Please answer all of the questions below.
Use examples and details from the handouts & your notes to support your opinion
*this will be graded*
1. If the United States had not overthrown Mossadegh, do you think the history of terrorism would have turned out differently?
2. Americans generally don't know anything about the CIA coup against Mossadegh. Do you think if they did that they would understand events in the Middle East differently?
3. In Guatemala & Iran, the motivation for overthrow was publicly described as a desire to rid the countries of communism. However, did the U.S. misunderstand nationalism for communism?
4. What was the common denominator for the US activities in Hawaii, Cuba, Iran, and Guatemala?
1. If the United States had not overthrown Mossadegh, do you think the history of terrorism would have turned out differently?
ReplyDeleteYes I do because the US wouldn't be seen as the enemy in the Mideast for changing how those countries were run.
2. Americans generally don't know anything about the CIA coup against Mossadegh. Do you think if they did that they would understand events in the Middle East differently?
Yes I do believe that the would view the events in the middle east differently because they would have seen that none of that wouldn’t have happened if the US had not intervened. The US would also be on better terms with the Middle East had they not have gone and and overthrown the government.
3. In Guatemala & Iran, the motivation for overthrow was publicly described as a desire to rid the countries of communism. However, did the U.S. misunderstand nationalism for communism?
Yes the did. The US thought what was going on was communism when really it was nationalism. These countries were trying to expand and connect with the rest of the world.
4. What was the common denominator for the US activities in Hawaii, Cuba, Iran, and Guatemala?
All the conflicts were choices of the US to go in and change other countries governments in to democratic governments more like America. The US was also like to expand and gain more territory and companies.
If the US had not overthrown Mossadegh and replaced him with an authoritarian tyrant, there would be far less anti-American sentiment in Iran and the Middle East in general. Mossadegh was an ardent anti communist who feared the Soviet Union, and simply wanted to bring power back to the citizens of his nation. In replacing a democratically elected leader who was bringing about social and economic reforms with a tyrant, the US showed what it could do when it felt that its interests, and the interests of its allies were threatened. Not only that, but it left a feeling in the Middle East that the United States did not care about what government or country it affected, and was driven only by greed.
ReplyDeleteI think that the only way to truly learn about the Iran coup is to go through the CIA declassified documents from the time. I also think that Americans would understand why anti-US sentiment runs so high if there were more sources that could be easily accessible, such as books, articles, documentaries, interviews and even CIA documents.
The US did mistake nationalism for communism. However, they did so mainly because they had irrational fears towards Marxist ideals and also because they had been approached by large companies complaining about a rise in Marxist ideals in the country at the time. These two factors played a large part in the US mistaking the new ideas that were gripping these foreign nations.
US and other foreign companies had been exploiting these countries for years until a new leader arose and challenged their power, at which time the United States government intervened, deposed the government and replaced it with a new figurehead more friendly to its foreign interests.
Jherson-
ReplyDeleteIf the US did not overthrow Mossadegh and his government, i do think terrorism would of been different today. Iran could of been an Alley. The war in Iraq could have probably been avoided from that.
Since many Americans lack the knowledge of the overthrow of these democratic countries such as Iran, they see themselves as victims today in the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. Americans don't know that Dulles very sneaky and slick plans overthrew a country such as their own. A democratic, communist free country.
In Guatemala and Iran, i do believe the Americans misunderstood nationalism for communism. In my opinion i think the US feared communism so much that one little sign of it, threw them off in the mind and made them take charge against those countries.
The common denominator in countries such as Cuba, Iran, and Hawaii was the fear of communism. The US is fear of the "reds" was to much for them to hold back, so they overthrew governments using covert intelligence and military force.
1. If the U.S had not overthrown Mossadegh, I believe the history of terrorism would have turned out differently. If the Iranian democracy had been enable to thrive, it could have been a warning to the surrounding nations in the area and also would have led to a democracy there. However, it created a much different approach for Iran.
