Stephen Kinzer, historian: Any government that comes to power on the back of the United States will lack legitimacy'

U.S. intervention patterns center on punishing defiance of Washington’s policies. Countries targeted by the United States, including Iran, are described as refusing to create governments that respond to what Washington wants. The claim that spheres of influence are over is characterized as misleading, with the United States portrayed as treating much of the world as its sphere of influence outside China, Russia, and a few other states. The 1953 overthrow in Iran is presented as a key event that shaped Iran’s later trajectory. Current actions are framed as continuing the same objective of enforcing compliance, with Israel’s support described as essential for attacks involving Iran.

"What ties together the countries and the targets of the United States, including Iran, is really simple: defiance. These are all countries that defy U.S. policies. They refuse to establish governments that respond to what Washington wants. Sometimes we hear from Washington [Joe] Biden used to say this the age of spheres of influence is over. But that is disingenuous. In fact, the United States considers the entire world to be its justified sphere of influence, outside of China, Russia, and a couple of other countries. And it is precisely those countries that end up becoming our targets."

"In his book All the Shah's Men, the journalist reconstructs the 1953 coup orchestrated by the CIA and MI6 the U.S. and British intelligence services against Iran's democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh, after Mossadegh declared he wanted to nationalize Iranian oil, and shows how that upheaval shaped the future of Iran up to the current conflict."

"U.S. journalist and historian Stephen Kinzer, 74, has devoted much of his work to analyzing a century of U.S.-backed government overthrows around the world: from Hawaii to Iraq, examining the pattern of military intervention and exposing its long-term consequences. A former correspondent for The New York Times, Kinzer has established himself as one of the most vocal critics of U.S. interventionism."

"It seems clear that we would not have launched this attack without the support of Israel. It's almost a cliche to say that Israel has"

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