All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror

Half a century ago, the United States overthrew a Middle Eastern government for the first time. The victim was Mohammad Mossadegh, the democratically elected prime minister of Iran. Although the coup seemed a success at first, today it serves as a chilling lesson about the dangers of foreign intervention.

In this book, veteran New York Times correspondent Stephen Kinzer gives the first full account of this fateful operation. His account is centered around an hour-by-hour reconstruction of the events of August 1953, and concludes with an assessment of the coup?s "haunting and terrible legacy."

Operation Ajax, as the plot was code-named, reshaped the history of Iran, the Middle East, and the world. It restored Mohammad Reza Shah to the Peacock Throne, allowing him to impose a tyranny that ultimately sparked the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The Islamic Revolution, in turn, inspired fundamentalists throughout the Muslim world, including the Taliban and terrorists who thrived under its protection.

"It is not far-fetched," Kinzer asserts in this book, "to draw a line from Operation Ajax through the Shah?s repressive regime and the Islamic Revolution to the fireballs that engulfed the World Trade Center in New York."

Drawing on research in the United States and Iran, and using material from a long-secret CIA report, Kinzer explains the background of the coup and tells how it was carried out. It is a cloak-and-dagger story of spies, saboteurs, and secret agents. There are accounts of bribes, staged riots, suitcases full of cash, and midnight meetings between the Shah and CIA agent Kermit Roosevelt, who was smuggled in and out of the royal palace under a blanket in the back seat of a car. Roosevelt, the grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, was a real-life James Bond in an era when CIA agents operated mainly by their wits. After his first coup attempt failed, he organized a second attempt that succeeded three days later.

The colorful cast of characters includes the terrified young Shah, who fled his country at the first sign of trouble; General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, father of the Gulf War commander and the radio voice of "Gang Busters," who flew to Tehran on a secret mission that helped set the coup in motion; and the fiery Prime Minister Mossadegh, who outraged the West by nationalizing the immensely profitable Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. The British, outraged by the seizure of their oil company, persuaded President Dwight Eisenhower that Mossadegh was leading Iran toward Communism. Eisenhower and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain became the coup?s main sponsors.

Brimming with insights into Middle Eastern history and American foreign policy, this book is an eye-opening look at an event whose unintended consequences?Islamic revolution and violent anti-Americanism?have shaped the modern world. As the United States assumes an ever-widening role in the Middle East, it is essential reading

"Stephen Kinzer?s brilliant reconstruction of the Iranian coup is made even more fascinating by the fact that it is true. It is as gripping as a thriller, and also tells much about why the United States is involved today in places like Afghanistan and Iraq." Gore Vidal, author of Lincoln, Burr, and 1876.

"Remarkable, readable, and relevant . . . All the Shah?s Men not only reads like an exciting, page-turning spy novel, it deals with the hard issues of today." Senator Richard Lugar, Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee

"A well-researched object lesson in the dismal folly of so-called nation-building. British and American readers of today should blush with shame." John le Carré, author of The Spy Who Came In from the Cold and The Tailor of Panama

"With breezy storytelling and diligent research, Kinzer has reconstructed the CIA's 1953 overthrow of the elected leader of Iran, Mohammad Mossadegh, who was wildly popular at home for having nationalized his country's oil industry.... This stands as a textbook lesson in how not to conduct foreign policy." Publishers Weekly

"In what is a very gripping read, he recounts the story of the coup and how it came about. In the process, he reveals much about Iran's history, paints a sharp portrait of British colonialism just at the point of its ultimate collapse, and lays bare the debate on how the United States should engage the world." Ivo H. Daalder, New York Times

Former New York Times reporter Kinzer details the events that led up to the CIA-organized coup that overthrew democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953. He focuses on the policy debates in the British and U.S. governments that arose over Mossadegh's nationalization of the British owned oil companies. The coup is described as having been organized by the Dulles brothers, serving under President Eisenhower as Secretary of State and Director of the CIA, and by CIA agent Kermit Roosevelt over the fears and objections of the Shah himself. Events since, including the September 11th attacks, justify those few Americans who opposed the orchestration of the coup, argues Kinzer. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Praise for "All the Shahs Men"

"Stephen Kinzers brilliant reconstruction of the Iranian coup is made even more fascinating by the fact that it is true. It is as gripping as a thriller, and also tells much about why the United States is involved today in places like Afghanistan and Iraq."

Gore Vidal, author of Lincoln, Burr, and 1876.

"Remarkable, readable, and relevant . . . All the Shahs Men not only reads like an exciting, page-turning spy novel, it deals with the hard issues of today."

Senator Richard Lugar, Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee

"A well-researched object lesson in the dismal folly of so-called nation-building. British and American readers of today should blush with shame."

John le Carri, author of The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

and The Tailor of Panama

This account of the CIA's coup d'etat in Iran in 1953 is based on documents about the coup (including internal CIA reports) that have now been declassified. The narrative is at once a vital piece of history, a cautionary tale and a real-life espionage thriller.

This is the first full-length account of the CIA's coup d'etat in Iran in 1953—a covert operation whose consequences are still with us today. Written by a noted New York Times journalist, this book is based on documents about the coup (including some lengthy internal CIA reports) that have now been declassified. Stephen Kinzer's compelling narrative is at once a vital piece of history, a cautionary tale, and a real-life espionage thriller.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 244-249) and index.

STEPHEN KINZER is a veteran New York Times correspondent who has reported from more than fifty countries on four continents. During the 1980s he covered revolution and social upheaval in Central America. In 1990 he was named chief of the Times bureau in Berlin, and spent the next six years covering the emergence of post-Communist Europe. Later Kinzer became the first Times bureau chief in Istanbul. He is coauthor of Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala and author of Blood of Brothers: Life and War in Nicaragua and Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds. Kinzer is currently a New York Times correspondent based in Chicago.

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

Notes on Usage.

1. Good Evening, Mr. Roosevelt.

2. Curse This Fate.

3. The Last Drop of the Nation’s Blood.

4. A Wave of Oil.

5. His Master’s Orders.

6. Unseen Enemies Everywhere.

7. You Do Not Know How Evil They Are.

8. An Immensely Shrewd Old Man.

9. Block Headed British.

10. Pull Up Your Socks and Get Going.

11. I Knew It! They Love Me!

12. Purring Like a Giant Cat.

Epilogue.

Notes.

Bibliography.

Index.