ReplyDelete2. Some examples that the Americans would have understood in the Middle East differently was not only when the Iranians had the strength to resist against the Shah, but also when their modern Government appeared as cruel individuals against the U.S, and also when a body of opposers seized American ambassadors hostage. I also agree with Lucas's statement that the U.S would comprehend why anti-Americans have escalated if there were more resources that could be easily available, such as books, articles, and other important sources.
3. The U.S did misunderstand nationalism for communism. For example, Arbenz was a dissident but he was also interested by Marxist beliefs. However, the first American mistake in considering Arbenz was to consider that he was guiding Guatemala toward Communism. Due to the Marxist ideas, the U.S was drawn by large businesses, protesting about the progress in the Marxist ideas.
4. The common denominator for the U.S activity in countries such as, Cuba, Iran, Hawaii, and Guatemala, was the fear of the spread of communism However, the main purpose that the U.S kept coming into other nations and disturbing their peace and attempting to make it an ideal country, was that the U.S could not fit themselves. In order to have success, they overthrew the foreign governments, by using "covert intelligence" and military power.
1. The United States overthrow of Mossadegh in Iran did affect Iran and the region. The installation of a government in Iran favorable to the United States was an important policy goal at the time. The U.S was most concerned with stopping the spread of communism, in particular in the oil rich Middle East. This result in Iran can not be seen as a sole cause of countries and organizations using terror to achieve their goals. While events in Iran eventually lead to the fall of the Shaw, terrorism in general as a tactic cannot be traced back to one single event.
ReplyDelete2. Americans' knowledge and understanding of the removal of Mossadegh from power may influence their view of events in the middle east. Having more information about a subject is usually better than have less information. However, American opinions about the middle east are based upon more than just a fact about coup in Iran that occurred more than 50 years ago. There are many other factors such as individual, political, economics, and religious that may effect a point of view. The Mossadegh coup cannot be viewed in isolation from other events of the time, in particular the Cold War. Events in the Middle East today are much more complex to be understood with regard to this long ago event.
3. Nationalist and communist movements in the twentieth century were often very similar. Nationalist ideas are extremely powerful in organizing various groups within a country towards the same political goal. Movements for independence from stronger powers often used nationalism to gain support within a country. This was certainly true in Iran and Guatemala. At the same time communist ideas were used to mobilize the people towards goals of Independence. The U.S sought to limit the spread of communist influence in countries such as Iran and Guatemala. While fighting against the communist political organizations there was certainly a battle against nationalist at the same time.
4. The United States had very strong economic interest in Iran, Guatemala, Cuba, and Hawaii. The United States wanted to protect and maintain these interests. At the same time the U.S had strong political reasons to want to maintain its control within each of these places. The U.S had an interest in maintaining stability in each of these regions in order to avoid the spread of anti-American influence to other countries within these regions.
Steve: 1. I believe that if the United States had never overthrown Mossadegh the history of terrorism would have turned out much better for America. When the U.S. decided to take down Mossadegh their alleged primary motive was communism oblivious to the fact that Iran was a newly formed Democratic nation. This being said the United States had an alternative motive being greed. Iran was rich with oil and that was what the United States truly sought after. Communism was simply an excuse to overthrow Mossadegh and take control of the valuable oil industry. If America had never made this unjustified invasion then there we be much less if any terrorist action.
ReplyDelete2. I think that if most Americans were aware of the CIA’s covert operation to overthrow Mossadegh they would feel a great deal of sympathy for Iran. However many Americans would feel no sorrow at all and just be happy they could prosper from this cruel takeover.
3. I am sure that the United States motivation to overthrow Iran being communism is completely false. Americas motivations were simply nationalism and selfishness. At this time in history the U.S. is a rapidly growing empire whose primary goal is to become the most dominant and powerful country in the world. In order to expand their empire the U.S. invaded and overthrew Arbenz because he was making Guatemala a communist country. This was not true however the U.S. wanted to keep profiting from their company United Fruit. America knew if they used communism as a reason for invasion because nobody would question it especially after Arbenz bought arms from the communist Czech. This is how the U.S. used communism to cover for their greedy Nationalistic state of mind.
