Reply #13: Yes and thanks for pointing out that importance piece of

[slipslidingaway]

information. And another excellent point on how different the world might be if they had been free from outside influence, unfortunately they had something other nations wanted.


This quote is from page 6 of this 7 page article and some believe the immunity granted to the U.S. in 1964 was a main factor in the rise of American hatred and the eventual rise in popularity of Khomeini.


http://www.worldpolicy.org/journal/articles/wpj02-2/Zahrani.pdf

snip>>

In October 1964, responding to what he
perceived as a capitulation of national sovereignty,
Ayatollah Khomeini denounced the
adoption by the Majlis of a Status of Forces
Agreement, under which U.S. personnel received
certain legal immunities. His statement
appealed to many Iranians, especially
university students, and the government responded
by arresting and then sending the
ayatollah into exile, first in Turkey and later
Iraq, where he remained until 1978.


In the book "The Eagle and the Lion" James Bill had this to say.

"Few political observers or scholars of Iran then understood the long term significance of what was happening. One notable exception was T. Cuyler Young of Princeton University who witnessed first-hand in Iran the explosive anti-Americanism that rose in reaction to the SOFA."

"Young's views were brushed aside by the American foreign policy establishment, and the Council on Foreign Relations chose not to publish his excellent manuscript of Iran..."


Here is what Khomeini said in his 1964 speech, this also ties into what is happening today in Iraq with regards to immunity.

snip>>

http://www.underthesamesun.org/content/2004/06/ayatollah_khome.html

June 24, 2004

"Ayatollah Khomeini's 1964 Speech Condemning U.S. Immunity

As I just posted, Bremer's last act is expected to be bestowing of blanket immunity to U.S. troops and perhaps contractors. "History repeats itself, first as tragedy and then as farce," goes an oft-quoted phrase from Marx. I fail to detect the farce yet but repetition there is a lot of.

So, here's a trip down memory lane with excerpts from Ayatollah Rohollah Khomeini's key speech in 1964 condemning a similarly blanket immunity deal the U.S. struck with the Shah of Iran. The very, very popular speech led to Khomeini's exile in Najaf -- marked a turning point in his rise:


...All American military advisers, together with their families, technical and administrative officials, and servants - in short, anyone in any way connected to them - are to enjoy legal immunity with respect to any crime they may commit in Iran! If some American's servant, some American's cook, assassinates your marja'-i taqlid in the middle of the bazaar, or runs over him, the Iranian police do not have the right to apprehend him! Iranian courts do not have the right to judge him! The dossier must be sent to America so that our masters there can decide what is to be done!"