Iran in the 1970s, before the Islamic Revolution

Mention the word Iran to most people and this image is probably close to what first comes to mind:

Older people will remember a vastly different impression of Iran though, the Iran from before the Islamic Revolution. There are a large number of pictures and videos out there that show a radically different country from the one today

I had several friends in Junior College from Tehran in 1975-76 that I got to know. They at all immigrated here to get away from the Shah’s secret service. There was pretty severe oppression under his rule to certain ethnic groups. All of my friends were Christian Armenians. They had a uniformity poor opinion of their home country’s ruler.

There had to be a problem for the revolution to occur beyond just Islamic fervor.

I don't think many people would argue that the Shah's secret police were pretty oppressive. However, their oppression was generally directed at ethnic groups and political groups, the Shah was very tolerant of both Christians and Jews (if there was any religious group he disliked it was Muslim fundamentalists).

Well, I don’t doubt that SAVAK did their job in a heavy handed and brutal fashion. I believe they were responsible for keeping tabs on people who opposed the Shah (both at home and overseas) and were responsible for censorship within the regime, etc.

But to say that whatever those problems were justified what happened in 1979 and made the The Iranian Revolution preferable to the rule under the Shah is a stretch, in my opinion.

It is like trying to justify the French Revolution. As bad as the French monarchy was to its subjects, the violence and blood that flowed indiscriminately during and after (and also paved the way for Bonaparte to come to power)was beyond the pale. Likewise, in my opinion with Iran. Look at all the bloodshed that has happened in the Middle East and around the world since then. I don’t think it is inaccurate to say that if there had been a strong, pro-western Iran, the Iran-Iraq war would have never happened, and the Soviets may have thought twice about invading Afghanistan, etc.

I know it is all conjecture, but I think on the whole, it is safe to say there was nothing redeeming about the Iranian Revolution.

(and by the way, I do recognize your role as devil’s advocate here, I think it is a valid point)

Good points. The Savak were not nice guys. The West engineered the coup against Mossadegh and put the Shah in power. So I think it’s no stretch to say that anti-Western sentiment already ran high before the fundamentalists used if for their purposes. I guess it’s a lesser of two evils argument, and what is there now can sure as hell be categorized as evil.

Interesting points also. It’s always easy to play Monday morning quarterback, and of course at the time the CIA toppled Mossadegh he appeared to be a real threat. And the Shah himself was, of course, pro West, which was at low ebb in the Middle East. The 79 revolution was, as it turned out, a cataclysmic event not just for Iran, but for the freedom-loving world. But I think an honest appraisal of the events leads one to conclude that things could’ve been handled better so that the foundation for the rise of the extremists was never laid. And you’re absolutely right about France. As P.J. O’Rourke said, France’s problem is that they guillotined all the smart and productive people in 1789.

I attended Comm Officer school in 1965 at Biloxi Mississippi. There was an Iranian Air Force Captain attending the school. He was a great guy. We visited and told tales about growing up while sitting in the O Club.

When we offered to buy him a drink he explained that the Moslem religion didn't allow alcoholic beverages! He drank Coke but when it was his turn he bought the next round!

He told us that he came from a wealthy family who were owners of much of the Iranian Bell system. He bragged that the Shah was well educated and hoped to improve the situation for all citizens. The Shah planned to invest in light industy so that he could multiply the wealth of a nation. A barrel of oil was worth six dollars a barrel but the styrofon cups and other products were worth more which created additional jobs and created wealth for the Iranians.

After graduation I was assigned to Perrin AFB in North Texas. I had just been promoted to 1st Lt when my boss the Base Commander told me that and Iranian diplomat and Iranian military personnel would be visiting the base to looked at the F-102s that we were going to sell to foreign allies. The diplomatic contingent included an Iranian Colonel who was a Communications Officer. I would be assigned a driver and staff car to take this officer on a base tour.

The plane landed and as the contingent disembarked I saw my Iranian buddy who, in a year, had been promoted to Bird Colonel. We hugged, screamed and dove into the staff car. My boss would later ask "wassup?" We laughed about how military friends hang together!

To bad Carter didn't have a clue!

I remember the first two times I had direct interaction with the Iranians at jet engine A-school in Memphis, TN.

The first time, I saw a group of them marching to class with an American petty officer marching them. One of the Iranians left ranks, grabbed the guy’s cover off his head, and tossed it to one of his buddies. They then began playing keep away with the guy’s hat for several throws before they gave it back. I got the impression the guy knew them pretty well, because he didn’t appear angry, just mildly exasperated.

The other time, when I was in a course (they had these self-guided learning courses where you would take a self-test, have them graded, then walk up to a big electric paper punch, punch holes and file them in your binder. As I walked up to the punch, an Iranian guy walked up beside me, stuck my tie in the punch and pressed the button. I was so surprised I completely didn’t even react. The Iranian guy laughed uproariously, though, and handed me a five dollar bill. I don’t remember being that upset, but I do remember thinking later “Man, those Iranians sure are crazy bastards.”

In the mid-70’s my dad was stationed at a base where many fairly senior allied officers came through. He would get paired with one every year, and we would get to know them and their families. One year we got to know a Cambodian family and the next year an Iranian family. Shortly after they returned home, their countries went over to Pol Pot and Khomeini, respectfully. Haunting to think that both delightful families were likely massacred.

I was in Tehran from 1977 to March 31, 1979. I witnessed the fall of the Shah and the hijacking of the Iranian Revolution by Khomeini and the mullahs. Things changed over night as the women were immediately forced into their chadors.

The Shah and Savak were certainly not the model of democratic government, but life under the Shah was far more desireable than under Khomeini. There were more women in the Iranian parliament under the Shah than in the US Congress. There were about 50,000 Iranians studying in the US, the largest foreign contingent of any nation.

We had important listening stations on the Caspian monitoring Soviet nuclear tests. There were over 70,000 private sector Americans in Tehran, many of them with large American defense contractors like Bell Helicopter. The US was trying to sell a nuclear reactor to the Shah. You could buy alcohol freely. Copies of Playboy were sold in the stores. Iranians were by and large very pro-American and many had familial ties in the US. I see Iran as a once and future ally. Only regime change will suffice to change our relationship.

The Shah's rapid Westernation of Iran and the corruption of his government generated a backlash among the poor and the religious and among the businessmen who had to pay kickbacks to government officials. The seeds of revolution were sown. Unfortunately, Obama's failure to act on the ongoing Green Revolution only helped the mullahs.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.