I mean, it’s not like the US thought that the Shah remaining in power would have led to the Communists taking over. US intelligence at this point considered the Shah’s hold over the country to be solid for another 10 years, at least.
Unfortunately, most of what I’ve read is in scattered articles and papers over the years rather any single source - it’s not a core interest of mine, so I typically only read up on individual incidents as I became aware of them, or in the course of educating myself on related topics.
I will, however, point out that the leftist and Islamist parties initially cooperated until the Islamists suddenly and viciously turned on them after several years of power-sharing. If the US plan was to let the Islamists win over the Shah to prevent leftism, that was a pretty risky setup.
I mean, it’s not like the US thought that the Shah remaining in power would have led to the Communists taking over. US intelligence at this point considered the Shah’s hold over the country to be solid for another 10 years, at least.
Common CIA L.
Do you have any recommendations to read about the events? To me, from far away, it looks like the usual usage of religion to prevent communism.
Unfortunately, most of what I’ve read is in scattered articles and papers over the years rather any single source - it’s not a core interest of mine, so I typically only read up on individual incidents as I became aware of them, or in the course of educating myself on related topics.
I will, however, point out that the leftist and Islamist parties initially cooperated until the Islamists suddenly and viciously turned on them after several years of power-sharing. If the US plan was to let the Islamists win over the Shah to prevent leftism, that was a pretty risky setup.
Thanks.