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Originally Posted by 12clicks
intelligent people know.
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Thanks for the insite.
Anyway, the US replaced Iran's leader with their own "shah"... the result of which meant that opposition to the shah's regime turned against the US, not just Britain.
The shah remained in power from 1953 until the revolution in January, 1979. By October, he was taken to the US for cancer treatments which upset the people greatly. Some Iranian students stormed the US embassy and seized the Americans inside, holding them hostage for 444 days.
What ever hope there was for improved relations disappeared when the new leader, Ayotollah Ruholla Khomeini, refused to release the hostages until the shah was returned to Iran.
Iraq seized the opportunity in the chaos and invaded Iran in 1980. The US sided with Saddam Hussein, providing him weapons, intelligence and economic assistance.
The war raged for 8 long years, with neither side gaining an advantage. So Iraq turned to Kuwait who helped finance their war by giving them a $14 billion loan! Unfortunately, it wasn't long before there was a dispute as to how the loan would be repaid and resulted in Iraq invading Kuwait in 1990. As we all know, this ended up sending the US into the Gulf War against Iraq.
The Islamic fundamentalist state that was set up in Iran following the 1979 revolution supported Islamic terrorists all over the world. It also served as an inspiration to Muslim extremists all over the world, including Afghanistan where Muslim fundamentalists known as the Taliban formed a similar theocratic state in 1996.
Any of this sounding familiar?