4. The common denominator for Unites States activities in Hawaii, Iran, Guatemala, and Cuba was Nationalism. As the U.S. was becoming an empire each of these poor and rich with valuable material countries would increase Americas power as well as wealth. Each of these countries that America invaded and took advantage of was another piece in the puzzle. This puzzle is the United States ever-growing empire.
Quinn: 1. The Middle Eastern terrorist ideologies are derived from the muslim religion and Middle Eastern terrorist organizations are mainly concentrated in states such as Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Israel. The US intervention in Iran spurred hatred towards the US government, but the affects on surrounding Middle Eastern nations were few and far between. The History of Terrorism is in large unaffected by the intrusion when measured next to the ideals of the Jihadist movement.
ReplyDelete2. If general American knowledge included the US takeover of Iran, Americans opinion would remain unchanged. American adults have deeply rooted beliefs coinciding with the middle east. Terrorists, insurgents and anti-american views remain highly unpopular in american culture, in reason of 9/11 and support for American troops. Many americans as shown with Islamophobia even disregard the middle east as a whole.
3. I don’t believe that the US ever mistook nationalism for communism but merely used it as justification when overtaking the democratic governments of Iran and Guatemala. The real incentives were foreign businesses suffering from the nationalist reforms. As stated in the packet on the Guatemalan intervention, many officials in Washington and the CIA had invested in general fruit, giving them reason to assist it.
4. Hawaii, Cuba, Iran and Guatemala all had powerful foreign companies unjustly manipulating an unstable government. A shift in power or regime changed occurred and negatively affected the corporations. The US responded by a violent intervention and an unfit successor that met the US’s needs.
I believe that if the US had not overthrown Mossadegh the history of terrorism would absolutely have turned out differently. The outcome of the coup made the feelings of the people such that radical Islamic groups formed. If the US had not intervened, Iran would have developed a stable democratic government and the rest of the middle east may have followed suit. There would not be the intense feelings of anti-Americanism that there are today.
ReplyDeleteThey definitely would understand the events differently. The anti-muslim sentiment in the US would not be as strong as it currently is. Islam also may not be stereo-typed as an intolerant religion utterly incapable of getting along nicely with the rest of the world if it was common knowledge that there had at one point been a middle-eastern country that was almost a democracy.
In Iran they did mistake it for communism in-so-far as they did not look to see what else it could be, they took Britain’s word that it was communism and just went with that. In Guatemala’s case, United Fruit almost certainly understood that it was nationalism, but they also understood that it was a great threat to their profits. In both cases the US government did not look very hard to see if it was anything other than communism because the parties that claimed that it was were the ones the US wanted to help most.
In every case, the first group to advocate for war was a company. In Hawaii, it was the sugar growers, in Cuba, the Newspaper industry, in Iran, the Anglo-Iranian oil company and in Guatemala, United Fruit and electric bond and share.
1.If the United States had not overthrown Mossadegh the history of terrorism would have turned out completely different. The overthrow of Mossadegh created anti- Americanism In the Middle East, which I feel like, changed the face of terrorism. If we had let the Iranian government flourish and watched it the United States would not have created a enemy but could have created an alliance in the Middle East.
ReplyDelete2.I do believe that if the American citizens knew about the CIA coup agents Mossadegh they would react differently towards the Middle East and the current events there. I think they might have more of an understanding about why the Middle East has such hatred towards the United States and maybe the United States citizens would have a little bit of sympathy towards Iran. At the same time in order for the United States people to understand completely they would need to hear the entire truth from the CIA. Which I believe would never happen. I think the United States citizens would receive sugarcoated information to make the US look good instead of the true facts and documents from the CIA.
3.The United States definitely the didn’t make a distinction between terms nationalism and communism when it came to foreign countries. The United States did many times misunderstand nationalism for communism. Any thought sign of communism in a foreign country the United States wouldn’t hesitate and take charge to stop the spread of the idea of communism. We see this in both the overthrows of Guatemala and Iran.
