For decades, knowledge of America's role in the 1953 Iran coup, which led to the ejection of the country's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and the installation of a despotic shah, was fragmented and vague. However, when CIA documents were declassified in 2000 about what it called Operation Ajax, it became clear American and British agents played a central role in the Iran coup d'état.
Mosaddegh had sought to audit the documents of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), a British corporation (now part of BP), in order to verify that AIOC was paying the contracted royalties to Iran, and to limit the company's control over Iranian oil reserves. Upon the AIOC's refusal to co-operate with the Iranian government, the parliament (Majlis) voted to nationalize Iran's oil industry and to expel foreign corporate representatives from the country. After this vote, Britain instigated a worldwide boycott of Iranian oil to pressure Iran economically. Initially, Britain mobilized its military to seize control of the British-built Abadan oil refinery, then the world's largest, but Prime Minister Clement Attlee (in power until 1951) opted instead to tighten the economic boycott while using Iranian agents to undermine Mosaddegh's government. Judging Mosaddegh to be unreliable and fearing a Communist takeover in Iran, UK prime minister Winston Churchill and the Eisenhower administration decided in early 1953 to overthrow Iran's government, though the preceding Truman administration had opposed a coup, fearing the precedent that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) involvement would set. British intelligence officials' conclusions and the UK government's solicitations were instrumental in initiating and planning the coup, despite the fact that the U.S. government in 1952 had been considering unilateral action (without UK support) to assist the Mosaddegh government.
Following the coup in 1953, a government under General Fazlollah Zahedi was formed which allowed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran (Persian for an Iranian king), to rule more firmly as monarch. He relied heavily on United States support to hold on to power. According to the CIA's declassified documents and records, some of the most feared mobsters in Tehran were hired by the CIA to stage pro-Shah riots on 19 August. Other men paid by the CIA were brought into Tehran in buses and trucks, and took over the streets of the city. Between 200 and 300 people were killed because of the conflict. Mosaddegh was arrested, tried and convicted of treason by the Shah's military court. On 21 December 1953, he was sentenced to three years in jail, then placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life. Other Mosaddegh supporters were imprisoned, and several received the death penalty. After the coup, the Shah continued his rule as monarch for the next 26 years until he was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
In August 2013 the U.S. government formally acknowledged the U.S. role in the coup by releasing a bulk of previously classified government documents that show it was in charge of both the planning and the execution of the coup, including the bribing of Iranian politicians, security and army high-ranking officials, as well as pro-coup propaganda. The CIA is quoted acknowledging the coup was carried out "under CIA direction" and "as an act of U.S. foreign policy, conceived and approved at the highest levels of government".
A senior Russian commander has said that Moscow is planning to seize Ukraine's south and open a route to Moldova's Transnistria. The Russian commander said that Moscow plans to establish full control over the Donbas and southern Ukraine. As per Gen Rustam Minnekayev, control over southern Ukraine will give Moscow direct access to Transnistria. The Russian commander also claimed there was evidence of "oppression" of the Russian-speaking population there. Russia had previously used claims of oppression of Russian minorities in eastern Ukraine as grounds for military action.
(DW 22-4-29) The Russian military said it plans to seize all of southern Ukraine and open a route to the breakaway Moldovan region of Trans-Dniester. Major General Rustam Minnekayev, acting commander of Russia's Central Military District, said on Friday (22-4-22) that Moscow plans to establish full control over the Donbas region and southern Ukraine, as part of the "second phase" of its military operation. He also claimed that control of southern Ukraine would give Russia a gateway to the breakaway Moldovan region of Trans-Dniester, where there are "facts of oppression of the Russian-speaking population." The announcement has sparked concern that Russia could use the territory to launch attacks on western Ukraine, or move in on Moldova.
What is Trans-Dniester? Trans-Dniester is a narrow strip of land on the east bank of the Dniester River, sandwiched between Ukraine and Moldova. The breakaway region seceded from Moldova after a brief military conflict in 1992. In this conflict, separatists were supported by Moscow. Russia still has about 2,000 soldiers, as well as around 300 peacekeepers, stationed in the region and regularly conducts military maneuvers there. The separatists dubbed the region the "Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic" (PMR), but not even Russia recognizes it as a sovereign state. In 2006, the region held an independence referendum, but the results were not recognized by the international community.
