The High and the Mighty (President John Wayne)
- Thread starter maverick
- Start date
maverick
Banned
1978
Amongst the many wonderful memories left by the parting year of 1977, there are timeless classics such as George Lucas’ Star Wars, starring a young newcomer by the name of Mark Hamill as the farm-boy turned into galactic hero Luke Skywalker, Kurt Russell as the rogue, tough eye-patch wearing smuggler Han Solo and veteran stage actor Sir Alec Guinness as the Old Jedi Master and Skywalker’s mentor, Obi-Wan-Kenobi. The classic Space Opera about the struggle between Good and Evil quickly becomes the highest grossing film of 1977, outdoing Sam Peckingpah’s “Superman”, the movie that made the world “believe that a man can fly.” [1]
Another timeless classic is of course Richard Attenborough’s “All Quiet on the Western Front”, based on the famous 1928 novel by Erich Maria Remarque, with an ensemble cast that includes Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Hardy Krüger, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, and Maximilian Schell. [2]
“Melancholy of Blue”, one of Elvis Presley’s last songs before his death in 1979 is also released this year, along with Willie Nelson’s “Ballad for the Old Sherriff”, an homage to Phil Ochs’ 1973 “Six Shooter Man” and John Lennon’s “Fantasy” Album. [3]
Elsewhere, 1978 is coming.
In Teheran, the Military Council for the Salvation of the Nation has decided that a better public face is needed, and thus Empress Farah Pahlavi and her 17 year old son, Prince Reza, make their first appearance on National Television ever since the beginning of the Civil War, assuring the Iranian People that the Imperial Family is alive and well and that the rule of the law will be restored. Some inquisitive voices are nevertheless heard asking “but where is the Shah?”
In Bonn, Chancellor Helmut Kohl toasts to the New Year with some accomplishments for his first year of Government: many positive steps towards European Integration were being made along with French President Giscard, several prominent arrests led many to predict the end of the Red Army Faction in Germany as a significant threat and has even managed to gain the praise of Israel during his visit to the Knesset in December. It is truly a wonderful life for Helmut Kohl, for the time being. [4]
In Baghdad, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr, President-Chairman of the Islamic Council announces that he will be stepping down from his position as honorary head of Government for the Islamic Republic and that with the proclamation of the New Constitution, to be officially ratified on February 1st, a new leader would also be elected to effectively take the nation down a righteous path.
In London, Michael Foot breathes more easily after the upset Labour victory at the Birmingham Stechford by-election, vacated by Labour Party veteran Roy Jenkins and which many predicted would swing to the Conservatives. The Labour Majority in the House of Commons hangs on a thread, and Foot doesn’t know for how long he can hold on to it, even with the Liberal-Labour Pact, but the Birmingham Stechford victory gives everyone at 10 Downing 15 minutes of peace. [5]
In Beijing, Chairman Hua Goufeng is able to sleep easier as his grasp of power in the People’s Republic is tightened. Comrade Deng Xiaopeng had “committed suicide” just a few days earlier whereas Zhao Ziyang tried to escape to the USSR after a failed coup and his plane was shot down over Mongolia, a fate surprisingly similar to the one that had befallen General Lin Biao in 1971. [6]
In Beirut, President Bashier Gemayel greets the New Year in company of the higher echelons of the Lebanese Front and the Maronite Phalange, and the company of General Ariel Sharon, commander in chief of the Israeli Defense Forces in Lebanon. The War has taken a decisive turn as of late, yet sectarian violence in Beirut and through the territory controlled by the Phalange and Israel continues, allegedly under the auspices of Syria, which has not resigned itself to accept the Armistice Line set last December. [7]
In Saigon, Air Marshall Ky, President for Life of the Republic of South Vietnam, has escaped another assassination attempt, the fifth one since assuming office ,this one costing the lives of 15 people, the Presidential limousine and Marshall Ky’s hearing. Yet the man is nevertheless irrefutably alive, as is proven later that night when the man addressed the nation in his full military uniform and announced that the “dangerous subversives will never triumph, for I, as Father of the Nation, am Immortal.” Despite the failure, the attempt is not without consequences: Ky disbands his loyal To-Quoc Party [8] and forced to depend solely on the “Sons and Daughters of Dai Viet”, his personal paramilitary force, a mixture of a militia and an army of spies.
Notes:
1. Kurt Russell was indeed one of the men considered for the role of Han Solo and Sam Peckinpah was also one of the possible directors for Superman IOTL; due to the alternate historical development, Superman is made a year earlier and Cross of Iron is never made;
2. This remake would sure as hell be better than the 1979 one, I mean, look at the cast and who’s directing! A pity, since A Bridge Too Far was a fantastic Movie;
3. Here Elvis lives only a bit longer and Willie Nelson decides to be more politically active due to the Wayne Administration, taking a page off Phil Och’s book. Might as well give Lennon an earlier Album as well, this being an earlier version of the Double Fantasy album of 1980;
4. As opposed to IOTL where Schmidt was criticized for saying nice things about the Palestineans; policy-wise, the dealing with the RAF is as IOTL albeit slightly more successful as Kohl is pushing for results to make everyone forget that he talked John Wayne into turning Western Europe into a gigantic missile silo (more on that later);
5.Roy Jenkins vacated this seat as IOTL, when he was offered the post of Secretary of the European Commission;
6. As opposed to IOTL, where Hua was deposed by these two guys in 1980;
7.As a result of different developments in the Yom Kippur War, Ariel Sharon does not retire from the Military;
8.Mặt Trận Tổ Quốc Việt Nam: Fatherland Front Party, which was the IOTL name chosen by the unified Vietnamese Government party in 1977, which obviously doesn’t exist ITTL, but I liked the name;
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Sounds just like the quasi-fascist Ky was. Apparently his earlier (OTL) incarnation as a hybrid Chavez/Ferdie was too tame, now he'll go generic batshit insane tinpot.
