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Democrats at Heart of Middle East Problems
Galveston Daily News ^ | January 31, 2006 | Shawn Christopher Phillips

Posted on 01/31/2006 8:31:23 PM PST by anymouse

Democrats may claim victim status for unintended consequences, but at the end of the day, their policies have ultimately produced our current problems with the Axis-of-Evil and their nukes.

One only need go back to the Carter administration to reveal the ugly facts.

Between World War II and 1979, Iran was the model of progressive Middle Eastern modernity and was undeniably our strongest ally within the Muslim world.

However, after Carter’s election, he decided the Shah didn’t measure up to human-rights standards.

A leftist mainstream media campaign ran stories of Iranian government-sponsored torture while willfully neglecting to report the Soviet influence and the nature of the enemy facing Iran.

After Carter cut the Shah off at the knees, the world was introduced to Ayatollah Khomeini, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Republic and 444 days of America held hostage. On the other hand, the Carter period did give us Billy Beer and a presidential rabbit attack.

After America’s period of Democrat malaise, Presidents Reagan and Bush (41) were elected.

Their legacies in brief: U.S. hostages released, Libya abated, won Cold War, Soviet Union disintegrated, won first Gulf War and eliminated the U.S. military’s mollifying experience of Vietnam.

Then the American electorate fell prey to the prevarications of a two-term, skirt chasing, didn’t inhale, draft dodging, military loathing, don’t ask don’t tell, scandal-ridden deceiver from Arkansas, who worked hard to undo U.S. political capital earned during the previous 12 years.

Clinton failed to recognize the first World Trade Center bombing as an attack, and his indecisiveness became well-known in Somalia, which later motivated the movie “Black Hawk Down.”

This episode became a public relations victory for al-Qaida and its impetus to strike future U.S. assets.

Clinton ordered missile strikes that offered little in the way of real results.

Al-Qaida’s newly emboldened stance led to the U.S. embassy bombing in Africa, the Khobar Towers bombing and the attack on the USS Cole, to name a few.

Clinton’s legacy recorded scandal after scandal on top of scandal. On the other hand, Clinton failed to dismiss and/or stop Carter from traveling to North Korea to make a deal that would later result in a North Korean nuclear program and the weapons derived there from.

Before Sept. 11, President George W. Bush took on the Chinese Communists and secured the release of a naval surveillance crew.

Shortly after Sept. 11, with patriotic bravado, President Bush declared that the enemy would hear from us, and he later went on to prophetically expose the Axis-of-Evil. In spite of Democrat and world-leftist cowardice and condemnation, President Bush declared the War on Terrorism.

Undeniable results have produced the world’s only successful invasion of Afghanistan, removal of the Taliban, the successful invasion of Iraq and removal of Saddam Hussein and an al-Qaida on the run and in hiding.

One should also note France’s newfound willingness to lob nukes and the more recent Canadian electorate declaration of red-state status.

If not for Democrat interloping, we would already by drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and moving toward Social Security reform.

The clear divide in legacies couldn’t be clearer, and no manner of historical revisionism can change the truth.

Shawn Christopher Phillips lives in Texas City.


TOPICS: Canada; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; Politics/Elections; US: Texas; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; africa; alqaida; anwar; axisofevil; bush; canada; carter; carterlegacy; chaos; china; clinton; communists; democrats; failure; france; hostages; iran; malaise; middleeast; military; muslim; northkorean; nukes; oil; rats; reagan; revisionism; shah; somalia; soviet; stupidrats; taliban; terrorism; traitors; treason; usscole; vietnam
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To: Alberta's Child
In either case, there was absolutely no reason for the U.S. government to basically help serve as the guarantor of British Petroleum's investments in the Middle East.

That makes sense. But you don't see ANY truth to the suggestion that Iran had become our strongest ally in the Muslim world? Or that Iran was showing more modernity than the rest of the Muslim world? At all? Do you think past mistakes, Ike's or whoever's, absolves Carter of his?

21 posted on 01/31/2006 11:07:48 PM PST by FreeKeys ("Multiculturalism is based on the lie that all cultures are morally equal." -- Michael Barone)
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To: Alberta's Child
"Iranians from that era will tell you that he wrested control of the nation's oil assets from the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) -- a construct of post-WW2 British colonialism. In either case, there was absolutely no reason for the U.S. government to basically help serve as the guarantor of British Petroleum's investments in the Middle East."

Have these Iranians also mentioned the other reason(s) why the CIA was ordered to intervene ?

22 posted on 02/01/2006 12:45:35 AM PST by odds
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To: anymouse; Howlin
Nasty little fact in this article:

IAEA Says Iran Received Black Market Uranium Documents (PART OF BLUEPRINTS FOR A NUCLEAR WARHEAD!) --in 1987

*********************************

The document given to Iran in 1987 showed how to cast “enriched, natural and depleted uranium metal into hemispherical forms,” said a confidential IAEA report. IAEA officials refused to comment on the implications of the finding.