4.The common denominator for the United States activity in other countries such as Hawaii, Cuba, Iran and Guatemala is to stop the spread of communism, Social Darwinism and to create a bigger empire. The United States enters foreign territory because they want to make an ideal country. The Untied States wants to plant their morals and political ideas in other countries that they see not fit to rule themselves. By overthrowing countries the United states maintains communism, spreads United States morals and political ideas, and creates a bigger empire.
Sonya
ReplyDeletee United States had not overthrown Mossadegh, do you think the history of terrorism would have turned out differently?
Yes I think the history of terrorism would be very different. I think the United States instigated much hatred towards ourselves. If we had not intervened in the first place and made such a commotion nobody would rebel against us. By overthrowing Mossadegh we made many people upset which led to people wanted to get back at us. Other peoples way of getting back at us is terrorism. The United States gets ourselves into to many problems that simply lead to other problems. Had we not overthrown Mossadegh we would probobly not have as much terrorism.
2. Americans generally don't know anything about the CIA coup against Mossadegh. Do you think if they did that they would understand events in the Middle East differently?
I don’t know how much the Americans don’t know about the CIA. I think they know a good amount maybe not everything. And I guess if they knew a little more then they would be on the way to understanding the events in the Middle East. Maybe the CIA knows more then they do about the coup but they were the ones who were enforcing the actions for the Americans not the Americans themselves. But if the Americans were more aware of the events of the coup against Mossadegh then they may be more educated on the events in the Middle East.
3. In Guatemala & Iran, the motivation for overthrow was publicly described as a desire to rid the countries of communism. However, did the U.S. misunderstand nationalism for communism?
In Iran and Guatemala the U.S. was not exactly trying to get rid of communism. Maybe they were trying come off as nationalists but in the end what they really were there for was communism. The U.S. are nationalists. In the end everything they do is for themselves. Maybe they help other countries but still it all ties back to them. It is all about their image and what other people think of them and how they are represented. In the end the goal will always be spreading communism.
4. What was the common denominator for the US activities in Hawaii, Cuba, Iran, and Guatemala?
In each place the United States owned a big company that had a big part in the overthrow. In Hawaii it was Dole fruit. In Cuba it was Sugar Companies. In Iran it was the oil companies. And in Guatamala it was the Fruit Companies. Having all these companies in each place was a big factor because we were already in the land and we already owned a large part of it. It wasn't like we started out of know where to overthrow the government we had reasons.
If we had never overthrown Mossadegh, there would be no terrorism threats against us. The country would probably still be a democratic country and they might have prospered. It would definitely put us in a different prospective and then we might be able to understand why they distain us so much. Yes we did. When the only thing the country was trying to do was to prosper, we mistook it as communism and ruined the country. To protect our foreign companies and to gain land.
ReplyDeleteMolly: 1. If the United States had not overthrown Mossadegh, do you think the history of terrorism would have turned out differently?
ReplyDeleteIf the US had not overthrown Mossadegh I believe there would have been a very different history of terrorism. Mossadegh was trying to create a democratic country which would be able to be more financially stable for itself by itself then it was before with all the of American and European powers controlling it. When Mossadegh was overthrown Iran's chance of becoming a more stable, democratic and able country was ruined and with that being lose came a great anti-American sentiment. If that anti-American sentiment had never been established for us ruining Iran's chance at having a more able country there would most likely be less terrorism directed at the United States from the Middle East.
2. Americans generally don't know anything about the CIA coup against Mossadegh. Do you think if they did that they would understand events in the Middle East differently?
If Americans new about the CIA coup against Mossadegh I believe that they would somewhat see it differently. I believe that they would understand a bit more where all the hate and anti-American sentiment in the Middle East is coming from. Being that the US kept Iran from being able to move forward as a democratic country because the US removed Mossadegh from power. On the other hand it may not matter to Americans at all because as making a profit is one of the most important things in American and that is just what the US did in that situation. That were making sure that the profit that they were making in Iran stayed safe and was not changed and reduced by being nationalized by Mossadegh.