What's going on in India, BTW? Has Janata taken power? Right now they should be focusing on their show trials of Indira and Sanjay, because they don't agree on anything else.
What's going on in India, BTW? Has Janata taken power? Right now they should be focusing on their show trials of Indira and Sanjay, because they don't agree on anything else.
maverick
Some interesting butterflies. The one that most concerns me is
Sounds very like a pre-emptive coup and although the gang of 4 are out of the way a more conventional Maxist run China, with continued central planning rather than Deng's pro-market reform. This could be very bad for China given the plight of much of the population at this point. At best no major economic developments and the country continues to wallow in corruption and decay. At worst possibly the pressure builds up and something gives violently. Unless the circumstances prompt a Gorbachov type character emerging who decides political as well as economic reforms are required.
Steve
Some interesting butterflies. The one that most concerns me is
Sounds very like a pre-emptive coup and although the gang of 4 are out of the way a more conventional Maxist run China, with continued central planning rather than Deng's pro-market reform. This could be very bad for China given the plight of much of the population at this point. At best no major economic developments and the country continues to wallow in corruption and decay. At worst possibly the pressure builds up and something gives violently. Unless the circumstances prompt a Gorbachov type character emerging who decides political as well as economic reforms are required.
Steve
Kohl in Office EARLIER? What has Germany done to deserve this Dystopia?
You mean Utopia. Just think about it, no "I´m better then you", "7% inflation, 7% unemployment"- chainsmoker in office anymore.
You mean Utopia. Just think about it, no "I´m better then you", "7% inflation, 7% unemployment"- chainsmoker in office anymore.
What on earth have you been smoking?
What on earth have you been smoking?
I just thinking, that the incredible ninety-years-old chainsmoker (aka Helmut Schmidt) was the most overrated chancelor ever.
You know, this could devolve into a massive flamewar, so I will reserve my right to disagree with you.
You know, this could devolve into a massive flamewar, so I will reserve my right to disagree with you.
Then I would say, we shake hands like gentlemen and then leave this place in different directions.
maverick
Banned
**
Tokyo, Japan
March of 1978
“Mr. President, how was the trip? I trust that everything was in order”
“It was. Everything is always in order with these people; the only problem was that I had to come at all” responded the President as he sat grudgingly along with Ambassador’s Hodgson as they waited for the third man to come.
“If only the Red Chinks weren’t getting so antsy, I wouldn’t have to come so often, but now every time the Japs get a new Prime Minister they get me on a plane so that I have to shake hands and bow along with the little bastards. How many Prime Ministers have they been through since I took office, James?”
“Four, Mr. President” said the Ambassador as he glanced nervously at the glass of scotch that lied on his desk and that the most powerful man in the world also happened to glance, not without some longing.
“Ever since Mao died, everything has gone to hell. Why the hell did Nixon bother to come if the bastards won’t stay quiet for longer than five minutes? I thought these gooks were supposed to have some honor”
“Indeed, Mr. President” said the ambassador once more, almost whispering, as the door opened. It was the Deputy Secretary of Defense, coming straight from the airport to the Embassy.
“Don, you’ve finally joined us, about time. Good to see ya.”said the President to the new arrival as they exchanged handshakes at the door.
“It’s good to be here, Mr. President. How was the meeting with the Prime Minister?”
“As could be expected: the new guy is short, polite and bows a lot, just like the last one; will probably last a good year before they give him the boot.”
“Good to know” responded the deputy secretary with a little grin before sitting down and reassuming his serious expression.
“So, tell me, Don. How are things in Iran?”
“As well as they could be, Mr. President. The Soviets have not moved beyond Namin or Antara and no movement has been detected at their bases in Central Asia, so it’s probable that we can deescalate the conflict before the spring, which should give the Iranians enough time to deal with the insurgents”
“You said that the Iranians would deal with these rebels through the winter, what the hell is taking them so long?” asked the President to a reticent Rumsfeld.
“There have been complications. Despite our best efforts to provide the Iranians with the necessary help and information, they seem to count with inadequate means to bring this war to a satisfactory conclusion”
“Inadequate means? The bastards have the same weapons as we do! Some of their weapons are even better than the ones we have! What the hell do you suppose would happen if the Kremlin found out that our weapons are useless against theirs?”
“That won’t happen. The situation in Iran is being stabilized, sir. The Iranians have made great strides in their efforts against the insurgents at the Zagros Mountains; no new insurgent activities have been reported amongst the Kurds or the Baluchistanis and our men on the field assure us that it’s only a matter of time before Qom falls” responded Rumsfeld
“Ain’t that so? Well, they’ve been saying that for the past three months and here we are! I don’t want another Vietnam in our hands, Don, and I sure as hell don’t want another Iraq either!”
