06-04-2016, 09:51 PM
*** 5-Jun-16 World View -- How Iran's Khomeini fooled Jimmy Carter before the Great Islamic Revolution
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** How Iran's Khomeini fooled Jimmy Carter before the Great Islamic Revolution
****
![[Image: g160604b.jpg]](http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g160604b.jpg)
Ayatollah Khomeini and Jimmy Carter
An analysis by the BBC of a trove of newly declassified US government
documents - diplomatic cables, policy memos, meeting records - shows
that in 1979 Iran's new leader Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
tricked the administration of president Jimmy Carter into supporting
the Great Islamic Revolution.
That Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi, had ruled Iran since
1941, and was a staunch ally of the United States, though he was
heavily criticized by liberals for human rights abuses. A rebellion
against the Shah began in 1978. Since the Shah's army was heavily
dependent on American arms and advice, President Carter could have
done a great deal to keep the Shah in power, and prevent Khomeini from
coming to power. Carter has been accused of refusing to support the
Shah in the rebellion, allowing Khomeini to come to power, because of
the human rights abuses, although he's denied that accusation.
The new declassified documents reveal that Khomeini courted the Carter
administration, sending quiet signals that he wanted a dialogue and
then portraying a potential Islamic Republic as amenable to US
interests. Said Khomeini:
[indent]<QUOTE>"You will see we are not in any particular animosity
with the Americans, [and the new Islamic Republic will be] a
humanitarian one that will benefit the cause of peace and
tranquility for all mankind."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
The documents reveal that, in return for Khomeini's assurances, the US
said that they were not opposed in principle to the new government,
and the US provided key intelligence information about Iran's military
leaders. Carter administration officials advised Iran's army generals
to simply let a coup occur.
The Great Islamic Revolution was a generational Crisis war, and as
such was driven by powerful generational forces that would not have
been affected by a bit of intelligence. The rebellion was a major
civil war between the Shah's security forces and a growing population
of revolutionaries supporting radical clerics, led by Khomeini.
At any rate, once Khomeini was in power, he did a 180 degree U-turn,
and immediately became a vitriolic enemy of the United States. In
particular, Khomeini created the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis by
allowing students to storm the American embassy in Tehran and take the
52 American diplomats hostage for 444 days.
What the documents reveal has powerful symbolic significance even
today. Khomeini's successor, Supreme Leader Seyed Ali Khamenei, is
widely believed to have repeatedly lied to American negotiators to get
agreement last year on the nuclear deal that resulted in the lifting
of Western sanctions. BBC and
NY Post
****
**** Khamenei accuses 'evil' Britain of fabricating the BBC report
****
Whether by coincidence or design, the BBC report was published on the
27th anniversary of the June 3, 1989, of the death of Grand Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini.
In a speech on Friday commemorating Khomeini's death, Supreme Leader
Seyed Ali Khamenei said that Britain was "evil" and the US is "Satan."
He denounced the BBC report as fake "propaganda":
[indent]<QUOTE>"Britain’s malice against the Iranian nation has never
stopped. ... The same enmity continues as the British government’s
propaganda apparatus spreads propaganda against the dear Imam of
the Iranian nation [Khomeini], with the help of the Americans and
forged documents, on the anniversary of the great and holy Imam
[Khomeini’s] death. ...
The enemies are increasing their pressure on Iran because they are
afraid of the Iranian nation’s ‘Revolutionary spirit’ - a legacy
of the late Imam Khomeini. Before Revolution, the United States
and the UK were ruling over us. Our grand Imam changed Iran’s path
and changed the rail-track. Imam Khomeini guided country toward
great objectives that can be summarized in Divine religion and
they are uprooting ignorance and oppression as well as
establishing Islamic values system."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
In the same speech, he called trust in the U.S. a "big mistake" and
asserted that U.S. interests are "180 degrees opposed" to those of
Iran. He said that he had no intention of cooperating on regional
issues with these enemies.
Khamenei's speech was interesting for another reason -- his call to
maintain the same revolutionary fervor of 1979: "If we act
Revolutionarily, progress is certain; otherwise, as Imam said “Islam
will be slapped in face. ... I will mention five characteristics for
being revolutionary and we have to create and maintain them in
ourselves." These five characteristics are:
Khamenei referred to himself as an 'old revolutionary' person, so "now
every modern youth can become even more revolutionary than me."
