CNN’s Fareed Zakaria hosted a Sunday special documentary entitled Why Iran Hates America where he ultimately homed in on three Republican presidents: Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump. There is a fine line between explaining Iran’s position and uncritically regurgitating it and Zakaria failed to appreciate the difference as he omitted key information and contradicted himself during relevant portions of the program.
Intermixing his own narration with achieved news reports of the Iran-Iraq War, Zakaria explained that “Iran was utterly isolated,” while author Robin Wright added that, “it was really Iran standing alone against the rest of the world. And it has defined its security strategy ever since.”
Talking over footage of Reagan on the White House lawn, Zakaria mangled history, “Meanwhile, Washington faced a hard quandary. It had no love for Saddam. But it hated Iran more. So the CIA sent an agent to Baghdad with valuable intelligence, beginning a years-long U.S. relationship with Saddam Hussein.”
This gives the impression that, under Reagan, the United States decided to kick Iran while it was down, but that is not accurate. Saddam Hussein invaded Iran in September 1980, but what Zakaria was discussing did not come about until 1982 when Iran was able to reverse the invasion and clear Iraqi forces out of the country and carry the war into Iraq because it would not end the war unless Saddam was removed. From that point on, Washington felt it was necessary to stop Iran and its Shia revolution from expanding beyond Iran.
Later, after playing a clip of Bush’s Axis of Evil speech, Zakaria added, “And we all know what happened next.” Following a brief digression into the Iraq War, author Narges Bajoghli claimed that “Iran sees itself as a part of the Axis of Evil. So it begins to feel that it has to create a defensive policy against a potential attack.”
Zakaria followed up, “So Iran shifted to its axis of resistance. A forward defense policy that has been its protector for more than 40 years. Iran became a major presence in Iraq, arming Shiite militias that viciously attacked American soldiers. When almost all U.S. troops withdrew in 2011, those militias became an integral part of Iraq's army.”
Which is it? Is it Bush’s rhetoric and decision to attack Iraq or is it 40 years of policy that predates Bush?
Next, it was Trump’s turn to be criticized, “When the U.S. assassinated Soleimani in 2020, the result might have backfired, galvanizing Iran and its allies.”
Bajoghli added, “It was actually in many ways a goldmine because instead of him being killed by someone in ISIS he's being assassinated by the Great Satan.”
You can never know for sure how many of the anti-American protestors are genuine and how many were bribed or forced to be there, but either way, it completely ignores the mass uprisings the regime has faced in the years since.
Wrapping it all up at the end, Zakaria again blamed Bush, claiming that after 9/11 Iran just wanted to get along with the U.S., “Iran took some important steps to cooperate with Washington in Afghanistan in helping to set up a new government. But once George W. Bush branded them part of the Axis of Evil, those overtures collapsed.”
He also got in one last whack at Trump, “[The Iran nuclear deal] was premised not on trust, but on mistrust. Each side carefully protected its interests in that document. But it did create the possibility of a working relationship. And Iran did adhere to the deal, moving further away from a nuclear weapons program than it had been for decades. But Donald Trump blew up that deal and that opportunity. And in Iran forces opposed to the deal and any kind of rapprochement with Washington gained power, sidelined Rouhani, and now rule with an even more brutal fist.”
The Biden Administration has recently warned Iran not to export ballistic missiles to Russia for its war on Ukraine because Obama’s deal removed the embargo that prohibited Iran from exporting such weapons. So much for “carefully protected” interests.
Beyond the three GOP presidents, Zakaria’s documentary also included Georgetown’s Ali Vaez, who has solicited feedback from former Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on articles he has written defending the nuclear deal.
Here is a transcript for the February 25 show:
CNN Why Iran Hates America: A Fareed Zakaria Special
2/25/2024
8:34 PM ET
FAREED ZAKARIA: Iran was utterly isolated.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Because of fears it will export its fanaticism.
ZAKARIA: Backed only by Syria and Libya among Arab nations.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Iraq is getting everything it needs.
ZAKARIA: Iraq had most Arab states' support as well as that of the Soviet Union.
UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: Saddam Hussein.