3. In Guatemala & Iran, the motivation for overthrow was publicly described as a desire to rid the countries of communism. However, did the U.S. misunderstand nationalism for communism?
I believe that the Untied States did misunderstand nationalism for communism. They took the little things that these new democratic leaders did that could possibly be interpreted as communism and made them into a huge issue. I think that also the United States may have said that these country were being turned into communist countries because they needed more of a reason then just saving their profits to overthrow the government. By saying that they were saving the country from becoming a communist one it made it seen as though the US was looking out for the other country's best interests and not just their own.
4. What was the common denominator for the US activities in Hawaii, Cuba, Iran, and Guatemala?
Common denominators for the United States activities in Hawaii, Cuba, Iran and Guatemala were that the country would elect a new democratic leader who wants to change things in there country in order to nationalize it and have the country make more profit for itself and not just for the foreign powers that were holding most land in their country. The foreign country were not pleased with this and called upon the CIA to form a plan to create chaos in that country so that they could come in and overthrow the government and current leader and keep the profit of the foreign companies intact.
Margeaux: 1. If America did not overthrow Mossedegh, America would have gained an ally. Because we interfered with another nations affairs we got rid of a good leader only for the position to be filled by a tyrant. An alliance with the Middle East would be greatly appreciated today but because of wrongful intrusion we earned an enemy.
ReplyDelete2. Americans would have seen the Middle East differently because they would have seen how the CIA changed the perspective and that we unjustly effected other lives. If the American people had known that the Middle East was growing into a democracy then they would have let the growing continue without interruption.
3. The US did have a misunderstanding with Guatemala and Iran. America did think that the countries were involved with communism when in fact they were involved in Nationalism.
4.The denominator for America's interference in Hawaii, Cuba, Iran and Guatemala was for America's want to expand their empire and become a more powerful and respected country. With that goal in mind most involvement that America had with other nations had to do majorly with American Companies growing and using other nations raw materials and people.
Anders: I do believe that if the United States did not overthrow Mossadegh that terrorism would not be the same. First of all, the US overthrowing Iran caused a lot of anti Americanism, which could have directly led to terrorist attacks towards the US whereas if we did not attack Iran, anti Americanism in that region would not be as strong. If Americans knew what the CIA was doing, they would probably not understand the situation. If there was a leak in the CIA and the American people found out about the true events of the overthrow in Iran, the US government would find a sneaky way to cover it up. For instance if citizens of the US found out that Mossedegh was a democrat, the US government would say he was a communist, if you think about it, who are Americans going to believe, their government or a source they do not know very well. I believe that the US did misunderstand nationalism and communism. Communism is a government structure where everyone is equal and paid the same amount. What the US saw in the two countries was not communism, it was simply a country fighting for its freedom of foreign influence. This is NOT communism because it is not a structure of government it is a gesture, and events to rid the country of unwanted foreign influence. The denominator was foreign influence in the form of a company. In Hawaii it was Dole, Iran it was British BP, and in Guatemala it was the United Fruit.
ReplyDeleteRene: 1. I feel as terrorism would be different because Iran and U.S could have been on good relations especially since Iran was a democratic government. U.S and Iran could have been allies.
ReplyDelete2.Americans would look at the Middle east differently because they would understand why terrorism happen. They would see how wrong Americans were for taking over a government for reason.
3. The U.S. wasn’t use to new leaders trying to nationalize things. So they thought they were crazy. They didn’t really mistaken nationalism for communism it was just an excuse to take over there governments.
4.The common denominator for those four countries were they all had a big resources and the U.S. wanted to keep American interest in those countries and they all were overthrown.
Ellie:
ReplyDelete1. If the United States had not overthrown Mossadegh, do you think the history of terrorism would have turned out differently?
I think that the U.S. would not have such a rocky relationship with Iran if the U.S. had not overthrown Mossadegh. I think that Iran would possibly be a more stable country. Mossadegh was trying to start democracy. I do not think that anyone can say what would have happened If the U.S. had not overthrown Mossadegh. I think perhaps there would not be as much terrorism, because the overthrow of Mossadegh would not eventually cause the U.S. to intervene again. I do not know whether there would be more or less or any terrorism. I do not think that anyone will every know what would have been, but we do know what should have been.
