We waged 30 years of economic warfare on them because they kidnapped 55 of our people and held them for 444 days.
We supported Saddam against them because they kidnapped 55 of our people and held them for 444 days.
Gee, we could have gotten them out after one day if we sent back the Shah to face the justice he so richly deserved.
There's really no excuse for us to have continued abusing Iran after the hostages were released.
We supported the Shah because he was West-friendly and because we recognized the need for Strongmen to rule that region with an iron fist.
The gamble failed.
No, we backed the Shah because British Petroleum told us to, because the DEMOCRATICALLY elected government of Mossedeqi wanted to take back Iran's own resources. We told a small weaker country that what kind of government THEY wanted they couldn't have.
The Shah then proceeded to eliminated every other source of oppossition EXCEPT for the Clergy (whom he couldn't touch), leaving the Clergy as the only viable counter to his power.
The Mexican government was in negotiations with Germany to work against the United States in WWI in return for lost territories.
We did not continue to hold that over the heads of the Mexican People and government in perpetuity.
Guy, are you really trying to cite the shitty way the USA treats MEXICO as a shining example.
The Mexicans have a saying - "Pity Mexico- so far from God, so close to the United States!"
Our policy towards Mexico has been 165 years of racist bullshit.
A fundamentalist theocracy - especially one which routinely portrays us as The Great Satan - is no one's friend - especially not ours.
That doesn't make them our enemy. It just means they don't like us FOR GOOD REASON.
We were not there, century after century, as Sunni grappled with Shia, through the generations and the rise and fall of fortunes, and periods of action, and dormancy.
True. And for the most part, they lived together. Until Bush fucked it up.
A natural reaction to trying the exact same thing (supporting a strong-man in the region) with the Shah of Iran, only to have it backfire, later.
Damned if we do... damned if we don't... perhaps it's time to go back to supporting Strongmen in the region, as you suggest here.
Uh, no, what we need to do is NOT GET INVOLVED AT ALL.
We don't support any side. We don't get into their fights. We don't try to tell them what kind of government they should have. We stop supporting the ******* ZIONISTS in all the evil shit they pull.
Hey, when was the last time "Islamonazis" attacked Japan? Oh, that's right. they don't. The Japanese mind their own ******* business.
So should we.