Saudi Committing Shah's Mistake

Saudi Committing Shah's Mistake
Sam Ghandchi
http://www.ghandchi.com/823-saudi-shah-english.htm

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http://www.ghandchi.com/823-saudi-shah.htm

 

Shah's main mistake about his opponents was to help the growth of some favored Islamist forces like Dr. Ali Shariati's group, which Savak considered benign, to counter the other opposition forces that were perceived as detrimental to Shah's regime, rather than working with all opposition groups, favored or not favored, in a logical way, by accepting democracy in Iran, and this is how Shah's regime was finally overthrown by these same so-called benign groups.

 

Saudi Arabia has been doing the same thing. Years ago to counter Shiites in the region, that they perceived as enemy, they helped the growth of a favored Islamist group called Taliban in Pakistan. Also to counter the Soviets and Communists in the region, which they perceived as enemy, they helped the growth of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. And not only they supported Saddam Hossein in the Iraq's war against Iran, but after Al-Qaeda heinous WTC attack in New York in 2001, Saudi started to help the growth of other newly favored Islamist groups to counter Al-Qaeda. ISIS is the result of such strategy. Today, Saudi is again doing the same thing trying to help the formation and growth of a new favored Islamist group tasked with war in Syria and trained in Saudi Arabia to counter ISIS. This is again the same old strategy of Saudi.

 

What Saudi Arabia can learn from the experience of the Shah is to start ushering in a democracy in that country and try to work with all opposition groups, favored and not favored, Sunni, Shia and secular, rather than repeating the same old mistake over and over again. How many times one should create a Frankenstein's monster and not learn from the experience.

 

Hoping for a democratic and secular futurist republic in Iran,

Sam Ghandchi, Editor/Publisher
IRANSCOPE
http://www.ghandchi.com
http://www.iranscope.com
October 20, 2014
 

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