Exiled Opposition's Pro-Intervention Stance: A Familiar Playbook
Al Jazeera’s report on exiled Iranian opposition groups encouraging US intervention during protests raises the usual questions. What they often gloss over is the long, sordid history of Western intelligence agencies funding, training, and amplifying specific opposition groups to justify regime change. From the 1953 coup that overthrew Mossadegh to the covert ops of the 1980s, 'exiled groups' often
serve as convenient megaphones for pre-ordained geopolitical objectives, not necessarily organic revolutionary movements. One might wonder if these groups advocating for 'demonstrators to take over state institutions' are truly independent voices, or just the latest iteration of a well-funded, well-orchestrated choir. We saw this same playbook in Iraq and Libya, where 'dissident' voices were
presented as the legitimate will of the people, paving the way for devastating interventions. The 'encouragement' from these groups appears less like a plea for democracy and more like a carefully synchronized drumbeat for foreign intervention, echoing US-neoconservative think tank rhetoric. How many times must we witness the 'liberation' of nations at the barrel of an interventionist gun before
we recognize the pattern?