Know Your History: BP's Deadly Impact On the World

You think the current oil spill is the worst thing BP has done? Think again.

Indeed, BP (or, back in the day when it was known as the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company) has bequeathed the world much more than a sticky oily Gulf of Mexico, dead sea life and unemployed Americans.

In fact, they helped mightily in delivering to the world stage the militant, fundamentalist Islamic state of Iran.

Huh you say? True I say. Oh, and the "Anglo-Iranian Oil Company" had some help from the good old USA in setting in motion the events that would lead up to the 1979 Iranian revolution and institution of Ayatollah Khomeini.

The BBC has an excellent article on this history that you can read by clicking HERE.

The BBC article is the best place to get the info on this history, but here is a summary:

• In 1951 Iranians democratically elected a leader, prime minister Mohammad Mosaddech.
• He decided to nationalize Iran's oil production and facilities for a number of reasons.
• This REALLY ticked off the oil company.
• They and the British government took steps to undermine Mosaddech and re-establish their control over Iranian oil...but they were not successful.
• Becoming more desperate, the British government under Winston Churchill's leadership started calling Mosaddech a socialist, a communist, a dictator etc. despite those things being untrue...and they said these things directly into the ear of the White House and the CIA.  
• We bought it and in 1953 helped execute a plan to overthrow Mosaddech and install the Shah (king) of Iran.
• The Shah's regime was so brutal, so repressive and so hated that by 1979, religious factions had galvanized a movement to overthrow the Shah...and they did. You may remember this little episode best by the capture of the US Embassy in Tehran and the holding of US hostages.
• During and after the revolution, the Ayatollah Khomeini became the country's leader. He and then the fundamentalist Islamic movement he created have ruled Iran ever since.
• Unless you are from Mars, you know how this has played out over the past 31 years.

This is the power and influence of oil has on world events. This is the power and influence of corporations have on the lives - and uncounted deaths - of people all over the world.

Know Your History - Iran

Anybody paying attention to the news knows there is some serious stuff going on in Iran right now as many in that nation are openly protesting against the conservative religious government over what appears to be rigged elections.

As of last week, the Iranian leaders have started to talk about how the unrest in their country is being orchestrated by the U.K. and the U.S.A. This sounds paranoid, and it's definitely a diversionary tactic on the government's part to cover up whatever they've done.

However, it's not all that surprising why the Iranians would bring this up as a reason for the protests and unrest. Why you may ask? Know your history I say.

Turns out, we and the Brits did in fact overthrow a democratically elected Iranian government back in the 1950s...installing the Shah of Iran who ruled as a dictator and ensured the west got its oil for cheap. The Shah was in turn overthown by a revolution against his dictatorship in 1979...a popular uprising led by the current religous leaders.

And, lets not forget that the U.S. backed one Saddam Hussein in the long running and horrific Iran/Iraq war in the 1980s.

So, there is a rich history of western involvement in overthrowing the Iranian goverment. Based on that, it's plausable for the Iranian goverment to use the spectre of our influence as an excuse for what's happening now in their attempts to shift attention and blame.

Check out the info on the US-backed coup on Wikipedia here.

All of this goes a long ways to explaining why the Iranian government is saying what it is about the west right now, and it also helps inform why President Obama is not projecting a loud and aggressive tone on this issue right now.