Works Sited

Russell Germain
3/11/13
Prof. Knapp
Iran-Contra Affair Works Sited

"Profile: Al Shira." History Commons. N.p., n.d. Web.

"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

"The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On." The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

Persepolis

Russell Germain

3/3/13

Professor Knapp

English 1A

Persepolis

Persepolis

            Persepolis is an autobiography telling of a woman, Marjane Satrapi’s, childhood experiences during the Iranian revolution. The book casts a light on issues of class that played a hand in the upheaval in Iran. Persepolis opens on an Iran shortly after the beginning of the Iranian Islamic Revolution. This revolution was one in which the very fabric of social order was changed due to newfound religious piousness. Before this period wearing a veil on one’s head was simply a statement of religious choice. However, due to Islamic law now essentially becoming national law, Marjane Satrapi, soon found herself being forced to wear the veil at school. Additionally, she found herself, in a school where boys and girls were allowed to be taught in one classroom, torn from her friends and forced to be taught in classes divided along gender lines. While these changes were quite large and affected many in Iran, they were insignificant when compared to political discourse that was soon to follow.

            Persepolis, states that the exchange of political power, form the rightful emperor of Iran, to the usurper known as The Shah, was orchestrated by the British empire. Marjane Satrapi imagined the coercion of The Shah, who at the time was a relatively unremarkable soldier, by a member of the British parliament. Satrapi wrote, “Well [Shah] shining your boots? When you are emperor your secretary of state will shine them for you…. You can have everything. Power, shoe shiners… and even more. Anything you want in cash! ... You just give us the oil and we’ll take care of the rest.” (24). In this imagining of this hypothetical interaction, Satrapi makes it clear that she envisions the British to be the true architects of her country’s political upheaval. When The Shah took power from the Emperor, who incidentally happened to be the great grandfather of Marjane Satrapi, he immediately enacted many changes to the Iranian ideals. For instance he became overwhelmingly obsessed with the idea of returning Iran to a state of exaltedness that it was in during the Persian Empire. Additionally, The Shah decided it would be a grand idea to spend the majority of Iran’s wealth on extravagant celebrations of “… the 2500 years of dynasty and other such frivolities” Persepolis (28).  These changes to the fabric of Iranian governmental policy, led to a series of protests, which in turn led militant retaliations.

            Under The Shah, Iran experienced an impressive amount of civilian dissatisfaction. In Persepolis, there are several examples of such protests with graphic illustrations of the military trying to quell the protests through armed force. In one example, a multitude of civilians are gathered in front of a hospital where a young male protestor was killed through excessive force. He is shown being carried out of the hospital on the shoulders of his fellows, in a state of martyrdom. In another example of violence against protestors, after a demonstration so many civilians were killed that, “… a rumor spread that Israeli soldiers were responsible for the slaughter.” Persepolis (39). The increasing violence represented by the author seems to create an atmosphere of civil unrest in Iran, and foreshadow an even more violent period of national revolution.

The Iran-Contra Scandal

Russell Germain

2/24/13

Professor Knapp

English 1A

The Iran-Contra Scandal

            How did the contra, a guerilla military faction from Nicaragua, come to be associated with the Nation of Iran in what is now known as the Iran-Contra Scandal? The answer to that question has to do with the United States of America’s endeavor to end the spread of communism, and our quest to free several American hostages held in Iran. These seemingly independent incidents, were in fact, directly related and would result in one of the largest scandals in American history.

             During the cold war, America was involved in numerous third party conflicts with the USSR. When the USSR would target a country, often, by backing a particular leader or military group, in order to spread their ideology of communism; America would enter the same country and fund the opposition. One such interaction took place in the Central American country of Nicaragua during a period of revolution. The PBS news article "American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." writes, "Ronald Reagan's efforts to eradicate Communism spanned the globe, but the insurgent Contras' cause in Nicaragua was particularly dear to him. Battling the Cuban-backed Sandinistas, the Contras were, according to Reagan, "the moral equivalent of our Founding Fathers.""("American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series.") The Contras, backed by America, were fighting the Sandinistas, backed by Cuba, in turn backed by the USSR. Former president Ronald Reagan, helped to procure funds for the contra, an action he would come to regret. Incidentally, the Contra just so happened to be part of a very large cocaine smuggling operation. Disgraced by America’s involved with such immoral peoples, the United States Congress barred any further funding of the Contra. However, a group of high-ranking members of the American military complex envisioned a way to side step congress: selling missiles to Iran in a time of war.

             On September 22, 1980 military forces form Iraq invaded their neighboring country of Iran. Iran asked the United States for assistance. The American Government agreed to sell Iran missiles in order to gain a foothold in the struggle to liberate several American hostages from Iran. The hostages had been in Iran for over a year, captured when the American embassy was overrun, and America had made virtually no progress in procuring their release. The United States, under Ronald Reagan, decided to help Iran defeat the invading forces of Iraq. However, at the same time, Reagan's administration decided to help the Iraqi war effort as well. Using the funds from the sale of weapons to Iran, Reagan’s administration continued to fund the Contras and strengthened their bargaining for the release of hostages. In fact because of the sale of aforementioned missiles, Iran even released a hostage. Eventually, however, the press found out about the transactions. In the web article "Profile: Al Shira" it is stated, "With the public now aware of these embarrassing and potentially criminal acts by the Reagan administration, support for Iran within the administration collapses, most of the pro-Iranian officials leave government service, and the pro-Iraqi wing of the executive branch, led by Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and Secretary of State George Shultz, wins out."("Profile: Al Shira."). Due to the highly illegal interactions between Iran and ourselves, being discovered, the Reagan administration had no choice but to back Iraq in the war with Iran. Soon, everyone involved with the Iran-Contra affair found themselves in six weeks of federal depositions. The star of such depositions was Lt. Colonel Oliver North. North gave such a charming testimony that to this day many people consider him to be a hero, despite the fact that what he participated in was technically treason. Oliver North, and several other government officials involved in the Contra scandal walked away due to technicalities or presidential pardons. One such pardon was given to National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane, arguably the mastermind behind everything, before he even gave his testimony. The sale of weapons to Iran, in order to fund the Contras and gather momentum in the "Argo" hostage negotiation, is now known as the Iran-Contra Scandal.


Works Cited:

"Profile: Al Shira." History Commons. N.p., n.d. Web.
"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
"The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On." The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.