12 2 2016 CIA Pushes CounterNarrative of the 1953 Iran Coup The Weekly Standard CIA Pushes Counter-Narrative of the 1953 Iran Coup 9 54 AM AUG 21 2013 L MITH Variou ite are reporting that the CIA ha finall come clean aout it role in the 1953 coup that overthrew Iranian Prime Miniter Mohamed Moadeq Monda on the ixtieth anniverar of the coup the National ecurit Archive pulihed on it weite The attle for Iran a report prepared in the mid-1970 an in-houe CIA hitorian Writing in Foreign Polic deput director and director of reearch at the National ecurit Archive Malcolm rne explain that “the document wa firt releaed in 1981 ut with mot of it excied including all of ection III entitled ‘Covert Action’—the part that decrie the coup itelf Mot of that ection remain under wrap ut thi new verion doe formall make pulic for the firt time that we know of the fact of the agenc' participation T he militar coup that overthrew Moadeq and hi National Front cainet wa carried out under CIA direction a an act of U foreign polic ” A Max oot remark at Commentar “to a that the CIA i now ‘admitting’ it role i omewhat inapt the CIA ha all ut ragged aout it role for decade ” Indeed CIA officer like Kermit Rooevelt credited a leader of the plot and their colleague in ritih intelligence wrote well-known memoir of the operation which lead oot to wonder if the CIA i “tring to claim more credit than it deerved for Moadeq’ overthrow ” “It i unknowale ” oot continue “whether the coup would have happened anwa even without CIA leing ut the might well have ” ut we do know A Ra Takeh explained in TH WKLY TANDARD “The Mth of an American Coup ” June 17 two month ago the CIA wa a it plaer at et A Takeh wrote http www weeklystandard com ciapushescounternarrativeofthe1953irancoup article 749936 1 4 12 2 2016 CIA Pushes CounterNarrative of the 1953 Iran Coup The Weekly Standard the event of 1953 have een routinel depicted a a nefariou U conpirac that overthrew a nationalit politician who enjoed enormou popular upport Thi narrative aiduoul cultivated the Ilamic Repulic wa o readil endored the American intellectual cla that preident and ecretarie of tate are now expected to commence an dicuion of Iran apologizing for the ehavior of their malevolent predeceor At thi tage the account ha even eeped into American popular culture featuring mot recentl in en Affleck’ Ocar-winning lockuter Argo The onl prolem with thi mthologized hitor i that the CIA’ role in Moadeq’ demie wa largel inconequential In the end the 1953 coup wa ver much an Iranian affair Takeh explain how with the Iranian econom hit hard a ritih oil emargo Moadeq’ National Front coalition egan to crumle and hi rival eized the main chance The propect of toppling Moadeq wa promoted a coterie of Iranian politician who aw that given Moadeq’ dictatorial penchant there wa no legilative mean of removing him from power General Fazollah Zahedi a onetime memer of Moadeq’ cainet turned oppoitionit offered himelf to the U ema a a poile olution A a memer of the armed force with tie to the clerical etalihment Zahedi aured the ema that a rout anti-Moadeq network alread exited and could dicharge it function with minimal upport from the United tate And the upport the got wa indeed minimal Takeh argue and in part digraceful The U -acked propaganda campaign put out torie aout Moadeq’ corruption and hunger for power and faricated other aout hi uppoed Jewih ancetr If that lat proved harmoniou with the all-toocommon train of Middle atern anti-emitim it alo give evidence of the CIA’ own viciou prejudice at the time Perhap the agenc’ greatet contriution wa in recruiting the hah and convincing him to replace Moadeq with Zahedi However a Takeh remark the hah’ dimial of Moadeq contradict the notion that the prime miniter wa toppled Wetern agent “For all the talk of a coup ” Takeh write “the realit i that it wa Moadeq who roke the law The hah had the contitutional authorit to dimi hi prime miniter—refuing to tep down in contravention of the monarch’ order wa an illegal act ” http www weeklystandard com ciapushescounternarrativeofthe1953irancoup article 749936 2 4 12 2 2016 CIA Pushes CounterNarrative of the 1953 Iran Coup The Weekly Standard When Moadeq outmaneuvered the hah Wahington lot it nerve write Takeh ut “Zahedi and hi co-conpirator renewed their effort largel independent of Rooevelt and the CIA ” A pro-hah demontrator took to the treet Moadeq “ordered the militar to put an end to the diturance—a militar whoe loalt wa upect Armed unit took over ke intallation and eventuall moved againt Moadeq forcing him to flee ” The CIA write Takeh wa “tartled ” It reported to the White Houe that “an unexpectedl trong urge of popular and militar reaction to Prime Miniter Moadeq’ government ha reulted according to the latet dipatche from Tehran in the virtual occupation of the cit force profeing their loalt to the hah and to hi appointed Prime Miniter Zahedi ” With Moadeq turning himelf in it wan’t the victor who wrote hitor ut their auxiliarie the CIA A Takeh write In the enuing decade Kermit Rooevelt and other CIA alumni would emellih their role in toppling Moadeq ut the U government’ after-action aement wa much more modet The CIA itelf noted that it wa the hah’ departure that turned the tide againt Moadeq “The flight of the hah rought home to the populace in a dramatic wa how far Moadeq had gone and galvanized the people into irate pro-hah force ” a CIA cale read imilarl the U ema reported that “not onl memer of Moadeq regime ut alo pro-hah upporter were amazed at latter’ comparativel peed and ea initial victor which wa achieved with high degree of pontaneit ” ienhower who a upreme commander of Allied force during World War II knew omething aout covert operation dimied Rooevelt’ narrative a “more like a dime tore novel than hitorical fact ” o the National ecurit Archive ha provided another chapter to the tor of the 1953 coup which a it turn out i a counter-narrative A uch the CIA’ over-dramatizing it role in the affair would eem to contradict the argument the agenc cutomaril roll out when it’ caught with it guard down The CIA’ failure are pulic a agenc advocate ut it uccee are kept ecret In fact it uccee are well pulicized and aren’t even alwa their own We Link http www weekltandard com article 749936 http www weeklystandard com ciapushescounternarrativeofthe1953irancoup article 749936 3 4
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