2. Americans generally don't know anything about the CIA coup against Mossadegh. Do you think if they did that they would understand events in the Middle East differently?
I think that if Americans were informed more about the CIA coup they would understand why there is such tension in the middle east. If Americans knew that Mossadegh was trying to protect his country and start a democracy, I think people would have more respect for the country. I also understand the relationship between Iran and the U.S. better.
3. In Guatemala & Iran, the motivation for overthrow was publicly described as a desire to rid the countries of communism. However, did the U.S. misunderstand nationalism for communism?
Honestly, I don’t know how the U.S. mistook nationalism for communism. I believe that perhaps, the major companies, such as Dole, PB oil, and others lied to the U.S. and deceived them. I think that they were more worried about their money than foreign relationships that they did not consider the entire country of the U.S. and the victim country. I think the major companies fooled the U.S. and inflated the actions of the victim country to create a scenario where it looked although the victim country was turning to communism. I do not know how the U.S. mistook nationalism for communism, but it was a big mistake.
4. What was the common denominator for the US activities in Hawaii, Cuba, Iran, and Guatemala?
The common factor of the overthrows from Hawaii, Cuba, Iran, and Guatemala are that major companies caused the overthrow. Dole, told Blane that Hawaii was a threat to the U.S., the sugar company in Cuba, BP oil in Iran, The Banana factory in Guatemala, and the newspaper, El Murcio and ITT in Chile. They were all greedy countries, they either wanted to keep their land, gain more land, or not have any taxes. Then they all went to the U.S. whether they feared the country was communist, a threat, or the wanted to “help” a country because they wanted more. The factories have initiated all of the overthrows we have studied so far.
1. If the United States had not overthrown Mossadegh, do you think the history of terrorism would have turned out differently?
ReplyDeleteI truly believe if United States had not overturned Mossadegh than the history of terrorism would have not been as bad as it is today. I say this because Mossadegh was a Democrat and he had such high hope for Iran. He put his people before himself, which was unlike any other leader; the shah was the exact opposite. Mossadegh was well educated, with American degrees. He was an ideal leader for Iran. If he had not been overthrown Iranian people would not have such strong hatred towards America.
2. Americans generally don't know anything about the CIA coup against Mossadegh. Do you think if they did that they would understand events in the Middle East differently?
I believe if Americans knew the truth about the CIA coup against Mossadegh they would really have a different view on the middle east. Americans only receive America’s point of view, and most never truly figure out the truth.
3. In Guatemala & Iran, the motivation for overthrow was publicly described as a desire to rid the countries of communism. However, did the U.S. misunderstand nationalism for communism?
I believed the misunderstood both nationalist and communism. They misunderstood nationalism because they went against that of which anything had to do with nationalism. Such as going into other countries with their big businesses and basically causing many other countries economic systems to fail, while we Americans are the ones enjoying all the benefits from their country. Secondly, I believe they misunderstood communism because Americans never realy apreciated any of the leaders in other countries who were not communists, but democrats. Such as Mossadegh. It seemed as though America was for communism, because the communists who ran the countries did what America said.
4. What was the common denominator for the US activities in Hawaii, Cuba, Iran, and Guatemala?
The common denominator is Big businesses in other small countries, and then a new leader is placed into power usually democratic and then the leader decides to try to get rid of the Bi businesses who are sucking out all of thier countries natural resourses. This angers the businesses and then they go back to the U.S and they go to the president or whoever is in charge and complain, then maheim is inorder.
Peter: If the United States had not overthrown Mossedegh, the history of terrorism would have been very different. There would definitely not have as much anti-American sentiment in Iran to start out with if we had not invaded the country several years ago and tried to fool the Iranian citizens.
ReplyDeleteAmericans might not view events in the Middle East as differently if they knew about the CIA coup than you might think. During the overt phase of American Imperialism, American citizens knew about the forceful overthrow of other nations such as Hawaii and they generally didn’t do much to stop them.