President Wayne’s 1978 East Asia Tour was at first interpreted as a means to rebuild America’s presence in the region after the dissolution of SEATO the year before, as the Tour included stops in Japan, South Korea, The Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan, all former members or dialogue partners in the case of South Korea, but most modern views see the Tour as a response to Hua Guofeng’s regime in the People’s Republic, which the Wayne Administration saw as a new priority in the region following Hua’s takeover and subsequent purges. This view is supported by the fact that after meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa [1] and addressing the Japanese Diet with mentions of “protecting our long standing allies and interests in the region”, President Wayne met with Chiang Ching-Kuo, President of the Republic of China, immediately afterwards and repeated the same line, this time with a clear mention of “threats old and new in the region”, A clear message for Beijing. [2]
[Taken from…Looking Back: 20th Century Presidencies in Context]
“What many saw as a miraculous recovery at the State of the Union Address of 1978 was in hindsight a dangerous sign of how far the Republican Administration was willing to go to maintain the façade of normality and strength that they thought John Wayne should portray. I sometimes think that had they not worked so hard to cover it up, to pretend that everything was OK, that John Wayne might have had a healthier life and lived for many more years that he did”
[Taken from…The making of A President, Testimony of former United States Congressman, Jerry Brown]
For One-Hundred and Fifty Years this great nation has acted as the natural protector and guarantor of the American continent, with the great cause of Liberty and Humanity always in our minds, our steady hands and hearts always acting on the guiding principle that is the defense of freedom in these lands given to us by God himself, and in those of our neighbors. Throughout our history we have acted as a beacon of democracy and freedom and we have expected our neighbors to the north and to the south to stand with us against the forces of autocracy, of fascism and communism.
Today the United States of America stands as the greatest democracy in the world and we as Americans stand proudly with our neighbors to the North and to the South. We will never waver in our defense of Freedom and Humanity in American soil, from the Arctic to the Strait of Magellan, from the height of the Andes to the Hudson Bay, nor will our resolve be ever weakened by any challenge that may lie ahead.
Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to gain control or extend a sphere of influence over our allies in the continent will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force. [3]
[Excerpts from the State of the Union Address, January 20th of 1978]
By the spring of 1978, it was becoming clear that the days were counted for the military Junta in Iran. Having stamped out the Republic of Kurdistan and driven its leadership to exile in 1977 and more or less exterminated the guerrillas operating in the Zagros Mountain Range, the Loyalist Faction was still unable to subdue the Islamic City-State of Qom or make any significant achievements against the Communist insurgence in the northern provinces, fueled by Soviet arms, money and volunteers ever since early 1977. Furthermore, the regime was losing popular support and even ground that had been previously sought as secure, such as the cities, as was seen when the People’s Liberation Army of Iran and other similarly minded organizations began to organize Urban guerrillas and terrorist attacks in Teheran and other northern cities.
Unable to divert troops from the infructuous siege of Qom or operations at the Elburz Mountains or Baluchistan, the Junta sought to fight fire with fire and thus the Military and the Intelligence Agency, SAVAK, proceeded to arm the civilian population, creating two loyalist militias in the winter of 1977, with the purpose of using them as auxiliaries to the regular army. One was the White Revolutionary Guard, a group that while nominally formed by loyalists in support of the Shah’s government, was in fact little more than a violent paramilitary organization fueled by anti-communist hysteria and fears of a Soviet Invasion. This urban group, composed mostly of middle class men and university students, was complemented by the creation of the Fatherland Defense Corps, recruited mostly from the conservative rural lower classes and commanded by wealthy landlords who did not wish to see their peasants turn to communism as a result of the civil war chaos.
As could be expected, the situation far from improving took a dive in the winter of 1977 as pro-government paramilitary groups rampaged through the capital and its surroundings and the military government lost all semblance of legitimacy or authority. When the National Salvation Council was finally forced that the Shah, Reza Pahlavi, had been dead for nearly a year, the die was already cast.
[Taken From...The Crescent and the Red Star: The Middle East and the Cold War]
ALL FORCES IN THE GULF PROCEED WITH MAJESTIC
[Communiqué from the USN Naval Communication Area Master Station, Mediterranean, May 2nd of 1978] [4]
Notes
1. He was the Prime Minister for the LDP in the early 1990s IOTL, but due to butterflies, he comes to office over a decade earlier after a few alternate leadership elections in the Liberal Democratic Party;
2. Hua Guofeng has not made any particularly aggressive move yet, this is mostly analyzed through hindsight and paranoia;
3. In a way, President Wayne is reinventing the wheel, as this is a reconstruction of the Monroe Doctrine along with something from the Roosevelt Corollary and the Good Neighbor Policy;
4. You got me, I don’t know who’d issue the order, but I guess that it would have to be given through the Naples Communications base; If you know any better about the workings of the USN in the 1970s, let me know;
Tokyo, Japan
March of 1978
“Mr. President, how was the trip? I trust that everything was in order”
“It was. Everything is always in order with these people; the only problem was that I had to come at all” responded the President as he sat grudgingly along with Ambassador’s Hodgson as they waited for the third man to come.
“If only the Red Chinks weren’t getting so antsy, I wouldn’t have to come so often, but now every time the Japs get a new Prime Minister they get me on a plane so that I have to shake hands and bow along with the little bastards. How many Prime Ministers have they been through since I took office, James?”
“Four, Mr. President” said the Ambassador as he glanced nervously at the glass of scotch that lied on his desk and that the most powerful man in the world also happened to glance, not without some longing.
“Ever since Mao died, everything has gone to hell. Why the hell did Nixon bother to come if the bastards won’t stay quiet for longer than five minutes? I thought these gooks were supposed to have some honor”
“Indeed, Mr. President” said the ambassador once more, almost whispering, as the door opened. It was the Deputy Secretary of Defense, coming straight from the airport to the Embassy.
