Peloni: Good overview of how badly the US Middle East file has been managed against its own interests over the years while support the rise of the Mullah’s in Iran. As Al Bienenfield explains below, Pres. Trump has the opportunity to set a course correction with the removal of the Iranian regime in Tehran and thereby end its cross generational support of terrorism against the US and US interests. When all the bluster and fog of war recedes, will we see a new source of power rise in Iran which is pro Western, pro America and pro Israel, or will we see the terrorist IRGC cabal still in place? Time will tell.
Al Bienenfeld
A demonstration in Iran against the Shah, 1978 at College Bridge, Tehran. By Unknown author – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Tran_Quoc123 using CommonsHelper., GFDL, Link
Looking back at American Middle East policy since WWII, there has been a series of errors running from bad to worse. The overall problem is the failure of American Leadership to grasp that they simply do not understand the Middle Eastern Muslim mindset and refuse to learn from their predecessor’s mistakes. Incredibly they have been content continually going down the road previously traveled regardless of the outcome.
Currently President Trump has involved America in a poorly administered war in Iran. He has ranted that the Iranian negotiators are scum. Well of course they are. What else would you call terrorists? His prosecution of the war with Iran is a testament to a joint failure of understanding and leadership. As we have stated, this is not the first American Middle East foreign policy mistake.
The first major error by America’s Chief Executive occurred in the Eisenhower Administration during the Suez crisis of 1956. With the Cold War raging, Eisenhower looked to add Egypt to the Western column. President Gamal Abdel Nasser wanted British and French forces out of the region and control of the Suez Canal. The British and French by purchasing stock in the Canal effected control. Troops were necessary to protect their interests in this part of the world.
Eisenhower essentially turned on his WWII allies who were still recovering economically from the War. Nasser promised Eisenhower to purchase American armaments, have his troops trained by the Americans and make peace with Israel. He agreed to wait until 1968 before taking possession of the Suez Canal. A salivating American President got the British and French to reluctantly accept. Afterwards with the European military removed, Nasser seized the Canal in violation of their agreement.
In response England, France and Israel organized to attack and take back the Canal. Eisenhower desperate to keep the agreement alive pressured the British and French to back off with economic coercion. Israel had troops in the Sinai and was in position acting alone to protect their interests. Ultimately, they gave into American pressure and a promise of guaranteed navigation rights through the Strait of Tiran for commercial vessels. The President’s assurances along with pressure caused Israeli withdrawal.
In appreciation of Eisenhower’s efforts, Nasser turned to the Soviet Union. The President was later known to have said in 1958 privately that this was his biggest mistake in office. An Arab in a suit and tie could fool an American President even back then. In May of 1967 Nasser seized the Strait of Tiran and of course, America failed to honor Eisenhower’s commitment. On June fifth Israel embarked on their Six-Day War with incredible results, despite American threats of retaliation if they proceeded.
The next major error, a tragedy of epic proportions came in the Carter Administration. President Jimmy Carter refused to support the Shah of Iran, a pro-Western leader and someone friendly to Israel. He was a strong leader and produced substantial positive results for his people. However, dealing with the hard-core Muslim elements in his country required harsh measures unacceptable to Jimmy Carter’s naive Sunday School ethics.
The Ayatollah Khomeini convinced Carter’s representatives that he was a moderate. As a result of the world becoming aware that the American President had soured on the Shah, Western media, particularly the BBC, emboldened dissidents and Islamic revolutionaries to riot, declare general strikes and destabilize the Shah. Meantime the Ayatollah assured U.S. intelligence and the State Department that he would only be a “figurehead” for a Western style Parliamentary system.
During the fall of 1978, amid the chaos of riots and demonstrations, the Carter Administration led by Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and U.S. Ambassador to Iran, William Sullivan, coalesced around the idea of abandoning the Shah and helping to install Khomeini the “moderate clergyman” they viewed as the next “Ghandi-like” spiritual leader.
On January 16, 1979, the Shah resigned. What followed was a series of catastrophes that ultimately led to a monumental Reagan Presidential victory on November 4, 1980. A group of 52 people from our embassy were taken hostage and tortured by “Iranian students” for 444 days being released as President Ronald Reagan was sworn into office. This was more than likely the result of secret negotiations conducted on behalf of Republican Presidential nominee Ronald Reagan. It is a complex story of intrigue and ultimately, treason. [It is unlikely that Reagan had any connection to the plot. Think George H.W. Bush]
Jimmy Carter’s name since that time has become synonymous with incompetence in every way. There had been a prior embassy seizure on February 14, 1979, that was quickly resolved. Because we then failed to take adequate precautions, the second disastrous seizure took place on November 4 of that year. There was also an ill-conceived, and poorly executed rescue mission called Operation Eagle Claw. It ended with crashed helicopters and eight dead U.S. servicemen at the staging area outside the Iranian capital. There was a second abandoned attempt at rescue in October of 1980.