ROBIN WRIGHT: It was really Iran standing alone against the rest of the world. And it has defined its security strategy ever since.
ZAKARIA: Meanwhile, Washington faced a hard quandary. It had no love for Saddam. But it hated Iran more. So the CIA sent an agent to Baghdad with valuable intelligence, beginning a years-long U.S. relationship with Saddam Hussein.
JOHN LIMBERT: Our support of Saddam Hussein during The Iran-Iraq war, I think was disgraceful.…
ZAKARIA: Nearly five months after 9/11, President George W. Bush went on the offensive in his 2002 State of the Union Address.
GEORGE W. BUSH: North Korea is a regime arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction… Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror… Iraq continues to plan its hostility toward America and to support terror… States like these and their terrorist allies constitute an Axis of Evil arming to threaten the peace of the world.
ZAKARIA: A presidential threat branded three countries as the Axis of Evil. And we all know what happened next.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Air raid sirens blared before dawn in Baghdad.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The first American Marines had moved in.
ZAKARIA: March 2003, U.S. forces invade Iraq vowing to destroy its weapons of mass destruction, and put an end to Saddam Hussein's dictatorial rule.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Goodbye, Saddam.
ZAKARIA: But it was all a historic mistake.
DAVID KAY: It turns out, so we were all wrong.
ZAKARIA: There were no weapons of mass destruction. And the invasion set off a firestorm of violence and vitriol, stoking anti-American sentiment throughout the Middle East.
NARGES BAJOGHLI: Iran sees itself as a part of the Axis of Evil. So it begins to feel that it has to create a defensive policy against a potential attack.
ZAKARIA: So Iran shifted to its axis of resistance. A forward defense policy that has been its protector for more than 40 years. Iran became a major presence in Iraq, arming Shiite militias that viciously attacked American soldiers. When almost all U.S. troops withdrew in 2011, those militias became an integral part of Iraq's army.
…
ZAKARIA (voice-over): In Lebanon groups like Hezbollah, the crown jewel of Iran's forward defense policy. In Gaza, Hamas and Islamic Jihad largely responsible for the October 7th attack on Israel. In Yemen, the Houthis who have conducted missile strikes to disrupt shipping lanes and global trade. In Syria, a paramilitary group called Shabiha, organized by President Bashar al-Assad. And in Iraq and Syria, Shia militias. They all act as a conduit and an enforcer to convey Iran's message to the world.
VALI NASR: Iran would recruit, train, organize these militia groups who had a strategic and a tactical relationship with Iran. They will receive funding for military weaponry and they would also be integrated into a command-and-control structure of the Quds Force.
ZAKARIA: Quds Force is the most elite part of Iran's Revolutionary Guard responsible for growing the Axis of Resistance. That task fell on the broad shoulders of notorious Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, who took great offense at Bush's Axis of Evil label.
MALCOM BYRNE: Here was a person who is just hated by the West and by American officials because he has been the leader of most efforts that have involved threats to the United States.
VICTOR BLACKWELL: A rocket attack on the Baghdad airport kills Iran's most revered military leader.
ZAKARIA: When the U.S. assassinated Soleimani in 2020, the result might have backfired, galvanizing Iran and its allies.
BAJOGHLI: It was actually in many ways a goldmine because instead of him being killed by someone in ISIS he's being assassinated by the Great Satan.
…
ZAKARIA: After 9/11, Iran took some important steps to cooperate with Washington in Afghanistan in helping to set up a new government. But once George W. Bush branded them part of the Axis of Evil, those overtures collapsed.
The most significant effort was made by Barack Obama and Iran's then president Hassan Rouhani, who both spoke of creating a new relationship. It was not friendship as Iran's Foreign Minister Javid Zarif pointed out to me the Iran nuclear deal was premised not on trust, but on mistrust. Each side carefully protected its interests in that document.
But it did create the possibility of a working relationship. And Iran did adhere to the deal, moving further away from a nuclear weapons program than it had been for decades. But Donald Trump blew up that deal and that opportunity. And in Iran forces opposed to the deal and any kind of rapprochement with Washington gained power, sidelined Rouhani, and now rule with an even more brutal fist.
