The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1951-05-23
This Rock
Of Ours /"
By BILL GLIB

/ genuine and/or. selfish interest in
Iran Russia, Britain. and u. S.
/ Since the time OF Peter the
| Great. Russia has wanted to con-
troll Iran, or Persia as it il more
/ generally called. and incidentally,
+ gain access to the Persian Gulf 1t
may or may not be practical for
l Russia to transport oil from the
/ rich Anglo-Iranian oil fields. But
certainly she would be striking
( major blow at the British fleet if
she could immobilize them, 1.-THE
+ oil fields, as a source of supply.
C.eat Britain controls 100000
/ square miles along the Persian
Gulf under a concession that ex-
pires in 1898. Within this area is.
/ the richest oil field on earth. The
Abadan refinery is the worlds
| biggest.
Here in the u. S. we are some
times confused by the name
tAnglo-Iranian Oil Co" We usu-'
ally think Of a company as being
privately owned,
/ The Anglo-Iranian Co.. IS
privately owned, but better than
fifty percent of the stock belongs
/ to the British Government, Wins
ton Churchill was responsible for
his government buying control
back in 1914 The British NAVY
had just converted from coal 10
oil-burners. and it was impera-
tive that source of fuel supply
be assured the fleet at all times
If you can imagine our entire
Navy being forced to lie in port
for lack of fuel, and if you can
understand the fear it would en-
gender in the hearts of the people,
you can understand how the
British feel about being kicked
out of Iran.
United States occupies a pecGl-
lar spot with regard to Iran.
Regardless of the abuse heap
ed upon our State Department,
odr actions toward the Persian
people have resulted in creating
genuine friendship, respect, and /
admiration. After World War II. |
the British and American troops
were evacuated from Iran in ac-
cordance with their promise. The
Russians, who had also stationed
troops there. refused to leave.
They engineered rebellion in
Azervaijah, a rich northern prov
ince. Land owners and officials
were slaughtered and typical
Soviet Republic was set up.
United States was provoked
because of the moral issues in
volved. Secretary of State James
F. Byrnes supported the Persians
in q case before the Security
Council in sl946, and they re-
covered their lost territory. It was
one of the opening battles of the
so-called cold war" and U. 6.
won. OF more Importance, how
ever, is the fact that the Persians
now began to look on US as an
unselfish friend-something they
never had in oil-hungry Britain .
and land-grabbing Russia.
We further strengthened this
friendship when we sent top
flight engineers to help in the
Seven Year Development Plan, !
originated by Persia in l949. I'm !
selfiShly, these engineers have
worked toward better roads, com /
munlcationS, industry, agricul- /
ture, health, and education.
Eventually, this friendship may
prove to be the deciding factor
in the present crisis. 1t must be
remembered that the Persians
are imbued with what we call
Pride" and they call Face" -
They can turn to US for help. in
solving their problems without
| losing face" because we've never
shown any tendency to exploit
them. If this is in their mind in
the present case, it is going to
make difficult situation for us
because we must see to it that
Britain does not lose the oil
fields. Also, Iran lacks the ability
to run the fields and we cannot
or should not, do it for her.
The alarming conditions of
Persia are made more serious by
our pre-occupation with the con-
troversy inspired by General
Macarthur with regard to China.
The Russians are gradually in
/ filtrating into Persia. They are
causing dissatisfaction among the
employees of the ISfahan textile
mills as well as the British oil
fields. Aside from oil, these tex
tile mills provide a huge source
of income for the people. 1t ap-
pears that Russia stands a good
chance of winning the country
through peaceful conquest. The
1923 treaty between Russia and
Iran is completely out-moded
but it can still be used as an ex-
cuSe for Intervention to further
confuse the Allies.
If and when Communist ele-
ments take over in Iran, Britain
must go to war and we must join
her. For this reason, I'm still
puzzled at the amount of atten-