Does Our Foreign Policy Reflect Our Values?
We're America!!! Right? Even our superheroes are patriotic. Superman was dedicated to "truth, justice and the American way" What a great guy he was. We stand up to evil. We support democracies. And we oppose dictatorships no matter what. Right? Isn't that 100% what we stand for? I'm on to something here, aren't I? Can you hear the cannons of war bringing liberation to the oppressed?
Surveys have shown that people around the world see America's government as one that makes a conscious effort to protect the rights of its citizens. Even Middle Eastern countries with a rocky history as far as America is concerned see it as a country with a very fair government towards it's own people. Those same surveys however have also tended to imply that in the minds of many foreign citizens, America's values are not reflected in its foreign policies. When it comes to who we side with, the surveys reflect an opinion that America talks a good game, but ultimately does what is in the best interests of its elite. And if it harms innocent people, the politicians just say it was "collateral damage".
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was founded in 1908 following the discovery of large oil reserves in Iran. The British government ended up purchasing a controlling interest in the company. Under the original agreement, Iran only earned 16% of the profits from the sale of Iranian oil. 84% of the profits went outside of the country. Eventually the democratically elected president, Mohammad Mosaddegh saw the unfairness of this. The Iranian Parliament voted in late March of 1951 to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.
The west (especially Britain) didn't want to pay the new prices for Iranian oil. The United States was also opposed to the nationalization of the oil industry in Iran. If it could happen in Iran, it could happen everywhere American oil interests were and what could the United States do to stop it.
As hard as it may be to believe, America used the CIA with the assistance of British MI6 to stage a coup to overthrow the government of Iran and return control to the country to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Yes, we overthrew a democracy to install a dictator. Our support for Saddam after the 1979 Islamic revolution wasn't much different. We support dictators and oppose democracies when it is in our interests. Would peace be the result of our foreign policies changing?
Surveys have shown that people around the world see America's government as one that makes a conscious effort to protect the rights of its citizens. Even Middle Eastern countries with a rocky history as far as America is concerned see it as a country with a very fair government towards it's own people. Those same surveys however have also tended to imply that in the minds of many foreign citizens, America's values are not reflected in its foreign policies. When it comes to who we side with, the surveys reflect an opinion that America talks a good game, but ultimately does what is in the best interests of its elite. And if it harms innocent people, the politicians just say it was "collateral damage".
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was founded in 1908 following the discovery of large oil reserves in Iran. The British government ended up purchasing a controlling interest in the company. Under the original agreement, Iran only earned 16% of the profits from the sale of Iranian oil. 84% of the profits went outside of the country. Eventually the democratically elected president, Mohammad Mosaddegh saw the unfairness of this. The Iranian Parliament voted in late March of 1951 to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.
The west (especially Britain) didn't want to pay the new prices for Iranian oil. The United States was also opposed to the nationalization of the oil industry in Iran. If it could happen in Iran, it could happen everywhere American oil interests were and what could the United States do to stop it.
As hard as it may be to believe, America used the CIA with the assistance of British MI6 to stage a coup to overthrow the government of Iran and return control to the country to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Yes, we overthrew a democracy to install a dictator. Our support for Saddam after the 1979 Islamic revolution wasn't much different. We support dictators and oppose democracies when it is in our interests. Would peace be the result of our foreign policies changing?
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