Using Jowett and ODonnells system of propaganda analysis, the present case study concentrates on Americas dominant propaganda messages, techniques, and media channels used in Iran during the time period between 1951 and 1953. The chosen period is of historical significance since it entails the Iranian nationalization of oil crisis and the 1953 coup against the government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq. The coup was the first CIA-sponsored covert operation against a foreign government and served as a model for subsequent operations elsewhere.
An examination of the official correspondence of the major U.S. actors involved, as documented in the tenth volume of the Foreign Relations of the United States series, reveals that the primary objective of U.S. policy in Iran was to maintain Western control of the countrys oil resources as a means to curb Soviet power in the region. American officials realized that nationalism was a real and potent force in the country and that Mosaddeq enjoyed overwhelming public support. Frustrated with the failure of a negotiated settlement, the Truman administration began to secretly plan for covert action. The coup was eventually implemented under the Eisenhower administration.
The nationalistic nature of Iranian public opinion which equated Russian and British forms of imperialism ran counter to American policies in the region. To mitigate this counter-productive mentality, the United States planned its propaganda programs to raise the desire of the Iranian people to resist communism. Thus, in the three years before the coup, U.S. propaganda messages concentrated on spreading an anti-communist ideology.
In the months preceding the coup, the United States spent more than $1,000,000 in part to buy the allegiance of influential Iranian figures, such as deputies of the parliament, and to purchase the services of the controllable Iranian press. The CIA relied on black propaganda to reduce Mosaddeqs popularity and legitimacy by, among other things, alleging that his actions were in line with the Tudeh Party (the Iranian communist party) and that he was an anti-religious individual. As a whole, the thesis shows the centrality of propaganda to U.S. foreign policy.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-04082009-100641 |
| Date | 08 April 2009 |
| Creators | Saghaye-Biria, Hakimeh |
| Contributors | Richard Alan Nelson, Ronald Garay, Craig Freeman |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04082009-100641/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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