in the Carter administration . The nefarious individuals involved in this illegal activity would become prominent in subsequent Republican administrations including Elliot Abrams, Paul Wolfowitz, and Richard Perle and many others. The Iran Contra Affair was an outcome of this intrigue involving American officials, Israel and the cunning ability of the Iranians to compromise everyone involved. 

This cunning behavior of Iran would eventually lead to a war with Iraq for geopolitical concerns in which both the US and Israeli governments played integral parts. The First Iran-Iraq War [1980-1988] was directly precipitated by Secretary of State George Shultz, [my boss at the time], Ambassador Zalmay Khalizad [ an Afghani neocon and CIA asset] and SecDef Donald Rumsfeld, all of whom with Reagan’s administration support allowed Saddam Hussein to employ gas warfare. Our military supplied Saddam with Fighter Jets and in certain cases we even flew for the Iraqis against Iranian pilots. But what made this war particularly revealing of the underlying hypocrisy was the fact that with our encouragement [read Republican Neocons] Israel supplied the necessary ammunition, airplanes and even flew the F-4 Phantoms and F-5 Tiger planes for Ayatollah Khomeini. The idea of encouraging this war between Iraq and Iran for almost ten years, where countless millions of children, men and women died needlessly, was the strategy espoused by both Israel and the US, that it would benefit both countries if Iran and Iraq were weakened and Israel remained the predominant ‘democratic’ power in the Middle East.

 For eight years Israel and their ‘inhumane’ Zionist leaders were in fact aiding and abetting the ‘crazy’ Iranian Ayatollahs and mullahs to vanquish a secular “Baathist Regime’. So again, there is no evidence up to this time that Israel nor Iran have considered each other barbaric or insane. In fact, what we see at this point in history and even later , is that Iran needs Israel and Israel needs Iran. One without the other cannot create the necessary ‘strategic tension’ in the Middle East to counter the power of Saudi Arabia or Turkey [both Sunni countries]. Then we enter the Second Persian War under Bush Sr which again was initiated under false pretenses. But that’s another story for the moment. And once again, Israeli fighter pilots [ in secret of course] fly US fighter jets and other unmarked planes attacking Iraqi bases in the Bush Sr’s ‘unified coalition’ for democracy and peace. That was lasted less than thirty –six hours. The next encounter that we have involving Israel, Iran and the US is the continuing conflict in Syria where it’s such a bouillabaisse of confusion and misperceptions that Israel realizes that if Bashir Assad is overthrown then Israel's fate will be completely determined by Iranian hegemony. Something Israel cannot manipulate.

 So what is the next pretext for a neocon /Israeli inspired war? A fictional narrative created around the Iranian nuclear bomb. In reality, if Israel were really worried about an “Arab Bomb’ then they should attack the failing –state of Pakistan which has in fact hundreds of atomic bombs. Furthermore , unlike Iran, Pakistan is really controlled by fanatical Sunni/Salafist Radicals funded by the Saudi family. So why doesn't Israel even mention Pakistan as a potential problem? There lies the question of the distortions and fabrication of Iran’s presumed threat . Pakistan and Israel have worked very closely along with US and CIA encouragement to develop Pakistan’s infamous arsenal, presumably aimed only at India. Of course, this is nonsense. But nonsense, lies and contradictions and geopolitical interests has never never stopped the Israelis or the Iranians or the Americans or the Saudis. The only difference with Israel is that it is becoming a ‘failed state’ soon to be abandoned by the USG geopolitical interest, soon to be left alone in a paranoid world in which they helped to foment the unrests and dangers that paranoids always fear. For in the world of psychiatry and intelligence, we have a saying, “Paranoids really do have enemies". But this time Israel cannot use the “Holocaust Raison D’etre" since they helped create that one too.

5 comments:

  1. Wow. fascinating. In spite of your credentials and experience, you seem amazingly well grounded and honest. Wonder if you consider that this is all spiritual warfare.

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  2. I agree, the best evidence currently available is that the Iranian leadership is rational.

    I agree, all parties (mentioned above) in the region want a level of tension, each for their own perceived reasons & interests. I also agree, this contrived tension is spinning out of control and the Netanyahu administration is pushing the brink. It does not serve the best interests of Israel. (There are millions of innocent Israelis, who are not a party to this dangerous game.) It does not serve the best interests of the United States.