Perhaps he was joking, or perhaps he was desperate.
This is wishful thinking on Khamenei's part. As I've written many
times, this kind of "revolutionary fervor" will not be maintained,
because Iran is in a generational Awakening era, one generation past
the end of the Great Islamic Revolution and Iran/Iraq war, just like
America in the 1960s-70s, one generation past the end of World War II.
In fact, Iran has been fraught with many anti-government pro-American
and pro-Western demonstrations by college students, just like America
in the 1960s, as I described in "18-Jan-16 World View -- Pakistan tries to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Iran"
.
That explains why Khamenei, in his speeches, keeps returning to these
themes of maintaining an anti-American "revolutionary" spirit, but
he's fighting a losing battle because the "revolutionary" spirit of
the generational Crisis era in 1979 cannot be maintained by the next
generation, as it rebels against the harsh restrictions of the
revolution in an Awakening era. That's why Khamenei's government has
had send out the security forces to massacre, torture and kill
peaceful demonstrators.
(In a recent article, "29-May-16 World View -- Hugo Chávez dismantled Venezuela's businesses on purpose to create Socialist Paradise"
, I described Mao Zedong's Great
Leap Forward, which ended up killing tens of millions of Chinese.
Mao's motivation for the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural
Revolution that followed was exactly the same as Khamenei's motivation
-- to invigorate the "revolutionary spirit," and end the
anti-government demonstrations by college students.)
The point, as I've said in the past, is that those college students in
pro-American demonstrations of the early 2000s are now in their 30s
and increasingly in positions of power. Just as America's Awakening
era climaxed with the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974, Iran's
Awakening era climax will bring about the end of the hardline regime
of the old geezers in Khamenei's generation, and result in a
pro-Western victory for Iran's younger generation. BBC and IRNA (Tehran) and Mehr News (Tehran) and AEI Iran Tracker (3-June)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Iran, Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi,
Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Great Islamic Revolution,
Iranian hostage crisis, Seyed Ali Khamenei,
Mao Zedong, China, Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution,
Richard Nixon
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- How Iran's Khomeini fooled Jimmy Carter before the Great Islamic Revolution
- Khamenei accuses 'evil' Britain of fabricating the BBC report
****
**** How Iran's Khomeini fooled Jimmy Carter before the Great Islamic Revolution
****
Ayatollah Khomeini and Jimmy Carter
An analysis by the BBC of a trove of newly declassified US government
documents - diplomatic cables, policy memos, meeting records - shows
that in 1979 Iran's new leader Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
tricked the administration of president Jimmy Carter into supporting
the Great Islamic Revolution.
That Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi, had ruled Iran since
1941, and was a staunch ally of the United States, though he was
heavily criticized by liberals for human rights abuses. A rebellion
against the Shah began in 1978. Since the Shah's army was heavily
dependent on American arms and advice, President Carter could have
done a great deal to keep the Shah in power, and prevent Khomeini from
coming to power. Carter has been accused of refusing to support the
Shah in the rebellion, allowing Khomeini to come to power, because of
the human rights abuses, although he's denied that accusation.
The new declassified documents reveal that Khomeini courted the Carter
administration, sending quiet signals that he wanted a dialogue and
then portraying a potential Islamic Republic as amenable to US
interests. Said Khomeini:
[indent]<QUOTE>"You will see we are not in any particular animosity
with the Americans, [and the new Islamic Republic will be] a
humanitarian one that will benefit the cause of peace and
tranquility for all mankind."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
The documents reveal that, in return for Khomeini's assurances, the US
said that they were not opposed in principle to the new government,
and the US provided key intelligence information about Iran's military
leaders. Carter administration officials advised Iran's army generals
to simply let a coup occur.
The Great Islamic Revolution was a generational Crisis war, and as
such was driven by powerful generational forces that would not have
been affected by a bit of intelligence. The rebellion was a major
civil war between the Shah's security forces and a growing population
of revolutionaries supporting radical clerics, led by Khomeini.
