50
Americans opened new oil fields144 and trained and equipped the
Iranian military.145 American corporations started subsidiary
operations in Teheran. The American government gave the Iranians
money, helped place the country on the road to development, and
propped up the Iranian ruler, the Shah, counseling him on every
nuance of policy from internal security to the management of his image
in the Iranian newspapers.146 Then American executives and advisors
moved into luxury villas in walled-off Iranian suburbs, hired Iranian
servants, and lived like kings.
Some American actions were Machiavellian. Others were
generous. Both were destined to incur resentment. After all, giving
lavishly is often the best way to remind the recipient he's beneath you.
It wasn't long before the Iranians felt their old sense of humiliation and
realized that they were still in the pecking order's lower depths. Even
the Shah felt the Americans despised him. According to his occasional
confidante, the Soviet ambassador, the Shah picked quarrels with the
United States on minor issues to release his frustration--the frustration
of a chicken who feels how low on the pecking order he has slid.147
In the '50s, one Iranian leader championed a move that would
shame the Americans and restore Iranian pride. His name was
Mohammad Mosaddeq. His position: Iranian premier. His plan:
snatch the oilfields from the British and Americans. Make them
Iranian national property.
When Mosaddeq spoke of Islamic pride, he literally brought
tears to the eyes of his fellow Iranians.148 Islamic extremists were
willing to kill in Mosaddeq's name. And kill they did. Among others,
they assassinated the incorruptible Prime Minister Ali Razmara. Fear
of Mosaddeq's fanatical supporters was so great that no imam could be
found to say prayers at Razmara's funeral. When one holy man was
offered three thousand pounds to perform the services, he answered
that "he valued his life at a higher rate than this."149 Terrified by
Mosaddeq's growing power, the Shah fled the country.150
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