In Guatemala & Iran, the motivation for overthrow was publicly described as a desire to rid the countries of communism. However, did the U.S. misunderstand nationalism for communism?
There was no misunderstanding in the government between nationalism and communism during Iran and Guatemala’s overthrow. The two are complete opposites of each other-how can you confuse them?! No one misunderstood them; government officials knew what they were getting into when they decided to invade Iran and Guatemala.
Oliver: 1. If the United States had not overthrown Mossadegh, do you think the history of terrorism would have turned out differently?
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that if we had not interfered with Iran’s developing democracy that they would not have as many reasons for hating the US. Perhaps if Iran’s government had stayed democratic, democracy would have spread throughout some other parts of the middle east.
2. Americans generally don't know anything about the CIA coup against Mossadegh. Do you think if they did that they would understand events in the Middle East differently?
Yes, Americans would probably not think that Iranians are the bad guys and feel more sympathetic toward the middle east. Americans would also probably want to be more informed about what the government is doing in other countries.
3. In Guatemala & Iran, the motivation for overthrow was publicly described as a desire to rid the countries of communism. However, did the U.S. misunderstand nationalism for communism?
Yes, the governments of Iran and Guatemala were only trying to nationalize their natural resource to help the poverty in their countries; however, the U.S. saw this as taking land from large corporations that provided improved Americas economy.
What was the common denominator for the US activities in Hawaii, Cuba, Iran, and Guatemala?
The common denominator for US activities in Hawaii, Cuba, Iran, and Guatemala was that the US was trying to protect some company that had almost complete control over a developing country. When each country ruler challenged the companies monopoly on the natural resource of the land, the company would go to the U.S. and demand that the problem is fixed.
1: I absolutely believe that the history of terrorism would have turned out differently, but not in a positive way. Regardless of the intervention in Iran, terrorism will always exist. The reasons for terrorism range from animosity to lack of food and supplies. I do, however, believe that the activities of the United States in Iran caused terrorism to be directed at the United States. This is because the United States overthrew Mossadegh. Mossadegh was a very popular leader in Iran. He was democratically elected, and was bringing positive change to the country. When the United States overthrew Iran, we became the country that Iran, and now almost all of the Middle East, blames for violence in the region. We became the bad guy, and that reputation has stayed with us ever since.
ReplyDelete2: It is crucial for Americans to understand the American overthrow of Iran. This is because it would change our opinions toward Middle Eastern countries. Nationalist Americans believe that the Middle East has caused all of the problems in the world because they are a hub for terrorism. We have a feeling of animosity towards them. The feeling should be towards us. In truth, we are mainly responsible for the growth of terrorism because we overthrew Iran and stopped Mossadegh's push for a democratic nation. This overthrow of Iran is one reason why Middle Eastern countries hate us. If Americans understood that we ourselves destroyed their system of government, we would think twice before making a harsh remark towards the Middle East.
3: Iran and Guatemala were not pushing for a communist government. These countries were pushing for a democratic reform. All they wanted was to be a part of the rest of the world. They wanted to be a major power in global affairs. The United States did not let their nationalist goals be reached. Instead, we reached ours. Communism was simply a way to sugar coat the fact that the United States wanted to help foreign businesses that major political players in Washington D.C had investments in succeed. These businesses were struggling under the reforms of Iran and Guatemala. The United States decided to step in and simply used communism as the cover-up. The same exact situation happened in Iraq. To make a short and sweet summary of this issue, George W. Bush wanted a chance to eliminate Saddam Hussein because he felt Hussein "embarrassed" Bush senior in the Gulf War. 9/11 was that chance. Weapons of mass destruction was the cover-up. Just like Iran, the United States toppled the government of another Middle Eastern country because of our own nationalist beliefs.
4: The common denominator is that the United States overthrew these nations because of our own interests and nationalist beliefs. In all of these countries, the United States came to the aid of businesses that we had interests in. We stopped caring about the interests of any of these countries. We just wanted to help ourselves, not matter what the price was.