“First of all, if you’re interested in foreign interference in our elections, whatever the Russians may have done barely counts or weighs in the balance as compared with what another state (Israel) does, openly, brazenly, and with enormous support.”
— Historian Noam Chomsky, in an interview with Democracy Now, 2018
Chapter 12: Iran
When you hear the United States of Israel praising itself for defending democracy around the world (while attacking its own institutions), including Israel’s version of it, or supporting intervention that would establish “democratic” governments anywhere on the planet, know that this is propaganda in its purest form.
In 1953, the US and British governments covertly overthrew a democratic government in Iran and installed a totalitarian monarchy, led by the last Shah of Iran. The reason: oil. The Iranians had threatened to nationalize its oil industry, putting the boot to British Petroleum and US oil barons. That was not in wealthy Americans’ best interest.
Tired of the Shah’s extravagant lifestyle, oppression, and the foreign powers that controlled their oil industry, the Iranians’ threadbare tolerance finally snapped. Something had to give, and it did in 1979 with the Islamic Revolution. Iranian students famously took Americans hostage, the Shah’s government was overthrown and a version of the current hardline religious regime took power.
In 2013, the US released documents that confirmed its role in the 1953 overthrow. Ultimately and ironically, the current Iranian state, the one George W. Bush labeled as part of the “axis of evil,” and one that Israel desperately wants the US to bomb, is a lost democracy due to cheap oil that ran US plants and workers’ cars.
Iran is also the last country on Israel’s checklist for destruction and destabilization. Syria, enemy of Israel, was destabilized, and remains in shambles after a decade-plus-long civil war. Syria no longer poses a threat to Israel. If a Syrian fighter strays into or near Israeli airspace, it is eliminated. That is the only public face of the Jewish state’s war on Syria.
Iraq, enemy of Israel, was destabilized by the United States of Israel. The US lied to its own citizens, invaded Iraq, spent trillions of dollars and sacrificed thousands of soldiers, while Israel reaped all of the benefits: Enemy gone, nation in disarray, Arabs killed by the hundreds of thousands, and the survivors had no stable future in sight. What more could Israel ask for …
Iran, enemy of Israel, home to the Persian Empire and probably the richest and deepest historical culture on the planet, not yet destabilized. The hardcore Islamic Republic has been made the villain by Israel, in the latter’s desperate attempts to have it attacked, preferably by the Americans. Of course, Israel says it would act alone if necessary, but why get your hands dirty and piss off your other neighbors when you can have your bitch, the United States, do it for you. Ideologically, of course, Iran is very different than the US, but it’s not really that different than Israel. The hardline religious fanatics in both countries have a similar track record in terms of their misogyny (abusive treatment of women), minorities, and liberal non-religious thinkers. Americans only hear about the Iranian version of these policies (see chapter 9).
Let’s see … if you’re an Iranian citizen, shouldn’t you be a little distrustful or hateful of the United States of Israel? You’ve watched the Americans blow up most of one Arab country, all the while footing the bill for Israel to blow apart one or two more.
The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has urged the United States to use any means necessary to prevent Iran from manufacturing a nuclear bomb. On one notable occasion in March 2015, he was given airtime on the major TV networks in the US of I and also invited to address a joint session of Congress to spell out his concerns about Iran’s villainy. Netanyahu wasn’t happy about President Obama taking a diplomatic approach to the issue. When Donald Trump became President, one of his first acts was to withdraw the US from a pact with Iran that the Obama administration and its European allies had negotiated, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
It had been an effective negotiation that resulted in curbing Iran’s nuclear program ambitions along with the easing of economic sanctions in that country. Iran doesn’t have nuclear weapons nor will it any time soon because of this diplomacy. While still an authoritarian nation, Iran’s economy and standard of living started to climb out of the basement.
Some have suggested a narcissistic Trump dumped the plan simply because he’s a jealous racist who resented his Black predecessor in the White House. They point to the fact Trump also dumped or tried to dump other Obama accomplishments surrounding education, health care, and the environment.
Others have argued his reasoning was much simpler, that he was following the guidance of billionaire Zionist Sheldon Adelson, his largest campaign contributor. Even though Trump doesn’t seem exactly respectful or appreciative of Jews in general, he simply followed the orders attached to the money.
Of course, neither of the aforementioned motives should be thought of as anything approaching a legitimate basis for foreign policy.
A May 8, 2018 article in the Intercept points to some of the people who disagreed with the President’s decision to pull out of the deal:
