That’s funny, 25 years later. All that regime change took in 1953 was some spies and some satchels of money. Those were the good old days.
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The Shah, installed by the CIA, really didn’t care about the people and was for “modernization” at the expense of Shiite tradition.
Right, more money for the American corporations.
I trained alongside several Iranian Air Force guys when I went to Navy Parachute Rigger School in 1974. Other than the accent, they could have passed for good old American sailors.
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And Beirut was the Paris of the East until he Jihadis, Syrians and Iranians turned it into a post Apocalyptic shit hole.
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Rox I have a bunch of Lebanese/American clients who fled Beruit in the late 70’s and 80’s, a couple who had been in the US longer due to business.
You would never believe their photo and video collections of what it used to be like. It was one of the most modern Metro Areas in the world and very European.
The Muslims turned it back into a 15th century bombed out disaster area in less than a decade.
What amazes me is that all of them seem to be born Gourmet’s.
If you ever want the best hamburger or prime rib of your life let me know if you are going to be in Texas.
Beehive for the PR and I’ll have to rmember the burger joint, it’s just up 35 from FT at 114/35w on the east side of the road at the Exxon.
Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, most all of the ME was much more advanced and beautiful before three decades of gratuitous US regime change wars that have devastated the region…
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Yes, direct and indirect interventions.
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Yep you are correct! I once sat in a cafe in downtown Beirut sipping an expresso and remembering it in that moment in time what a slice of heaven it was! Not so much anymore!
Pure BS. It all began to fall apart when the brits drew the lines to suit them and BP, gave them all the guns, planes, tanks, light armor and trucks they needed to run their dictatorships and fled the region.
I’d read about it for years, my first trip was in 82 as part of an escort security force for dignitaries.
It was a shocking difference after seeing and reading for years about how beautiful and advanced it had been.
Somehow that’s got to be the US’ fault as well…
All of which have left the ME region in far worse shape.
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I was an enlisted radio repairman at McGuire AFB in the mid 70s. We hosted two Iranians who trained with us. As you say, they were just regular guys. They liked to party. I did note though that they laughed at how easy it was to get an American girl into bed.
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