During the Reagan Administration further attempts were made at working with Iran that failed, resulting in military action. A scandal called the Iran–Contra affair almost brought the “House of Reagan” down. Monies from arms sales to Iran were diverted to the Contras, a Nicaraguan Anti-Communist/anti-Sandinista rebel group in defiance of federal statute. Investigations cleared President Reagan, but multiple members of his administration were convicted. Most had their convictions overturned on appeal or given Presidential pardon by future president, George H.W. Bush.
In April 1988 the Reagan Administration conducted Operation Praying Mantis to punish Iran for setting mines that damaged a guided missile frigate the USS Samuel B. Roberts on a mission to protect Kuwaiti oil tankers. Earlier in 1981 the Israelis had struck Saddam Hussein’s nuclear reactor being built by the French,11 miles southeast of Baghdad. The Reagan Administration fumed and suspended weapons shipments to Israel. After all, Saddam Hussein was our friend! Subsequently they later lifted the suspension.
In 1991 after Operation Desert Storm, Vice President Cheney called the Israeli mission commander to thank him, acknowledging that had the Israelis not have taken out the Iraqi nuclear facility, the swift American victory over Saddam Hussein’s Iraq would have been more complicated.
This brings us to Operation Epic Fury which has become a costly advertisement of how not to run a war. We began this campaign on February 28 of this year, and it is still running. There are so many things that can be said about this farcical military adventure, but the reality is that almost twenty U.S. servicemen have died, and tens of billions of unaccounted dollars spent.
We had to deal with Iran as Hezbollah which they fathered, had been running rampant in the Western Hemisphere. They began operating not long after their 1983 bombing of our Marine Corps barracks in Beirut Lebanon that killed 241 American soldiers. Hezbollah in conjunction with the cartels below our southern border have been sending a steady diet of fentanyl into our country, killing tens of thousands every year, reaching a high point of roughly 73,000 in 2023. [The raw material for the manufacture of fentanyl comes from China.]
Iran had the potential to send an untold number of missiles into Europe striking American military bases as well as E.U. targets. They launched one missile 2300 miles at the British military base, Diego Garcia and were increasing their range rapidly. If left alone, they would ultimately have been able to strike the American homeland.
On June 22, 2025, we struck inside Iran targeting their nuclear sites. We encountered no enemy aircraft or anti-aircraft fire. This was because the Israelis began the attack on June 13 and had operational control of the skies over Iran. The prior October, they took out their anti-aircraft emplacements. We could have easily finished the job then, but President Trump would not do it. He even blocked the Israelis from proceeding on their own. Iran was foolishly allowed to rebuild their armaments.
Trump even sidelined the IDF. The Israelis offered to go in with the Kurds and finish off the Regime, but he declined their offer. The President seems determined to save the Iranian regime. Failing to finish off the regime now, will rank with Jimmy Carter’s disastrous decision to elevate Ayatollah Khomeini to power. President Trump fails to understand that the enemy is an ideology that must be eliminated.
The Iranian Game Changer and a New Middle East
Israel has recognized the former Shah’s son as the legitimate Iranian successor. They stand ready, willing and able to support his ascension to leadership. A pro-Western Iran will drive a dagger through the heart of political Islam and kill any hopes the terrorists have of restoring a worldwide Caliphate. This will hit the President’s friends in Qatar and Turkey very hard.
The potential for a new “Shah driven Iran” is immense given the vast natural resources underneath Iran. Qatar and Iran sit on massive natural gas reserves, estimated at as much as 30% of the world’s supply. This is above their oil reserves. With proper leadership, a pro-Western Iran can bring stability and prosperity to the Middle East.
The reverberations will be felt around the world. It will diminish the driving force of political Islam and lead to the end of the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah. They will be so weakened without their Iranian sponsor that they will dry up. Others will rise and finish them off.
Iran is a diamond in the rough, waiting for the right stonecutter. President Trump has the chance to achieve greatness. Will he take it?
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