Bessarabia (Russian: Бессарабия, Bessarabiya; Ukrainian: Бессара́бія, Bessarabiya; Bulgarian: Бесарабия, Besarabiya) is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Ukrainian Budjak region covering the southern coastal region and part of the Ukrainian Chernivtsi Oblast covering a small area in the north.
In the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812), and the ensuing Peace of Bucharest, the eastern parts of the Principality of Moldavia, an Ottomanvassal, along with some areas formerly under direct Ottoman rule, were ceded to Imperial Russia. The acquisition was among the Empire's last territorial acquisitions in Europe. The newly acquired territories were organised as the Governorate of Bessarabia, adopting a name previously used for the southern plains between the Dniester and the Danube rivers. Following the Crimean War, in 1856, the southern areas of Bessarabia were returned to Moldavian rule; Russian rule was restored over the whole of the region in 1878, when Romania, the result of Moldavia's union with Wallachia, was pressured into exchanging those territories for the Dobruja.
In 1917, in the wake of the Russian Revolution, the area constituted itself as the Moldavian Democratic Republic, an autonomous republic part of a proposed federative Russian state. Bolshevik agitation in late 1917 and early 1918 resulted in the intervention of the Romanian Army, ostensibly to pacify the region. Soon after, the parliamentary assembly declared independence, and then union with the Kingdom of Romania. However, the legality of these acts was disputed, most prominently by the Soviet Union, which regarded the area as a territory occupied by Romania.
In 1940, after securing the assent of Nazi Germany through the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union pressured Romania, under threat of war, into withdrawing from Bessarabia, allowing the Red Army to annex the region. The area was formally integrated into the Soviet Union: the core joined parts of the Moldavian ASSR to form the Moldavian SSR, while territories inhabited by Slavic majorities in the north and the south of Bessarabia were transferred to the Ukrainian SSR. Axis-aligned Romania recaptured the region in 1941 with the success of Operation München during the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, but lost it in 1944 as the tide of war turned. In 1947, the Soviet-Romanian border along the Prut was internationally recognised by the Paris Treaty that ended World War II.
During the process of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Moldavian and Ukrainian SSRs proclaimed their independence in 1991, becoming the modern states of Moldova and Ukraine, while preserving the existing partition of Bessarabia. Following a short war in the early 1990s, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic was proclaimed in the Transnistria, extending its authority also over the municipality of Bender on the right bank of Dniester river. Part of the Gagauz-inhabited areas in southern Bessarabia was organised in 1994 as an autonomous region within Moldova.
An enclave is a territory (or a part of one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. Enclave is sometimes used improperly to denote a territory that is only partly surrounded by another state. The Vatican City and San Marino, both enclaved by Italy, and Lesotho, enclaved by South Africa, are completely enclaved sovereign states.
An exclave is a portion of a state or territory geographically separated from the main part by surrounding alien territory (of one or more states). Many exclaves are also enclaves, but are not necessarily so; an exclave can be surrounded by several states. The Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan is an example of an exclave that is not an enclave (bordering Armenia, Turkey and Iran).
Semi-enclaves and semi-exclaves are areas that, except for possessing an unsurrounded sea border (a coastline contiguous with international waters), would otherwise be enclaves or exclaves. Enclaves and semi-enclaves can exist as independent states (Monaco, The Gambia and Brunei are semi-enclaves), while exclaves and semi-exclaves proper always constitute just a part of a sovereign state (like the Kaliningrad Oblast).
A pene-exclave is a part of the territory of one country that can be conveniently approached—in particular, by wheeled traffic—only through the territory of another country. Pene-exclaves are also called functional exclaves or practical exclaves. Many pene-exclaves partially border their own territorial waters (i.e., they are not surrounded by other nations' territorial waters), such as Point Roberts, Washington and Minnesota's Northwest Angle. A pene-exclave can also exist entirely on land, such as when intervening mountains render a territory inaccessible from other parts of a country except through alien territory. A commonly cited example is the Kleinwalsertal, a valley part of Vorarlberg, Austria, that is accessible only from Germany to the north.