23 posted on 02/01/2006 1:13:06 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: Alberta's Child; anymouse; FreeKeys; All

Here is a link if anyone is interested to learn more about Mossaddegh and the CIA coup in Iran during Eisenhower Administration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Mossadegh


24 posted on 02/01/2006 1:20:11 AM PST by odds
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To: Alberta's Child
IMHO, anyone who believes that the CIA was responsible and that Iranians were not involved has no credibility on the subject.

I wish the CIA were that good. sarc.

I think the Shahs dynasty is very old.

25 posted on 02/01/2006 10:40:45 AM PST by concrete is my business (prepare the sub grade, then select the mix design)
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To: odds
Thanks for the link odds.

It seems that there were many different interests competing in Iran at that time.

The CIA provided 1 million dollars for propaganda and Kermit Roosevelt and somehow this leads everyone to conclude that America controlled the outcome.

I think America got the outcome it preferred and so did millions of others.

26 posted on 02/01/2006 11:03:56 AM PST by concrete is my business (prepare the sub grade, then select the mix design)
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To: FreeKeys
Iran was "showing more modernity" than the rest of the Muslim world because the combination of British colonialism and Persian culture made the country more conducive to modernity.

Do you think past mistakes, Ike's or whoever's, absolves Carter of his?

Carter was really in a no-win situation on this particular issue. Do the Clinton administrations blunders in the 1990s absolve the Bush administration of its responsibilities for 9/11? I think they do, for the most part.

27 posted on 02/02/2006 8:17:31 AM PST by Alberta's Child (Leave a message with the rain . . . you can find me where the wind blows.)
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To: concrete is my business

Of course the Iranians were involved. The U.S. basically supported one side in an internal Iranian political conflict -- a scenario that has been played out repeatedly over the last 50 years in any number of countries around the world.


28 posted on 02/02/2006 8:19:19 AM PST by Alberta's Child (Leave a message with the rain . . . you can find me where the wind blows.)
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To: Alberta's Child

I would like to correct you on something: Iran was never actually "colonized" by the British. It was only occupied for a while during and just after WWII by British and Russian soldiers.

Modernization of Iran began during Reza Shah (The late Shah's father) and due to his initiatives.


29 posted on 02/02/2006 6:17:48 PM PST by odds
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To: odds
odds - Since Jan 10, 2006

And we know how reliable/nonpartisan Wikipedia is. /sarcasm
30 posted on 02/03/2006 12:09:32 AM PST by anymouse
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To: Alberta's Child
a scenario that has been played out repeatedly over the last 50 years in any number of countries around the world.

Yes, the rest of us call that the Cold War.

We won. Do you have a problem with that?

31 posted on 02/03/2006 12:13:14 AM PST by anymouse
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To: anymouse

The content of what is mentioned in the link I gave is pretty much the same as others I've read on the web.

If you have a website that is vastly different in key points or otherwise, please supply it.

What is your point is by "odds - Since Jan 10, 2006" ?


32 posted on 02/03/2006 12:13:55 AM PST by odds
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To: anymouse

Some of us call it "business as usual," since it really began far earlier than 50 years ago. The first case of U.S. military intervention outside North America was the Spanish-American War in the Philippines, which took place before the Soviet Union even existed.


33 posted on 02/03/2006 3:39:25 AM PST by Alberta's Child (Leave a message with the rain . . . you can find me where the wind blows.)
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To: Alberta's Child

What, you aren't going to complain about U.S. interventionism in Canada during the War of 1812 as well? (/sarcasm)

Thankfully your fellow countrymen are growing impatient with liberals like you and the grownups are back in charge. Maybe you can run away to Seattle. :)


34 posted on 02/04/2006 12:43:11 AM PST by anymouse
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To: odds

The point is that you are obviously a clueless liberal trolling on FR under a new handle. Don't let the Viking Kitties get you. :)


35 posted on 02/04/2006 12:45:52 AM PST by anymouse
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To: anymouse; Admin Moderator
"The point is that you are obviously a clueless liberal trolling on FR under a new handle. Don't let the Viking Kitties get you."

Firstly, I'm not a liberal. Obviously, it is you who doesn't have a clue.

Secondly, You have no right to personally attack people, especially when you don't know me, and falsely accuse me for no reason whatsoever.

New handle?!! Keep your paranoia in check as well.

Don't message me again.

36 posted on 02/04/2006 5:09:00 AM PST by odds
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To: concrete is my business

"I think America got the outcome it preferred and so did millions of others."

True. Personally, I believe that it was absolutely necessary for America to intervene at that time.

I wish the Carter administration was as vigilant as Eisenhower but obviously it wasn't and now we have this Mullah problem in Iran, which was largely created by Carter administration.


37 posted on 02/04/2006 6:12:29 AM PST by odds
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