ONTD: Politics

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) has a new chairman in Walter Isaacson, and the former CNN and Time magazine chief is calling for even more money for the BBG to combat the public diplomacy efforts of America's "enemies," which he identifies as Iran, Venezuela, Russia, and China.
( Is it any wonder this guy's from CNN? )



Is this the sort of pernicious propaganda that Isaacson wants to protect delicate American sensibilities from?

As an aside, this is the most bizarre piece of propaganda I have seen in some time. It is deceptively shallow. What's going on between Medvedev and Putin here? Who would you say is presented as being in charge? Who comes off as more powerful?

Realizing that he had made an ass of himself in his first speech as chairman, Isaacson backpedaled, later claiming "I of course did not mean to refer to, nor do I consider, that Russia, China, and the other countries or news services are enemies of the U.S., and I'm sorry if I gave that impression."

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One of the most important events in the United States' history went unnoticed and uncelebrated last week. I of course speak of the CIA's coup that ousted Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh on August 19, 1953. Last year, Sam Sasan Shoamanesh of MIT wrote a fantastic in-depth look at the event and the implications it had on these two great countries. I recommend that everyone read it, but since it is rather long, I will post choice excerpts beneath the cut.  It's still going to be a really long post, just so you've been warned.

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I really hope you take the time to read the entire article.  And then, if you're feeling adventurous, you may want to take a look at Stephen Kinzer's All the Shah's Men, which documents the event from a more personal perspective.  Anyway, I hope you think of this story the next time you turn on the news and someone is talking about the evil, repressive nation of Iran.