U.s. National Security Strategy

The complexity of America’s relationship with Iran increased steadily beginning in 1908, when Iran struck oil. The Shah, the king or emperor of Iran, after taking the place of his young predecessor Reza Shah Pahlavi with the help of the CIA, led Iran into a period of extreme wealth and prosperity, the likes of which the Iranian people had never experienced. However, with the growth of wealth in Iran came the growth of Iranian resentment towards the West, specifically the United States. The Iranian’s resented the uneven distribution of wealth that they felt existed and the United State’s influence in “westernizing” their society. In 1963, this growing hatred led to a conflict with the Islamic clergy. The conflict was quickly settled by the Shah, but he was unaware that this dispute was the beginning

Iran’s nuclear programme has in recent years worsened US-Iran relations. The United States accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons (Bahgat , 2009). Other reasons for mistrust include USA’s support for Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980’s. Specifically, Iran continues to resent the US supplying Iraq with the chemical weapons it used during the war. Adding fuel to the fire, in 1988, US guided missile Cruiser the USS Vincennes on station in the Persian Gulf mistakenly shot down Iranian Airlines flight 655 killing 290. (Milinski, n.d.)

President George W. Bush’s “axis of evil” speech undermined support of Iranians who argued for better relations with the United States. When Bush made that speech in 2002, Mohammad Khatami, a reformer, was the president of Iran (Freedman 473). The United States sanctions against Iran have helped to further the Abadgaran regime’s agenda by giving justification to a group that is desperate for it; the sanctions have allowed them to consolidate their power and further oppress Iranians who go against the government’s policies. Iran’s current state is best described in Lawrence Freeman’s A Choice of Enemies:

To keep our great nation safe requires the combined effort of a multitude of agencies and groups nationwide. The US homeland is the physical region that includes the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, US territories, and surrounding 500 nautical miles of territorial waters and airspace (Joint Chiefs of Staff, 2013). The keep the countries boarders secure and over 324 million Americans safe is a massive task and this broad stroke program involves federal government including the military, federal, state, local, tribal areas and the private sector along with other governments with shared interests. According to The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) there are three key concepts that are the foundation of America’s homeland security strategy.

In September of 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, in the beginning of the eight year Iran-Iraq war. Iran was paranoid that Iraq’s leaders had “ambitions….in terms of expansion and regional hegemony”. 2 The invasion justified their fears. At first, we “did not have good relations with Iraq, which was had been close to the Soviet Union”.3 Although “not an ally of Iraq”, the United States believed that “Saddam Hussein should not be allowed to be defeated by a radical Islamist, anti-American regime”.4 There was speculation that the U.S. had given the Iraqis “the green light to launch war” against Iran.5 This would have been plausible because if Saddam Hussein, leader of Iraq, could seize oil-rich territory, the U.S. would then have “access to Iranian crude”.6 The United States also wanted to terminate the radical Khomeini government and with the prospect of Hussein capturing Iran’s main source of revenue, this was probable. Because of this, “over the next decade Washington would play an ambiguous role in the Iran-Iraq War.”7 Not only was Iraq receiving U.S. support, but Iran was too, despite the fact our relations with them were

How did 9/11 lead to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the breaching of civil rights?

The Constitution grants Congress the power raise and maintain the armed forces, establish rules that govern those forces, and above all – declare war. The Framers of the Constitution intentionally designed Congress to have a collective control over war, thus granting the legislature authroity over offensive campaigns. In comparision, the president, as commander in chief, has the ability to use force to protect American sovergneity and American lives. Consequently, the U.S. national security policy process includes countless opportunities to delay or block action.

The “Preface to the 2008 Edition: The Folly of Attacking Iran”, highlights the decades that have followed the coup and reasons for the United States attacking Iran. It concludes by introducing the idea that Operation Ajax, which was the code name of this operation, brought tragedy to Iran, which led to the rise of anti-American terror, and weakened the security of the United States. The author explains how most Americans are unfamiliar with the history of what the CIA did in Iran in 1953 and the reason why the country had such hatred for America following the hostage crisis in 1979. The chapters begin with a clear overview of Iranian history and ends with explaining the effects of the countries because of the coup. This book is written like a thrilling story rather than a history book, which makes the information easier to comprehend, for those uneducated about the topic.

Maslow’s law of the instrument states that if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail, but what if it works alongside a sickle? As a key player of the Cold War (1947-1991), the United States (US) has had a dual role in the nuclear proliferation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Consequently, this conflict of imperialism has had major implications for Iranian relations to the present day. Even with the support of China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the European Union (EU); Iran’s path towards peaceful nuclear energy still faces opposition from the US. In summation, from the nativity of the Second Red Scare in 1947 to the present day, a mix of political and strategic interests has lead to the formation of the Joint

Iran cut all ties with the United States and lost its dominance in the area; it’s army was disorganized and weak. The Iranian Revolution created disorder in many Iranian military units and Iranian confrontation with the U.S. ensured it would be cut off from its primary weapons supplier. During the year after the fall of the Shah, many areas of Iran were approaching civil war; this frenzy in Iran made the country seem much more vulnerable than it really was, and led Saddam Hussein to feel he had his first genuine opportunity to make Iraq the dominant power in the area and the Arab world (Cordesman & Wagner, 1990).

The relations between the United State’s and Iran were amicable throughout the post-World War II. In entering the Cold War, “the United States negotiated the Baghdad Pact in which an alliance between, Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan was formed.” During this era, President Nixon encouraged the Shah of Iran to develop a nuclear program and provided the funding to Iran’s energy sector. The United States maintained a close partnership with Iran until, the Islamic Revolution in February of 1979. The revolution overthrew the Shah of Iran and Ruhollah Khomeini became the new supreme leader of Iran. Immediately following the revolution, Iran engaged in a war against Iraq in the early 1980s. “With a new balance of power, tensions grew between the U.S. and Iran. During this time, Iran held 52 Americans hostage in an attempt to negotiate with the United States; however, after the Iranian hostage crisis, the United States no longer saw Iran as an ally.”

Iran’s nuclear program can be traced back to the 1980s when it was at war with Iraq. It sought develop a nuclear program as an anticipatory move that would defend against Saddam’s Iraq’s nuclear aspirations. Prior to the Islamic revolution of 1979, Iran’s government, which was then in favor of the US due to its alignment to US policies was developing a nuclear program, but it was annulled as a result of the revolution. The US, along with its allies, is wary of the current nuclear program in Iran. There have been many approaches to curb this threat from Iran’s nuclear program. The most recent and notable one is the Iran nuclear deal, which will inevitably prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The main US allies who are against the Iran

The middle-east has always been a hot zone for religious and political conflict but more specifically, Iran. Iran is an Islamic state where Islam is practiced within politics. The Constitution of 1979 runs off of the basis of Islamic Law. The population of Iran varies upon resources but they are all around the number of seventy million people. The country is 90 percent Shia Muslim and eight-percent Sunni Muslim.1 The rest of the country is made up of very small minority religions. The minority religions have very little influence in the country and are easily thrown around by the government and the majority Shia Muslims.

Furthermore, Iran works to destabilize the region by assisting sectarian elements in Iraq through the use of the Revolutionary Guards and by providing support for Hezbollah – the outcome leading to the Persianisation of the Middle-East. (CONGRESSMAN PITTENGER: ALLOWING TERRORISM-SPONSOR IRAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS IS 'TOTAL INSANITY ', 2015).

Pursuit of nuclear capabilities was not always seen as a controversial aspect of Iran’s foreign policy. As a matter of fact, the origins of the Iranian program began in the 1950’s with the support of United States. Research and development of an Iranian nuclear program began once they joined