One of the Ironies of Living in the Free World is the lack of Free Information to be able to make an informed and balanced decision. All sides of the picture so to speak. This is a truth that sadly most are not aware is even going on. The reason behind it is that secrets can compromise both national interests and agendas.
The US supreme court even went to the extent of not allow a lebanese/german from having his day in court in the USA, after he had been kidnapped by the cia as a result of mistaken identity and tortured for months, because the supreme court said US secrets would be revealed.
http://www.aclu.org/national-security/us-pressured…
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/09/supremec…
My first big shock in relation to Iran, was the book written by the former president of France called the secrets of the states.
You would be very lucky to be able to find a copy of this book, most have been bought up and destroyed. A friend of mine when he met the president asked him why the book was not in more peoples hands, how come it was only printed once? The said that its rights were purchased by a cia front company to prevent it’s distribution.
In it the french president openly lets out a lot of secret conversations he had with Carter in planning and eventually forcing the Shah out of power. He explains the USA’s role in manufacturing the discontent (using the recipe of human rights, repression and corruption all disingenuously) that lead to the Iranian revolution and even the process of bringing Khomeini to power.
In the United States of America we are Free to make choices, yet it is more accurately described as having the ability to choose based on deceit, coercion, lies and other forms of large scale well funded mass manipulation. Why do I mention all this?
Because there is an awesome documentary made, by an independent film maker. You can still buy used versions of this movie online for $15, but you will not be able to get your hands future copies. Mysteriously, this company is not interested in selling lots of copies of this documentary (they must have wanted to work for free :-0 ), but in all seriousness the films value is far more than $1000 for anyone that gets their hand on it. The picture and evidences it presents must have upset the man.
The aim of the movie was to go over the history of the last 100 years and to let all iranians have their say. So you really get the feeling that this documentary was not in the interest of any particular group, mullah, monarchist, republican.
I myself lean towards monarchy for Irans Future and was happy to see never before seen intervews with the Shah. One Interesting clip contains the answer of the late Shah with respect to democracy for Iranians. He said that Iranians would like to have more democratic processes, but not like America, a country he described as a far more corrupt, masochistic system of government with massive and incomparable injustices.
As an American I agree, if only from a standpoint of pure facts. The Nation with the highest percentage of poverty in the developed world, no mental health system for people without the means for it, a healthcare system only affordable for 180 of 300 million people (120 million with no access to even the most basic pharmaceutical needs let alone health care), in the richest country on earth that will see in only the next 20 years a transfer of 25 Trillion dollars in the form of inheritance from those with the means to their children. I liked the Shahs desripton of this perversity, He candidly with a straight face tells the interviewer, yes we would like more democracy in Iran, but not in the corrupt, unjust masochistic American sense of the word.
Overall with the exception of a few interviews with the shah none of the interviews were with monarchists. The Documentary did a good job describing the way in which Iran has been a thwarted power. It’s a documentary that allowed Iranians of various factions to share their story. It goes into detail of one of the longest wars that has been going on against a iranians, since the discovery of oil in Iran in 1908. And Irans significance for world peace.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DigrJOaQ0EI
Iran, The Hundred Years War.