“Don, you’ve finally joined us, about time. Good to see ya.”said the President to the new arrival as they exchanged handshakes at the door.
“It’s good to be here, Mr. President. How was the meeting with the Prime Minister?”
“As could be expected: the new guy is short, polite and bows a lot, just like the last one; will probably last a good year before they give him the boot.”
“Good to know” responded the deputy secretary with a little grin before sitting down and reassuming his serious expression.
“So, tell me, Don. How are things in Iran?”
“As well as they could be, Mr. President. The Soviets have not moved beyond Namin or Antara and no movement has been detected at their bases in Central Asia, so it’s probable that we can deescalate the conflict before the spring, which should give the Iranians enough time to deal with the insurgents”
“You said that the Iranians would deal with these rebels through the winter, what the hell is taking them so long?” asked the President to a reticent Rumsfeld.
“There have been complications. Despite our best efforts to provide the Iranians with the necessary help and information, they seem to count with inadequate means to bring this war to a satisfactory conclusion”
“Inadequate means? The bastards have the same weapons as we do! Some of their weapons are even better than the ones we have! What the hell do you suppose would happen if the Kremlin found out that our weapons are useless against theirs?”
“That won’t happen. The situation in Iran is being stabilized, sir. The Iranians have made great strides in their efforts against the insurgents at the Zagros Mountains; no new insurgent activities have been reported amongst the Kurds or the Baluchistanis and our men on the field assure us that it’s only a matter of time before Qom falls” responded Rumsfeld
“Ain’t that so? Well, they’ve been saying that for the past three months and here we are! I don’t want another Vietnam in our hands, Don, and I sure as hell don’t want another Iraq either!”
**********
President Wayne’s 1978 East Asia Tour was at first interpreted as a means to rebuild America’s presence in the region after the dissolution of SEATO the year before, as the Tour included stops in Japan, South Korea, The Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan, all former members or dialogue partners in the case of South Korea, but most modern views see the Tour as a response to Hua Guofeng’s regime in the People’s Republic, which the Wayne Administration saw as a new priority in the region following Hua’s takeover and subsequent purges. This view is supported by the fact that after meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa [1] and addressing the Japanese Diet with mentions of “protecting our long standing allies and interests in the region”, President Wayne met with Chiang Ching-Kuo, President of the Republic of China, immediately afterwards and repeated the same line, this time with a clear mention of “threats old and new in the region”, A clear message for Beijing. [2]
[Taken from…Looking Back: 20th Century Presidencies in Context]
**********
“What many saw as a miraculous recovery at the State of the Union Address of 1978 was in hindsight a dangerous sign of how far the Republican Administration was willing to go to maintain the façade of normality and strength that they thought John Wayne should portray. I sometimes think that had they not worked so hard to cover it up, to pretend that everything was OK, that John Wayne might have had a healthier life and lived for many more years that he did”
[Taken from…The making of A President, Testimony of former United States Congressman, Jerry Brown]
**********
For One-Hundred and Fifty Years this great nation has acted as the natural protector and guarantor of the American continent, with the great cause of Liberty and Humanity always in our minds, our steady hands and hearts always acting on the guiding principle that is the defense of freedom in these lands given to us by God himself, and in those of our neighbors. Throughout our history we have acted as a beacon of democracy and freedom and we have expected our neighbors to the north and to the south to stand with us against the forces of autocracy, of fascism and communism.
Today the United States of America stands as the greatest democracy in the world and we as Americans stand proudly with our neighbors to the North and to the South. We will never waver in our defense of Freedom and Humanity in American soil, from the Arctic to the Strait of Magellan, from the height of the Andes to the Hudson Bay, nor will our resolve be ever weakened by any challenge that may lie ahead.
Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to gain control or extend a sphere of influence over our allies in the continent will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force. [3]
[Excerpts from the State of the Union Address, January 20th of 1978]
*********
By the spring of 1978, it was becoming clear that the days were counted for the military Junta in Iran. Having stamped out the Republic of Kurdistan and driven its leadership to exile in 1977 and more or less exterminated the guerrillas operating in the Zagros Mountain Range, the Loyalist Faction was still unable to subdue the Islamic City-State of Qom or make any significant achievements against the Communist insurgence in the northern provinces, fueled by Soviet arms, money and volunteers ever since early 1977. Furthermore, the regime was losing popular support and even ground that had been previously sought as secure, such as the cities, as was seen when the People’s Liberation Army of Iran and other similarly minded organizations began to organize Urban guerrillas and terrorist attacks in Teheran and other northern cities.
Unable to divert troops from the infructuous siege of Qom or operations at the Elburz Mountains or Baluchistan, the Junta sought to fight fire with fire and thus the Military and the Intelligence Agency, SAVAK, proceeded to arm the civilian population, creating two loyalist militias in the winter of 1977, with the purpose of using them as auxiliaries to the regular army. One was the White Revolutionary Guard, a group that while nominally formed by loyalists in support of the Shah’s government, was in fact little more than a violent paramilitary organization fueled by anti-communist hysteria and fears of a Soviet Invasion. This urban group, composed mostly of middle class men and university students, was complemented by the creation of the Fatherland Defense Corps, recruited mostly from the conservative rural lower classes and commanded by wealthy landlords who did not wish to see their peasants turn to communism as a result of the civil war chaos.
