Throughout its history, America has found herself involved in many sphere of influence circumstances. The United States in the past two hundred years has been the driving force of Democracies throughout the world. America has been submerged in operations from Latin America to the Middle East. Being this Global Force has created many complicated and messy situations, one of them being the Iran-Contra Affair. In no other reality would the countries Nicaragua and Iran ever come into the same sentence, but these two countries played a critical role in American History. It also brings about the simple question of why? Why are these countries so important? Why was the Reagan Administration involved in this and what was it that made them become …show more content…
Both superpowers were eager to claim territory and spread their ideologies and the Middle East was no different. Both countries wanted to spread their influence throughout the Middle East and also be a part of the vast wealth many of the Countries in the Middle East own.
After 1953 Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, referred to as “the Shah” took power and ruled Iran as a secular ruler. Throughout his reign in power, The Shah became increasingly focused in westernizing Iran and started to have close relations with the United States. After the increase of modernization in Iran and the reductions of traditional religious values, the Iranian people began to grow displeased with the Shah and riots broke out in 1978. Many of the riots were in protest to the Shahs growing western political ties and an anti-west, more religiously tied group began to form. After increased pressure, the Shah left Iran in January of 1979 and Ayatollah Khomeini declared Iran as an Islamic state. Ayatollah Khomeini was a former prominent religious leader that was in opposition to the Shahs rule and was once exiles to Paris. Ayatollah Khomeini’s platform was one of traditional religious Islam and complete resistance to Democracy and Westernization. Under this anti-Western rule, Iran was no longer one of the United States key allies in the Middle East. Not only did the U.S want to maintain Iran because of its huge oil supply but they did not want the Soviet Union to have any influence over
In 1980, the Shah died and the militants wanted the hostage deal of Shah standing trial and taking the punishment for his crimes in exchange for the release of the hostages. So now with the Shah passing it was impossible for the Shah to stand trial and be convicted for the said crimes. Leaving the hostages useless to the militants. So its time for a new deal to be made. In exchange for the hostages, the United States would unfreeze the accounts of the Iranian
The Shah signed the decree and then fled Iran because of the publicity, yet his supporters
embassy in Tehran and seized control of the embassy. Farber provides both an international and domestic viewpoint on the crisis, which offers the reader more of an outlook on the situation. Farber’s international viewpoint provides the reader with the look into the origins of the situation and the policies the United States had put in place in Iran. These policies include the part in ousting Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh by the United States, the United States backing of the Shah and the inclination of policy makers to turn their backs to the problem of authoritarianism in Iran, which was causing suffering for the people in the country. These problems began when the United States took interest in the Middle East in the 1970’s because of its oil rich ground.
The most prominent example is Nicaragua. Carter's rhetoric encouraged a revolution within the nation. Unfortunately, the leader, Anastasio Somoza, was an ally of the United States! The revolution, led by militant communists (known as the Sandinistas), replaced the Somoza regime and drove a wedge between United States and Nicaraguan relations.
Jimmy Carter and his advisers believed that many of the traditional rationales that had guided U.S. foreign policy for over a generation were now outmoded and inappropriate to altered world realities.[footnoteRef:10] His most famous mistake and something that is remembered in his legacy was how he handled the Iranian hostage crisis (4th November 1979 to 20th January 1981. It was this crisis that many considered to be the final nail on Carter’s coffin. The crisis initially started due to a Western and Iranian dispute over oil. When Iran elected their new Prime Minister; Muhammad Mossadegh, in 1951, he nationalised the countries oil trade which would alter British and American control over Iran’s investment.
Both Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush served as presidents of the United States of America during the late 20th century, from 1981-89 and 1989-93 respectively. Their presidencies covered the ending of the Cold War and the transition from a bipolar to a unipolar world. The Cold War was a hegemonic struggle between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union/USSR (which later became Russia) and dominated world relations since the end of the Second World War. Primarily, the Cold War was marked by the ideological and economic expansion of US capitalism and Soviet communism, which underlined many proxy wars and self-determination struggles. Both presidents sought to promote the US’ best interests, but the execution of these was determined by
Sometimes, you will have to lie by omission or outright in the interest of national security. Carter did so during the Iran Hostage Crisis, particularly with regard to the Argo Operation. However, tell the truth at all other times. It will prevent a lot of issues.
United States Vs. Nixon President Richard M. Nixon was born in California in 1913. He had a brilliant record at Whittier College and Duke University Law School before beginning the practice of law. During World War II, he served as a Navy lieutenant commander in the Pacific. He was elected to Congress by his California district.
They tried to have relations with them in order to get these resources, and provide help and introduce democracy. Nonetheless, the United States caused more harm than good from these interactions and it took them having to take a step back to evaluate
Twenty years after reinstating the Shah, Iranians were dissatisfied with his government and instead wanted Ayatollah Khomeini, a clergy who supported a revolutionary Islamic government. The concept of the shah and his pro-American stance did not meet the standards of Iranians. Consequently, the shah was overthrown and exiled to Egypt. In regard to President Carter’s human rights sentiment, the United States administration refrained from defending the shah during Iran’s revolution. For many months, the shah lived in various countries and expressed interest in gaining asylum in the United States.
During the American Revolution of 1775-1793, our goal was to separate ourselves from the British Empire. By the end of the American Revolution it was clear our goal had been accomplished; we were no longer part of Britain. However, with some revolutions it can be unclear whether the desired goal was accomplished. One such revolution was the Iranian Revolution of 1979 whose goal was to create a theocracy. A theocracy is defined as a “government of a state by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided.”
Back during the Iranian revolution, there were two political parties that had separate factors leading to the revolution. The party that affected the revolution the most was the Shah dynasty, where Mohammad Shah inspired the white revolution which supported women 's rights and economical growth. While Mohammad Shah did lead his country away from Islamic idealism, he did allow for economical growth and social reform which still positively affects Iran today. The Shah dynasty had a monarchal power system, which allowed them to have overall power of the country.
During the Cold War era, the U.S. shifted its focus from economic and territorial interests to containing the Soviet Union and preventing the spread of communism. The U.S. saw Latin America as a crucial battleground in this struggle. The fear was that if left
Many of these foreign policy and domestic issues were inherited from their predecessors particularly Eisenhower. The United
According to the lecture notes, wars, in general, have idiosyncratic causes; but, political scientists noticed some patterned and categorized those causes into three levels: individual level, state/society level, and international-system level. Causes of war can be attributed to individual leaders, who are aggressive either by nature or by the misperceptions they have about other nations or groups of people, such as the anti-Semitic leader of Germany, Adolf Hitler, who is considered by many as a main cause of WWII, and Kim Jong Un, the young leader of North Korea who have shown some aggressive attitudes, but not actual acts, towards the United States. States and societies also can be causes of some wars. States with different political systems are more likely to fight than states with similar systems, such as the capitalist liberal United States against the communist Soviet Union. Similarly, civil wars are more likely to occur between people of different