Ad Hocism on Display

By Wornie Reed, Ph.D.

During Trump’s first term, former CIA Director John Brennan frequently criticized Donald Trump’s foreign policy and leadership style as “ad hoc,” impulsive, and dangerous.

If it was not clear before it should be eminently clear now that Brennan expertly characterized Trump. The undeclared war against Iran could not have been more ad hoc or more impulsive. It is a veritable “seat of the pants” approach. And Trump even admits it, when he says, among his many differing reasons for the war.  “We were negotiating with these crazy people, and I thought they were going to attack us,” he said. “They would have attacked us if we hadn’t.” He has not referred to any evidence for his “feelings.”

In an interview Thursday, Trump dismissed concerns about the Iran war and told POLITICO he would help choose Iran’s next leader.

This brings up issues from history that someone might need to tell Trump. The U.S. led a coup d’etat against the leader of the Iranian government in 1953 and has been haunted by that action ever since.

The toppling of the government occurred in August 1953. Funded by the United States and the United Kingdom, it removed Premier Mohammad Mosaddegh from power and restored Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as Iran’s leader. Some 300 people died during the fighting in Tehran.

With its strategic location and vast oil reserves, Iran was of special interest to the United States, the United Kingdom, and other powers. Britain had established a presence in the country during World War II to protect a vital supply route to its ally the Soviet Union and to prevent the oil from falling into German hands. After the war, the United Kingdom effectively retained control over Iran’s oil through the establishment of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.

At the time Iran was a parliamentary constitutional monarchy where the Shah served as the head of state and the prime minister as its head of government.

This arrangement changed abruptly in 1951 when the Iranian parliament, led by Mosaddegh’s nationalist and democratically elected government, voted to nationalize the country’s oil industry, and Mosaddegh began to implement progressive social reforms.

To counter this development, the U.K. enlisted the aid of the United States, which took a leading role in a covert operation by the CIA to foment unrest in the country, a role that was approved by President Eisenhower.

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In 1953, amid a power struggle between Mohammed Reza Shah and Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, the U.S. CIA and the U.K. Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) orchestrated a coup against Mosaddegh’s government and returned Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as Shah.

When all was said and done, U.S. companies walked away with 40 percent of Iran’s oil shares, and Iran was left with an authoritarian monarch after being on the verge of becoming a democratic state.

Between 1953 and 1977 the U.S. and Iran had a mostly cordial relationship. However, the Shah’s rule saw rising dissatisfaction over inequality, corruption, pro-western culture, and repression by the secret police.

The people of Iran rose up and overthrow the Shah. This Islamic Revolution transformed the country from a constitutional monarchy into an Islamic republic led by Ayatollah Ali Khomeini. Thus, the nation is a theocracy with a Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah, holding ultimate authority.

Since the Shah’s regime maintained a close relationship with the U. S., the new government became hostile to the U.S., leading them during the revolution in 1979 to take hostage 66 Americans from the U.S. Embassy, an event that assisted in the then president, Jimmy Carter, losing his re-election bid.

Now the Iranians have selected the son of the assassinated Ayatollah as the new Ayatollah, despite Trump’s insistence on choosing the next leader. These are issues that cannot be dealt with successfully using ad hocism.