As could be expected, the situation far from improving took a dive in the winter of 1977 as pro-government paramilitary groups rampaged through the capital and its surroundings and the military government lost all semblance of legitimacy or authority. When the National Salvation Council was finally forced that the Shah, Reza Pahlavi, had been dead for nearly a year, the die was already cast.
[Taken From...The Crescent and the Red Star: The Middle East and the Cold War]
**********
ALL FORCES IN THE GULF PROCEED WITH MAJESTIC
[Communiqué from the USN Naval Communication Area Master Station, Mediterranean, May 2nd of 1978] [4]
Notes
1. He was the Prime Minister for the LDP in the early 1990s IOTL, but due to butterflies, he comes to office over a decade earlier after a few alternate leadership elections in the Liberal Democratic Party;
2. Hua Guofeng has not made any particularly aggressive move yet, this is mostly analyzed through hindsight and paranoia;
3. In a way, President Wayne is reinventing the wheel, as this is a reconstruction of the Monroe Doctrine along with something from the Roosevelt Corollary and the Good Neighbor Policy;
4. You got me, I don’t know who’d issue the order, but I guess that it would have to be given through the Naples Communications base; If you know any better about the workings of the USN in the 1970s, let me know;
maverick
Banned
***
Chapter XXIII
The Secret War in Iran
For three years, the United States of America and the Soviet Union fought a secret war in Iran that to this day remains one of the most significant and least understood aspects of the cold war and the involvement of the superpowers in the history of the Middle East. Even know, little is known about the role that Iran played in the geopolitical game, The Great Game that the USA and the USSR played in the region as a continuation of the conflict that pitted the United Kingdom and Imperial Russia in Central Asia during the 19th Century. In the forty-two months from the beginning of the Iranian Civil War to the entrance of the Arab League Armies at Teheran, it is believed that over one million Iranians died, two millions left the country and another million is still missing.
[Taken From...The Crescent and the Red Star: The Middle East and the Cold War]
***
Unlike the involvement in the Laotian Civil War, the United States lacked a proper base from which to properly interfere in Iran as the Soviet Union did. Whereas the USSR shared a long and mountainous border in the Caucasus and Central Asia as well as the waters of the Caspian Sea, all excellent routes for the supply of the Communist Insurgency in northern Iran and the launching of raids into Iranian territory, the United States was forced to limit the scale of its presence in the region due to strategic, political and logistic limitations. The occupation of the islands of Abu Musa, Forur, Sirri, Kish and Hendorabi in the Persian Gulf in May of 1978, covered under the guise of a joint exercise in the region between the United States Seventh Fleet and the Saudi Navy was on a strategic level, just a reaction to the Soviet occupation of Namin and Astara, two towns on the Iranian-Azerbaijani border, and the collapse of the Iranian military government. Recent records have led many to believe that the United States Seventh Fleet had been on standby and ready to leave before the White House issued the orders for MAJESTIC on May 2nd, solely as a reaction to Soviet moves in the area.
[A History of Violence: The Middle East in the 20th Century]
***
The resignation of General Gholam-Reza Azhari on April 22nd is effectively the end of the Iranian Military Junta. The following day 100,000 people march through the streets of Teheran to protest military rule, being violently repressed on the orders of the new self-proclaimed President of Iran, Feridoun Jam. On April 24th, it is 300,000 people who take the streets and the number rises to 500,000 by April 30th, time by which neither the military nor the loyalist militias can keep any semblance of order in the streets. On May 1st, General Feridoum Jam tries to escape to Turkey, but his plane is shot down. Theories about Soviet involvement in the crash have abounded ever since, but in the immediate aftermath of the accident, a power vacuum is felt in Teheran. Soon, the Fatherland Defense Corps and the White Revolutionary Guards launched coup attempts in Teheran as the remaining Generals were forced to choose between remaining in the sinking country or escape to Switzerland with as much of the National Treasury as it was possible.
On May 3rd, the Fatherland Defense Corps, their rank and file bolstered by the ever-growing rural migration from the communist-infested countryside to the tumultuous capital, as well as the defection of many army officers, takes the upper hand in Teheran and proclaims itself as the legitimate government of Iran. May of 1978 sees loyalist death squads roam the former Iranian capital rounding up members of the rival White Revolutionary Guard, disaffected army officers and members of the Intelligentsia or Opposition parties that have not been disappeared yet. Amidst the chaos, the “counter-revolutionary commune” of Teheran results in the death of over 30,000 men, women and children in less than 90 days. On May 25th, a second Republic of Iran is proclaimed, this one from Isfahan, where General Hossein Fardout vows to destroy both the Islamic Republic of Qom and the treacherous mutineers of Teheran.
[Taken From...The Crescent and the Red Star: The Middle East and the Cold War]
***
After months of intensive negotiations, the Islamic Republic of Iraq has finally reassumed its membership in the Arab League. The regional organization of Arab States in North Africa and the Middle East had stripped Iraq from its membership in 1976 following the Islamic Revolution, and ever since the government of the Islamic Republic has tried to reestablish relations with its neighbors in the region. Two important obstacles for the negotiations, the recognition of the Islamic Republic of Qom, adamantly defended by Baghdad during the 18 month negotiations at Cairo, and the resolution of the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border dispute were finally solved last August as the Arab League has agreed to recognize Qom, break relations with any of the Iranian successor states and create a special commission to settle the issue of the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border within the next two years.