Before the Pentagon was built, the United States Department of War was headquartered in the Munitions Building, a temporary structure erected during World War I along Constitution Avenue on the National Mall. The War Department, which was a civilian agency created to administer the U.S. Army, was spread out in additional temporary buildings on the National Mall, as well as dozens of other buildings in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. In the late 1930s, a new War Department Building was constructed at 21st and C Streets in Foggy Bottom but, upon completion, the new building did not solve the department's space problem and ended up being used by the Department of State. When World War II broke out in Europe, the War Department rapidly expanded in anticipation that the United States would be drawn into the conflict. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson found the situation unacceptable, with the Munitions Building overcrowded and the department spread out.
The Pentagon is the world's largest office building, with about 6,500,000 square feet (150 acres; 0.60 km2) of floor space, of which 3,700,000 sq ft (85 acres; 0.34 km2) are used as offices. Some 23,000 military and civilian employees, and another 3,000 non-defense support personnel, work in the Pentagon. It has five sides, five floors above ground, two basement levels, and five ring corridors per floor with a total of 17.5 miles (28.2 km) of corridors. The central five-acre (2.0 ha) pentagonal plaza is nicknamed "ground zero" on the presumption that it would be a prime target in a nuclear war.
On 11 September 2001, American Airlines Flight 77 was hijacked and flown into the western side of the building, killing 189 people. Of those killed, 64 were on the hijacked airplane, and 125 were in the Pentagon. It was the first significant foreign attack on Washington's governmental facilities since the city was burned by the British during the War of 1812.
Imperialismw The policy of extending the rule over other peoples and countries, often through the use of hard power and military force.
Monarchismw The advocacy of monarchical rule or monarchy as a form of government, led by a King or Queen for example.
Nazismw Also known as Nationalsocialism - A form of Fascism which holds the people/nation superior to the individual, also advocates anti-semitism, anti-communism and scientific racism.
Fascismw A form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition and strong regimentation of the society and economy.
Neofascismw A post-World War II ideology inspired by Fascsim. Usually advocates racial supremacy, populism and xenophobia.
Authoritarianismw Rejection of political plurality and democracy in favour of a strong central power to preserve the political status quo.
Populismw A range of political stances emphasising ¨the people¨ against ¨the elite¨, often viewed as having simplified politics with the aim of attracting more followers.
Nationalismw Promotion of a single national identity on the basis of a shared culture and history, it holds that each nation should govern itself, free from outside interference.
Conservatismw Aims for societal stability and continuity in the context of culture and civilization, achieved through the promotion and preservation of traditions, hierarchies, authority and property rights.
Christian Democracyw A combination of modern democratic ideas and traditional Christian values, often considered centre-right on cultural, social and moral issues, though centre-left economically.
Anti-Communismw A political movement or ideology chiefly opposed to communism and/or communist oppression
Localism (politics), (Fiscal Localism) w The policy of prioritizing the local. For example the local production and consumption of goods, local control of the government, and promotion of local history, culture and identity.
Liberalismw Liberalism advocates liberty for the individual and equality before the law, and generally also capitalism, democracy, secularism, gender equality and internationalism.
Libertarianismw Libertarianism seeks to maximize individual autonomy and political freedom from the state. The moral worth of the individual and liberty are its core principles.
Centrismw The political acceptance or support of a balance between the political left and the right, social equality and social hierarchy, while opposing significant shifts to either side.
Big tentw The policy of permitting or encouraging a broad spectrum of views as opposed to a single ideology.
Green politicsw Aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy.
Agrarianismw Agrarianism is a philosophy which values rural society as superior to urban society and the independent farmer as superior to the paid worker.
Anticlericalismw Related to Secularism, aims to minimize religious authority in the public sector.
Revolutionary Democracyw The implementation of democracy in a previously non-democratic government through revolutionary means.
Socialismw A broad range of views characterised by social ownership of the means of production as well as the belief that what is best for the collective is best for the individual.
Communismw Communism aims to establish a classless and stateless society characterized by the common ownership of the means of production with free access to its products based on needs.
non-specific A political party or candidate which is not associated with any specific ideology.
