Middle East Focus: The Obama-Clinton 'Operation Ajax': Starve the Iranian People into Rebelling…………

Arabia Deserta

The Obama-Clinton 'Operation Ajax': Starve the Iranian People into Rebelling…………

Rattlesnake Ridge

BFF

“An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that a U.S. intelligence official had described regime collapse as a goal of U.S. and other sanctions against Iran. An updated version clarifies the official’s remarks. The Obama administration sees economic sanctions against Iran as building public discontent that will help compel the government to abandon an alleged nuclear weapons program, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official. In addition to influencing Iranian leaders directly, the official said, “another option here is that [sanctions] will create hate and discontent at the street level so that the Iranian leaders realize that they need to change their ways.”. The intelligence official’s remarks pointed to what has long been an unstated reality of sanctions: Although designed to pressure a government to change its policies, they often impose broad hardships on a population. ……….” Washington Post

Interesting, this quick revision, softening of the goal of the sanctions. That was a timely revision, part of an Obama-Clinton attempt at damage control. Yet the sinister effects of the ever-tightening Western blockade will not change: squeeze the Iranian people.

In the summer of 1953 the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and the British MI6 plotted the overthrow of the democratically-elected Iranian government of Mohammed Mossadegh. The reason was that he was a patriot who did now bow to Western imperialist powers and had nationalized Anglo-Iranian Oil. They paid for and organized street agitations and had General Zahedi stage a military coup that ended Iranian democracy. The Americans called the operation “Operation Ajax”; the Brits, as usual preferring understatements, called it something else not so flashy.

Now Mr. Obama has been tightening his own screws on the Iranian people for a couple of years. He is set to tighten them even more as he faces pressures of a tough reelection campaign and with the Israeli Likud nipping at his heels. Not all of Iran’s economic woes are caused by American and European sanctions, but they are making life harder for average Iranians. Regimes don’t face economic hardships during bad times, especially during foreign blockades, be they Iranian, Iraqi, or American elites. (I bet you can’t name one high U.S. official who has had a hard time, financially, during the deep recession of the Bush and Obama administrations).
This is apparently the Obama-Clinton equivalent of Operation Ajax, only its effects are supposed to trickle down to the people, make them angry at their rulers to the point of rebellion. I have nothing against rebellion: often it can be healthy. What is dirty is starving people into it.
Cheers
mhg

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com