[Taken from the New York Times, January of 1980]
***
[Taken from…The Chicago Tribune, June of 1978]
In a way, the Soviet occupation of Bandar-e-Pahlavi on the Caspian Sea and the American raid on Bandar-e-Abbas can be seen as mirror operations. Both took place in mid-June of 1978 in an atmosphere of utmost secrecy. Both involved a great deal of naval resources to neutralize key Iranian naval assets, and both were great departures from previous and future instances of intervention. While before May of 1978 and in the aftermath of September of the same year, both the USSR and the United States were content with supplying money, arms and intelligence to their respective allies in Iran and to provide air support through bombardments of enemy targets in the country and to dispatch intelligence operatives to disrupt enemy operations, between Operation MAJESTIC on May 4th and Operation Lancelot on September 11th of 1978 there’s a period of direct involvement and constant escalation between the two superpowers.
At the same time, the USSR and the USA were involved in a never-ending match through Africa and Latin America in which one supported insurgencies against the other’s allied governments and vice versa, whereas in Europe the likes of a second Missile crisis were in the making, but Iran was the first time since Korea, or since Vietnam, some would say, that the two superpowers were involved to such a degree in a match against the other. Both the Soviet Army and the United States Navy had resources and personnel on Iranian soil, and as the lines were blurred, so was the degree of involvement. On May of 1978, as the central government disintegrated, the siege of Qom was finally over and the communist guerrillas in the Elburz Mountains were poised to take Karaj, it is estimated that there were at least 2,000 soviet troops on Iranian soil and 1,000 US troops. By August of 1978, the height of the double intervention, the number had gone up to 7,800 Soviet soldiers and 2,300 American ones.
[A History of Violence: The Middle East in the 20th Century]
***
Despite rumors about an alleged stroke, the President’s health took a second seat to John Sears resignation on June of 1978 and the announcement that he’d be the campaign manager to William Rehnquist’s bid for a senate seat in the midterm elections. The shock of the news was felt through the White House, Washington and even the entire nation. The cabinet shuffle was considered by many as a breath of fresh air, as John Sears was seen as a poisonous influence in the White House and the fact that the President could not tolerate the Chief of Staff was a secret to nobody.
On June 2nd of 1978, Congressman Ronald Reagan came to take John Sears’ office as White House Chief of Staff.
[Taken from…John Wayne: the Man and the Myth]
Chapter XXIII
The Secret War in Iran
For three years, the United States of America and the Soviet Union fought a secret war in Iran that to this day remains one of the most significant and least understood aspects of the cold war and the involvement of the superpowers in the history of the Middle East. Even know, little is known about the role that Iran played in the geopolitical game, The Great Game that the USA and the USSR played in the region as a continuation of the conflict that pitted the United Kingdom and Imperial Russia in Central Asia during the 19th Century. In the forty-two months from the beginning of the Iranian Civil War to the entrance of the Arab League Armies at Teheran, it is believed that over one million Iranians died, two millions left the country and another million is still missing.
[Taken From...The Crescent and the Red Star: The Middle East and the Cold War]
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Unlike the involvement in the Laotian Civil War, the United States lacked a proper base from which to properly interfere in Iran as the Soviet Union did. Whereas the USSR shared a long and mountainous border in the Caucasus and Central Asia as well as the waters of the Caspian Sea, all excellent routes for the supply of the Communist Insurgency in northern Iran and the launching of raids into Iranian territory, the United States was forced to limit the scale of its presence in the region due to strategic, political and logistic limitations. The occupation of the islands of Abu Musa, Forur, Sirri, Kish and Hendorabi in the Persian Gulf in May of 1978, covered under the guise of a joint exercise in the region between the United States Seventh Fleet and the Saudi Navy was on a strategic level, just a reaction to the Soviet occupation of Namin and Astara, two towns on the Iranian-Azerbaijani border, and the collapse of the Iranian military government. Recent records have led many to believe that the United States Seventh Fleet had been on standby and ready to leave before the White House issued the orders for MAJESTIC on May 2nd, solely as a reaction to Soviet moves in the area.
[A History of Violence: The Middle East in the 20th Century]
***
The resignation of General Gholam-Reza Azhari on April 22nd is effectively the end of the Iranian Military Junta. The following day 100,000 people march through the streets of Teheran to protest military rule, being violently repressed on the orders of the new self-proclaimed President of Iran, Feridoun Jam. On April 24th, it is 300,000 people who take the streets and the number rises to 500,000 by April 30th, time by which neither the military nor the loyalist militias can keep any semblance of order in the streets. On May 1st, General Feridoum Jam tries to escape to Turkey, but his plane is shot down. Theories about Soviet involvement in the crash have abounded ever since, but in the immediate aftermath of the accident, a power vacuum is felt in Teheran. Soon, the Fatherland Defense Corps and the White Revolutionary Guards launched coup attempts in Teheran as the remaining Generals were forced to choose between remaining in the sinking country or escape to Switzerland with as much of the National Treasury as it was possible.
On May 3rd, the Fatherland Defense Corps, their rank and file bolstered by the ever-growing rural migration from the communist-infested countryside to the tumultuous capital, as well as the defection of many army officers, takes the upper hand in Teheran and proclaims itself as the legitimate government of Iran. May of 1978 sees loyalist death squads roam the former Iranian capital rounding up members of the rival White Revolutionary Guard, disaffected army officers and members of the Intelligentsia or Opposition parties that have not been disappeared yet. Amidst the chaos, the “counter-revolutionary commune” of Teheran results in the death of over 30,000 men, women and children in less than 90 days. On May 25th, a second Republic of Iran is proclaimed, this one from Isfahan, where General Hossein Fardout vows to destroy both the Islamic Republic of Qom and the treacherous mutineers of Teheran.
