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Well surely supporting the Shah and the absolute brutality conducted by Savak helped our image

• eternalban 10y ago
  Did you actually experience the "brutality of [S.A.V.A.K.]" first hand or is this something you've read? One of my uncles, pretty high up in the Tudeh (Communist) Party, spent two tours in Shah's prisons as a political prisoner. He also spent one tour in the Ayatollahs' prisons for the same issue: being a communist. A few years ago, when he came visiting States side, I asked him about it. What he told me was that the Shah's prisons were a joke compared to the ones run by IRI. I have fond memories of him from the late 70s as a very self confident and charming man. Per family gossip, after his release from IRI's prisons he barely said a word for 2 years and was broken. As for "image", it may interest the younger HN reader to know that the very meme of "Shah the brutal dictator" started in the early 70s in the West, with the (finally) now fully established role played by "human rights" organizations that are fronts for Western intelligence services. Yes, SAVAK is a dark stain, having been trained by FBI and MOSSAD contrary to long standing Iranian mores and standards of conduct. But I can point you to youtube videos of public trials of political prisoners during the Shah's regime and challenge you to produce ONE for the multitude of ("brutalized") political prisoners now held in Guantanemo and other undisclosed locations.
• Paradigma11 10y ago
  The Shah ruled for 25 years. That's a lot of time. The first 10 years were quite ok with a steady decline and pretty horrible last 5 years.