At any rate, once Khomeini was in power, he did a 180 degree U-turn,
and immediately became a vitriolic enemy of the United States. In
particular, Khomeini created the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis by
allowing students to storm the American embassy in Tehran and take the
52 American diplomats hostage for 444 days.
What the documents reveal has powerful symbolic significance even
today. Khomeini's successor, Supreme Leader Seyed Ali Khamenei, is
widely believed to have repeatedly lied to American negotiators to get
agreement last year on the nuclear deal that resulted in the lifting
of Western sanctions. BBC and
NY Post
****
**** Khamenei accuses 'evil' Britain of fabricating the BBC report
****
Whether by coincidence or design, the BBC report was published on the
27th anniversary of the June 3, 1989, of the death of Grand Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini.
In a speech on Friday commemorating Khomeini's death, Supreme Leader
Seyed Ali Khamenei said that Britain was "evil" and the US is "Satan."
He denounced the BBC report as fake "propaganda":
[indent]<QUOTE>"Britain’s malice against the Iranian nation has never
stopped. ... The same enmity continues as the British government’s
propaganda apparatus spreads propaganda against the dear Imam of
the Iranian nation [Khomeini], with the help of the Americans and
forged documents, on the anniversary of the great and holy Imam
[Khomeini’s] death. ...
The enemies are increasing their pressure on Iran because they are
afraid of the Iranian nation’s ‘Revolutionary spirit’ - a legacy
of the late Imam Khomeini. Before Revolution, the United States
and the UK were ruling over us. Our grand Imam changed Iran’s path
and changed the rail-track. Imam Khomeini guided country toward
great objectives that can be summarized in Divine religion and
they are uprooting ignorance and oppression as well as
establishing Islamic values system."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
In the same speech, he called trust in the U.S. a "big mistake" and
asserted that U.S. interests are "180 degrees opposed" to those of
Iran. He said that he had no intention of cooperating on regional
issues with these enemies.
Khamenei's speech was interesting for another reason -- his call to
maintain the same revolutionary fervor of 1979: "If we act
Revolutionarily, progress is certain; otherwise, as Imam said “Islam
will be slapped in face. ... I will mention five characteristics for
being revolutionary and we have to create and maintain them in
ourselves." These five characteristics are:
- Commitment to the basic values of the (Islamic)
Revolution;
- setting aspirations of the Revolution as targets and striving to
achieve them;
- adherence to the country's all-out independence;
- not complying with enemies;
- and exercising the Greatest Jihad (combat with the self) and
adopting religious and political piety.
Khamenei referred to himself as an 'old revolutionary' person, so "now
every modern youth can become even more revolutionary than me."
Perhaps he was joking, or perhaps he was desperate.
This is wishful thinking on Khamenei's part. As I've written many
times, this kind of "revolutionary fervor" will not be maintained,
because Iran is in a generational Awakening era, one generation past
the end of the Great Islamic Revolution and Iran/Iraq war, just like
America in the 1960s-70s, one generation past the end of World War II.
In fact, Iran has been fraught with many anti-government pro-American
and pro-Western demonstrations by college students, just like America
in the 1960s, as I described in "18-Jan-16 World View -- Pakistan tries to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Iran"
.
That explains why Khamenei, in his speeches, keeps returning to these
themes of maintaining an anti-American "revolutionary" spirit, but
he's fighting a losing battle because the "revolutionary" spirit of
the generational Crisis era in 1979 cannot be maintained by the next
generation, as it rebels against the harsh restrictions of the
revolution in an Awakening era. That's why Khamenei's government has
had send out the security forces to massacre, torture and kill
peaceful demonstrators.
(In a recent article, "29-May-16 World View -- Hugo Chávez dismantled Venezuela's businesses on purpose to create Socialist Paradise"
, I described Mao Zedong's Great
Leap Forward, which ended up killing tens of millions of Chinese.
Mao's motivation for the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural
Revolution that followed was exactly the same as Khamenei's motivation
-- to invigorate the "revolutionary spirit," and end the
anti-government demonstrations by college students.)
The point, as I've said in the past, is that those college students in
pro-American demonstrations of the early 2000s are now in their 30s
and increasingly in positions of power. Just as America's Awakening
era climaxed with the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974, Iran's
Awakening era climax will bring about the end of the hardline regime
of the old geezers in Khamenei's generation, and result in a
pro-Western victory for Iran's younger generation. BBC and IRNA (Tehran) and Mehr News (Tehran) and AEI Iran Tracker (3-June)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Iran, Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi,
Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Great Islamic Revolution,
Iranian hostage crisis, Seyed Ali Khamenei,
Mao Zedong, China, Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution,
Richard Nixon
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
