15-06-2015, 07:06 PM
Jim DiEugenio Wrote:Its not Ken.
This is a reference to two things. First, RFK really did not like the Shah. And it was mutual. So Bobby commissioned a private study on what it would take to bring back Mossadegh.
The Shah really understood that RFK was serious. He responded with the White Revolution.
The problem was that the after JFK passed, the attitude by LBJ toward the Shah was much more softer due to Johnson's close relations with the Rockefellers, especially Nelson. Then of course, it got worse under Nixon due to the Kissinger/David Rockefeller compact.
The Shah, if I recall, did not attend RFK's funeral.
If JFK was pro Israel then why did Nasser order his funeral shown four times on national TV, and why was Sadat the first person at the embassy to sign in?
Kennedy was dead set against Israel getting the bomb and made this a very strong bargaining point with Ben Gurion in letters to him.
Thanks for your reply. It's very helpful.
To further clarify, I understood that Kennedy's admin was the beginning of the US-Israeli military alliance, with Kennedy giving the OK to sell Israel weaponry. I do understand he firmly wanted to stop them from getting atomic weapons--that would be true of any nation in Kennedy's case--nothing unique about Israel I'd say. Johnson also alluded to Kennedy's fondness for Israel when he promised to be an even 'better friend' than JFK, or words to that effect. I suppose this is all a matter of degree. By that I mean Kennedy's public words of support, relative to future presidents, and also the public posture, relative to the behind-the-scenes words and actions. Trying to keep Israel from getting the bomb doesn't equate in my mind to being "anti-Israel" so I was just looking for other ways JFK's lack of support for Israel was shown.