[Taken From...The Crescent and the Red Star: The Middle East and the Cold War]
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IRAQ RETURNS TO ARAB LEAGUE
After months of intensive negotiations, the Islamic Republic of Iraq has finally reassumed its membership in the Arab League. The regional organization of Arab States in North Africa and the Middle East had stripped Iraq from its membership in 1976 following the Islamic Revolution, and ever since the government of the Islamic Republic has tried to reestablish relations with its neighbors in the region. Two important obstacles for the negotiations, the recognition of the Islamic Republic of Qom, adamantly defended by Baghdad during the 18 month negotiations at Cairo, and the resolution of the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border dispute were finally solved last August as the Arab League has agreed to recognize Qom, break relations with any of the Iranian successor states and create a special commission to settle the issue of the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border within the next two years.
[Taken from the New York Times, January of 1980]
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PRESIDENT WAYNE CANCELS LATIN AMERICAN GOOD WILL TOUR AMIDST RUMORS ABOUT HIS HEALTH
[Taken from…The Chicago Tribune, June of 1978]
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In a way, the Soviet occupation of Bandar-e-Pahlavi on the Caspian Sea and the American raid on Bandar-e-Abbas can be seen as mirror operations. Both took place in mid-June of 1978 in an atmosphere of utmost secrecy. Both involved a great deal of naval resources to neutralize key Iranian naval assets, and both were great departures from previous and future instances of intervention. While before May of 1978 and in the aftermath of September of the same year, both the USSR and the United States were content with supplying money, arms and intelligence to their respective allies in Iran and to provide air support through bombardments of enemy targets in the country and to dispatch intelligence operatives to disrupt enemy operations, between Operation MAJESTIC on May 4th and Operation Lancelot on September 11th of 1978 there’s a period of direct involvement and constant escalation between the two superpowers.
At the same time, the USSR and the USA were involved in a never-ending match through Africa and Latin America in which one supported insurgencies against the other’s allied governments and vice versa, whereas in Europe the likes of a second Missile crisis were in the making, but Iran was the first time since Korea, or since Vietnam, some would say, that the two superpowers were involved to such a degree in a match against the other. Both the Soviet Army and the United States Navy had resources and personnel on Iranian soil, and as the lines were blurred, so was the degree of involvement. On May of 1978, as the central government disintegrated, the siege of Qom was finally over and the communist guerrillas in the Elburz Mountains were poised to take Karaj, it is estimated that there were at least 2,000 soviet troops on Iranian soil and 1,000 US troops. By August of 1978, the height of the double intervention, the number had gone up to 7,800 Soviet soldiers and 2,300 American ones.
[A History of Violence: The Middle East in the 20th Century]
***
Despite rumors about an alleged stroke, the President’s health took a second seat to John Sears resignation on June of 1978 and the announcement that he’d be the campaign manager to William Rehnquist’s bid for a senate seat in the midterm elections. The shock of the news was felt through the White House, Washington and even the entire nation. The cabinet shuffle was considered by many as a breath of fresh air, as John Sears was seen as a poisonous influence in the White House and the fact that the President could not tolerate the Chief of Staff was a secret to nobody.
On June 2nd of 1978, Congressman Ronald Reagan came to take John Sears’ office as White House Chief of Staff.
[Taken from…John Wayne: the Man and the Myth]
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maverick
Banned
Paul Newman for President? And who’s going to be his running mate, Jerry Lewis? This is precisely the kind of thing the party should be fighting, not encouraging!
Mo Udall, March of 1980
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The Draft Paul Newman campaign started in December of 1977 as a joke of sorts between Governor Jesse Unruh and his cabinet when the issue of the 1978 Gubernatorial elections was being discussed. At the time, the California Democratic Party was still reeling off from the 1976 election debacle and the People’s Temple scandal, which had led to the disgrace and resignation of many prominent members of the Democratic Party in California and even a couple of attempted suicides amongst local San Francisco party members. Most importantly, the disaster had gutted the party in the Congressional and Senatorial elections that year, destroyed the Party’s image and left the party with no figure strong enough to deal with the 1978 cycle, in which the Governorship of the State was up for grabs again. Around New Year’s Eve, Governor Unruh is said to have commented “It looks like all we have is a Cowboy and Moonbeam Jerry, better start with the VOTE NEWMAN posters soon.”
It is of course important to note that at the time, the State’s Democratic Party was split between Jesse Unruh’s moderate-to-conservative wing, which more or less took form in the National Democratic Coalition, a successor of sorts to Henry Jackson’s 1972 Coalition for a Democratic Majority, while on the other hand one had the more dispersed but more vocal and larger Left-wing of the party, which viewed Senator Paul Newman as their de facto leader, but in reality was more or less lead by the California Secretary of State, Jerry Brown.
