Reading the Shah, and Ayatollahs in Tehran and What the U.S. Should Learn From the History
Huffington Post / Omid Memarian
25-Jan-2011 (2 comments)

Memarian: In writing the book did you find any parallels between the Shah's time and the ruling of the ayatollahs in Iran now?

Milani: Absolutely! I think that there are so many parallels. For example, if you look at the documents and American, British, and CIA reports, you see that between 1975 and 1978, three years before the revolution, almost universally, and I say almost because there are some dissenting views, the view of the Americans and the British is that the Shah is here to stay, the opposition is completely demoralized, everyone is only thinking about their own interests, the Savak is in full control, and the military is unbeatable.
In a study that the British commissioned right after the fall of the Shah, they tried to understand why they had been so wrong. The study is called British policy in Iran and was written by someone named M.W. Brown and is now available online, almost 97 pages. The person who had access to all of their files, said they underestimated the brutality and thus the flight of the secret police, they did not understand the public perception and resentment of corruption amongst the ruling elite. And they did not understand the power, the pervasive power, of the opposition.
I think this could be almost exactly a recipe for what is wrong with some of western thinking about Iran today. They don't understand how fed-up people are with this regime; they don't understand how corrupt this regime is. And they don't understand ho... >>>

recommended by Shifteh Ansari

Balatarin
Share/Save/Bookmark

 
SOS-FREE-IRAN

Milani is a biased pseudoscholar

by SOS-FREE-IRAN on Tue Jan 25, 2011 08:39 PM PST

Mr. Milani leaves out the exact number executed during Khomeini's rule: 1.5 million people. Why does he not compare apples to apples? Because he is biased. How many Iranians have been murdered/executed/bottle raped during Islamic Republic? over 3 million. Did Iranians have any political freedom when Mr. Milani Installed Mr. Khomeini in power? Nope. In fact, Mr. Khoemini along with his henchmen closed the unviersities, burned books, and began rewriting Iran's history - according to Mr. khomeini. Mr. Milani is a student of Mr. Khomeini. What credibility does this mullazadeh communist have? what does he know of democracy? 


  •  
vildemose

Very telling

by vildemose on Tue Jan 25, 2011 04:28 PM PST

 

Memarian: How is it different than the current government in Tehran in dealing with peaceful protests?

Milani: If you look at the number of people killed as a result of assassinations, or through execution by the Shah's regime, the total number is less that 1,500 during his 37-year rule. Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the death of 4,000 people in prison, in a few months in 1988.

Memarian: Regarding your facts and understanding on the Coup, how can we draw a line between the reality and the myth about the Coup, which has occupied the historical memory of a nation.

The book shows very clearly that Khomeini volunteered contacts with the Americans, he answered their questions; and he advised his allies in Iran to negotiate with the American Embassy. So, in almost all of these phases, the reality, at least as far as I have uncovered, is very, very different than what has been, so far, assumed about it.


  •