6 ms·
Amazing how one theocracy, Saudi Arabia, is ok, but the other theocracy, Iran, is bad.
by amalag 11y ago
Amazing how one theocracy, Saudi Arabia, is ok, but the other theocracy, Iran, is bad.
- dragontamer 11y agoNot really. The US shot a missile at Iranian Airliner (killing all civilians on board) and coup'd Iran's Democracy in the 1960s. Iran held US personnel as hostages for a year and imprisons our visitors. They are also sworn enemies to US Allies like Israel. Iran is "bad" because they are our enemy. And they see the US as "bad" because we've been their enemy in the past. There is absolutely nothing strange about the hate-filled relationship between Iran and the US. It is simple politics and history.
- pstuart 11y ago> It is simple politics and history American was at war with Japan and Germany not to long before as well. Now we are best buddies. Things can change if the money's right.
- ptaipale 11y agoThere was a fairly complete turnaround in the politics of both Germany and Japan after they lost the Second World War, in case you didn't notice. The "money's right" came as a consequence of that.
- jacquesm 11y agoNothing rules out Iran having such a complete turnaround. Plenty of people there remember the days of the Shah, they also remember the days of the SAVAK. Neither of those solutions was 'all good' so at some point the people will say 'enough'. It can take a while.
- ptaipale 11y ago> Nothing rules out Iran having such a complete turnaround. The purpose of the Guardian Council [0] is precisely to prevent such a turnaround. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardian_Council https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardian_Council
- jacquesm 11y agoThat sort of thing will be their downfall, it won't prevent much of anything other than maybe temporary.
- hackuser 11y agoIran was a U.S. ally under the Shahs, whose reign lasted from the coup we supported or engineered (against their mostly democratic government) in 1953 until the revolution in 1979. Many/most 9/11 perpetrators, including Osama Bin Laden, came from Saudi Arabia; there is plenty of reason for the U.S. to hate them. All countries (or other groups) can find reasons to hate or love each other. Look at France and Germany, close allies now but plenty of opportunity for hate. All it takes is an effective political leader to manipulate the public in whatever way suits them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOR38552MJA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOR38552MJA
- mratzloff 11y agoIran was a U.S. ally under the Shahs, whose reign lasted from the coup we supported or engineered (against their mostly democratic governemnt) in 1953 until the revolution in 1979. The beginning of Mohammad Reza's reign was in 1941 and had nothing to do with the US. The coup (by both the US and UK) was about reversing the nationalization of Iran's oil industry, not about installing Mohammad Reza as king. Britain and the Soviet Union did that in WWII.
- hackuser 11y agoWhatever the mechanics the US and UK effectively removed Prime Minister Mosaddegh from power and gave it to, and supported the Shah (Reza). Is that not correct?
- abalashov 11y agoYes, it is correct. Although, as with any CIA destabilisation and coup operation, a certain layer of plausible deniability was a key strategic consideration.
- TheOsiris 11y agoI think the major difference is that Iran is openly and directly funding/helping Hizbollah. Whereas Saudi Arabia is more of funder of extremist beliefs but no direct funding of terrorist orgs
- lambdasquirrel 11y agoSingapore is one republic, and Sweden is another. They could hardly be more different. Not all {governments-of-one-type} are the same.
- arethuza 11y agoSweden is constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy - more like the UK than Singapore.