[Taken from…How We Got Here: Elections 1960-1984]
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1972, 1976 and 1978 show different scenarios for the Republican Party. While in 1972 John Wayne was a the zenith of his popularity and power, riding the coattails of Richard Nixon’s death and a wave of support and condolence, in 1976 he had to run as his own man, face his own mistakes and weight his own accomplishments with his failures. The John Wayne of 1976 and 1978 is hardly the mythological figure and Icon of American Conservativeness that the Republican Party and the American right built during their walking-the-desert phase of the 1980s. The John Wayne of 1988 could only be built eight years after the man’s death, and only after the Republican Party had come to grips with their past, especially the legacy of the Wayne Administration. The 1978 and 1984 elections are perhaps the best instances to analyze if one is to understand the process in which the modern Republican Party build its identity, as the old Establishment tried to distance itself from the man and provincialize the election rather than nationalize it, to avoid having to deal with the problem that was President Wayne’s personality and the consequences of his decisions. While 1984 was an attempt to return to the 1960s, draw a blank slate and bring back the old days of the New England Liberal Establishment, 1978 was a less conscious and more difficult attempt to create some distance between the party and a very controversial and polarizing figure that many feared would bring the party down in some areas. Thus was the case of New England, where the lingering influence of Senator Lowell Weicker led many local Republicans to run as a Independent Republicans rather than as Republicans, sometimes going as far as creating Third Party Runs in Connecticut and Massachusetts, with rather poor results. The traditionally conservative candidates had little problem standing next to their president and campaigning next to him, but in several districts there were still those who sought to minimize the President’s presence, especially in those where race was a difficult point to treat.
The one great exception for this was, of course, the case of William Rehnquist, running for the Senate Seat of William Scott in Virginia. Rehnquist had become incredibly popular and well respected in the country, especially in conservative circles, as the most visible face of President Wayne’s “War on Crime”, and for many years had been considered as a strong contender for any office he could have potentially sought, a fact that was used from time to time to put some pressure in key districts on disaffected republicans or moderate democrats when it came to negotiations in Congress. It wasn’t until John Sears came along that the idea of having Rehnquist run took form, as the former Chief of Staff came to realize that his days in the White House were counted and that he needed a new way to keep himself in the highest echelons of power in Washington. Thus the project to run Rehnquist as a Senator for the State of Virginia, a competitive state important enough to propel the Attorney General to the Presidency in 1980, was born.
[Taken from…Looking Back: 20th Century Presidencies in Context]
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Even as his star was on the rise, Paul Newman never saw his political career as a pathway to the Presidency or ultimate power, but rather as a public service that he owed to the American people and his country. Throughout his 24 years in the United States Senate, Newman saw his role as that of a crusader for liberal causes, from opposing the abuses of the FBI and the Department of Justice under the Nixon and Wayne administrations to healthcare reform and humanitarian missions to the Balkans in the 1980s. Only once, to oppose the victory of a conservative Bentsen-Glen ticket in the 1988 Democratic Convention did he try to run for President, and even then he only did so as a protest candidate as opposed to making a legitimate bid for the White House. Could have Paul Newman won the 1978 Gubernatorial election in California had he run instead of Jerry Brown? Could he have won the
Presidency in 1980? A careful look at the state of affairs in the late 1970s…
[Taken from…How We Got Here: Elections 1960-1984]
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It is generally agreed that the Cabinet shuffling of mid-1978 left the Wayne administration weakened, even more so than the one of 1977, which marked the departure of Kissinger, Haldeman and Ehrlichman and the official “de-nixonization” of the Cabinet. The departures of John Sears and William Rehnquist, more than establishing a new more independent route and helping create a proper path and image for the Wayne Administration, showed the internal divisions and problems that the White House and the Republican government began to suffer during the second term of John Wayne. The coming of Ronald Reagan as White House Chief of Staff and the move that Elliot Richardson made from the Department of State to replace Rehnquist at Justice furthermore showed that the Government had a lack of real talent and that they could not adequately keep the ship going after prominent men such as Kissinger and Rehnquist left, helping popularize an image of decay that stuck with the John Wayne Administration for the rest of his presidency. Additionally, Alexander Haig’s move from Defense to State and his replacement with National Security Advisor Frank Carlucci marked a decisively hawkish turn as the inner circle of McCain, Haig and Carlucci tightened their grip over the Foreign Policy and the decision making process.
[Taken from…John Wayne: The Man and the Myth]
***
Both the Republican and the Democratic Party lacked any real organization in the 1978 Congressional, Gubernatorial and Senatorial elections. For the Republicans, this was a result of an ongoing crisis of confidence that he White House was going through between 1977 and 1979, whereas for the Democrats this was a result of the debacle of 1976 depriving the party from national leadership that could revitalize the party on a national level. Even the great paladins of the party, Senators Ted Kennedy and Paul Newman, mostly limited their acting in the election to local campaigns in their home states while continuing their work against the FBI and the Department of Justice regarding irregularities and abuses of power in their “War on Crime.” The democrats nevertheless fielded some strong candidates, namely John Kerry, Mario Cuomo, Jerry Brown and John Hill for the Governorships of Massachusetts, New York, California and Texas, while in the Senate they had to compete in traditionally strong or growingly strong Republican districts, chiefly in the South and the West.
Besides John Kerry’s victory in Massachusetts, due to his age and relatively meteoric rise, the only other upset is of course California, where the polls had consistently favored Jerry Brown throughout the campaign season, but the result ultimately stunned the nation as a lone Republican, decathlete, two-time Olympic gold medalist Congressman Robert Matthias, a politically unknown outsider who managed to defeat the experienced democratic candidate by a margin of less than 40,000 votes.
Elsewhere, the governorships of New York, Massachusetts, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, New Hampshire and many others return to Democratic hands or are kept by their democratic incumbents. In the Senate, the Republican Party has no victories to show besides that of William Renhquist in Virginia, which many see as a victory for John Sears and not for the Republican Party. In the House of Representatives, the already important Democratic majority is expanded and now the Republican Party is reduced to a bloc of 140 Congressmen.
Things look bleak for the Republican party in the fall of 1978.