1953 US-backed coup in Iran

Date assigned
Friday, June 1


Assignment
Read the chapter from Overthrow about the 1953 Iran coup.  Answer the following questions:

1) What kind of a man was John Foster Dulles?  What influences most strongly shaped him?  How did he view the world?  How did his personal and professional background influence his time as Secretary of State?

2) What kind of a man was Mohammad Mossadegh?  What did he want for Iran?  How did his actions as the Iranian Prime Minister lead to conflict with Britain? 

3) What did Britain do in response to Mossadegh’s actions?  What did Britain do that lead to the United States getting involved in the conflict between Britain and Iran? 

4) How did the CIA bring about the fall of the Iranian government?  What tactics did they use?  Compare and contrast these tactics to US actions involving Cuba and the Philippines after the Spanish-American War.  How were they similar?  How were the different?  Why was it necessary for the United States to assert control in foreign countries in new and different ways after World War II?

5) Ultimately, the United States overthrew a democratically elected leader for being a Communist and replaced him with a monarch, all at the request of the British government.  How many levels of irony can you detect in this episode in our history?

Due date

Tuesday, June 5