We’re still living with the fallout of the Iranian Revolution back in 1979 — and we still don’t really understand how the West got its reaction to events so wrong, or what could have been done differently.
We’re still living with the fallout of the Iranian Revolution back in 1979 — and we still don’t really understand how the West got its reaction to events so wrong, or what could have been done differently. The fall of the Shah and rise of the Ayatollah is an object lesson in the powerlessness of Western might against cool-headed strategic thinking, and the negative impact of non-intervention. On the BBC World Service there’s been a series of programmes looking back at the revolution that changed not just Iran but also the global political situation. Iran and the West (Mondays) set out to make the connections that should have been made 30 years ago by drawing on the memories of those involved, either as military officers under the Shah, as political (and intriguingly PR) advisers to the Ayatollah Khomeini, or as American politicans and diplomats.
A much more complicated picture began to emerge than was reported at the time, showing the shilly-shallying that went on before the US government decided who they were supporting — the Shah, the Ayatollah or even Saddam Hussein. We also discovered how the Ayatollah had not originally supported the students’ plan to take over the US embassy in Tehran, but had responded astutely to events, realising their propaganda significance.
This series was so cleverly put together, letting the very complicated political events unfold through the voices of those who were eyewitnesses — such as the Ayatollah’s young relative (who was one of his chief advisers), Warren Christopher, Walter Mondale, Zbigniew Brzezinksi, and former President Jimmy Carter.
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