A democratic hero for the Middle East

Hey folks, I just got back home with the latest copy of the newsweekly "TIME", and I'm excited to see that Mohammed Mossadegh is on the cover as MAN OF THE YEAR! I bet Henry Luce and his Time-keepers love to put these left-wing radicals on their cover, just to scare the rest of the world. But this time I think the editorial board has some affection for this sneezing, weeping, napping nut who tossed the Brits out of Iran and nationalized the oil industry. Mossadegh now actually seems to be fostering a sense of independence and democracy in the Persian Gulf. Hard to be neutral these days, what with the Soviets barking anti-imperialist dogma at the same time they're roping half the planet in with dictatorships of the proletariat. But Mossadegh seems above that game: he clearly cares only about his own people, the Persians: their independence, freedom, and prosperity. In some weird way (the Shah notwithstanding) he might even become the Middle East's George Washington. Hell, TIME even paints him like Washington on the cover! I'm hoping he's been anointed Man of the Year in order to discourage those State Department rook-shovers (not to mention those secretive spooks in this new "Central Intelligence Agency") from meddling in Iranian affairs, particularly given our "special relationship" with the stewing Brits currently blockading the Persian Gulf. Really, no matter how much that crafty ol' wind-blown pragmatist Acheson hopes to effect "regime change" out in Persia, I'm pretty sure we can all agree that the only result of American interference in Iran will be a hell-storm. And given the new Cold War, only heaven and hell can pick Acheson's successor, am I wrong? I'm just glad that we're one of the few countries in the world with a perfectly free press, which can keep the public informed, and prevent such nonsense from happening.

[NOTE: This post is reprinted from New Patriot's 1951 holiday archives.]