The original sin: how we got here (the Iran mess) and, of course, it was about the oil.

[surfered]

On 19 August 1953, the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran Mohammad Mosaddegh was overthrown in a coup that strengthened the rule of Reza Pahlavi the Shah of Iran. It was instigated by the United Kingdom’s (MI6) and the US (CIA). A key motive was to protect British oil interests in Iran after Mosaddegh nationalized the country's oil industry.

The CIA also funded and trained the Shah’s secret police (the SAVAK) to arrest, imprison, exile, and torture his opponents, leading to widespread public resentment. This eventually led to the 1979 revolution, the taking of our US Embassy staff hostage, and the creation of Iran’s Islamic autocracy.

[Easterncedar]

1. We never held anyone to account

Our leaders became more criminal, more bloodthirsty, more greedy, more autocratic, and we became more complicit. We let it go. We pardoned, ignored and failed to prosecute our war criminals. Scores of little girls died today, and our hands are red.