    Netanyahu, by continually pushing and threatening war, and AIPAC, by encouraging Netanyahu, is not helping Israel, in my opinion.

    My idea for the purpose of international diplomatic relations is to reduce tension, turn down the temperature on the "pressure cooker" rather than stoke the fire which can lead to catastrophic explosion. In other words, peaceful intercourse between nations.

    I agree, the neoconservatives' foreign policy is fundamentally at odds with lowering the temperature on the "pressure cooker" in international relations and, frankly, in my opinion, is a threat to the American constitutional, representative republic.

    I respect your personal experience. My research is limited to what I can find on the internet, however, I wonder if you were compartmentalized regarding the role of the CIA in the removal of the Shah and the installation of Ayatollah Khomeini. The information I have found suggests the U. S. government became aware the Shah had cancer and took the opportunity to install Khomeini (the Shah was becoming too independent and too much of a nationalist for the Elites' purposes) -- with Khomeini cooperating with the Elites' goals much more than is generally known, i.e., heroin production (by which the Elites profited) jumped in Iran after Khomeini was installed, nuclear energy research was curtailed, and liberal intellectuals were repressed: The Elite wanted a backward Iran and Khomeini was accommodating in this regard (some evidence, I don't know how reliable, suggests Khomeini was a long-term British asset).

    Be that as it may:

    I agree, the ultimate goal from the U. S. and leading NATO powers perspective of the Iraq - Iran war was to weaken both countries, so as to allow Western domination of the region and give Israel a stronger position, as a regional power.

    This is a tragedy because America can trade and have diplomatic relations with a healthy, self-confident Middle East on a Win/Win basis. Persia can be a positive contributor to a healthy and prosperous Middle East, which includes a secure Israel (for the sake of the innocent).

    It is not a zero-sum game, in my opinion, as opposed to how the neocons view international relations where there are only winners and losers. The neocon view is a failure of imagination (or, perhaps, it is a narrow vision induced by fanatical support of Israel).

    America can take foreign governments where we find them, in the state they are in, and engage diplomatically with those governments, without promises of support or threats of overthrow. This is the best foreign policy.

    This is not isolation, but direct diplomatic relations.

    At the current point in world affairs, stopping an Israeli - Iran war is the highest priority because it could drag the U. S. into a regional war causing economic depression at home (and a possible police state) and if things really go off the deep end, world war.

    Stopping the possiblity of World War is my redline.



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  3. And Romney's Dream Team - loves! ......Torture.
    According to this anyway!
    http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/09/romney-advisers-write-error-ridden-pro-torture-memo
    Civilized and decent people do not agree with torture.
    I think you yourself, Mr Pieczenik, have views about it and its usefulness.


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  4. Dr. Pieczenik,

    I have a different story to tell you. Khomeini was in the south of France (Provence) before the January 1979 coup. The CIA was in touch with Khomeini and his followers there, teaching them street guerrilla tactics for their return to Iran, tactics to help them quickly gain the favor of the people. They helped him return. I overheard this the summer of 1979 at a state department cocktail party in Tangiers from two agents who were too drunk to be careful (they were introduced to me earlier as USAID something or others, but the Consul inadvertently revealed otherwise). It was late in the evening. These loose lips were lamenting how Khomeini backstabbed them; every 7 oz glass of scotch brought out more facts between themselves (I read lips). After hearing your Sept. 16 Alex Jones interview, I realize, now, after all these years that I was probably listening to two of the 4,000 agents Carter kicked out.

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    1. I just looked it up on
      http://imam-khomeini.com/web1/english/showitem.aspx?cid=1352&h=13&f=14&pid=1445

      It says:

      "The Shah demanded and received cooperation from the Iraqi regime and the Imam was expelled on 3 October 1978.

      Migration (Oct. 3, 1978-Feb. 1, 1979)
      Imam Khomeini set out for Kuwait on October 3rd 1978 but was denied entry by the government. After consulting with his son, Ahamad, the Imam decided to go to France where he arrived on October 5th and a few days later took up residence in the small village of Neuphle le Chateau."

      But I heard training was in Provence.

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