Commentators around the world are debating the wisdom of President Obama’s video message to Iranians last weekend. According to this pair of op-eds from Germany’s Frankfurter Rundschau, if the United States wants to resume normal relations with Tehran, it’s going to have to do a few things that it has hitherto been unwilling to do: officially admit to and apologize for the 1953 CIA-orchestrated coup against Iran’s first, and many would argue last, democratically-elected leader; and for the downing of a civilian Iranian airliner over the Persian Gulf during the end of the Iran-Iraq War -a war in which Washington sided with Saddam.
Martin Gehlen, in an article headlined, “To Make Up With Iran, U.S. Must Fess Up to 1953 Coup“, writes in part:
“The demonization of Iran as a member of the ‘Axis of Evil’ was only the latest chapter in a long line of political blunders. … Iran would perhaps have a functioning democracy today if the CIA, under the direct orders of President Dwight Eisenhower, hadn’t overthrown the first democratically-elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddeq.”
Karl Grobe, in an article headlined, The CIA-Backed Coup in Iran that Obama Failed to Mention, writes in part:
“Barack Obama has acted as an usher. Iran may wish to resume its rightful place among nations and stay out of trouble; after all, it doesn’t really belong in the axis of evil. Now diplomacy as well as sincerity should define the political discourse between the two countries. It is high time to clarify some of what hasn’t been articulated due to political incorrectness. … Mixed into this cocktail of damnation is the memory that the Shah was put back on the throne by a CIA-led coup in 1953 – against the wishes of Iran’s civil society. In regard to this coup, Obama will eventually have to speak – to the Iranian people.”
By Martin Gehlen
Translated By Ulf Behncke
March 21, 2009
Germany – Frankfurter Rundschau – Original Article (German)
U.S. President Barack Obama wants peace with Iran. But a deep-seated mistrust of the United States must first be allayed.Barack Obama gave his political advisers two months after he took office to come up with a new strategy for dealing with Iran. Slowly, the first recognizable outlines of change have become evident – even if harsh comments between the two sides blithely continued over recent weeks. First, while on tour in Europe, there was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s invitation to Iran to participate in an international conference on Afghanistan at The Hague on March 31st. Now, just in time for the Persian New Year, Obama himself has reached out to Tehran with a video message [watch below] which is more than any of his predecessors have done for the past 30 years.
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