“Papa Knows Best”: Resisting American Influence

Abstract

Arguably no other conflict in the nation’s history, apart from the Civil War, has had as profound an impact in reshaping American society, economy, politics, culture, and memory as the war in Vietnam. Even so, while Vietnam occupied the majority of the Johnson administration’s attention, it did not, as some have argued, simply lead “to the neglect of relations with many [Third World allies], particularly with Iran.” That the Shah was one of the few Third World leaders to support LBJ’s Vietnam policy meant a great deal to the president. For his part, the Shah believed that Iranian support for the US in Vietnam warranted a favourable response to his demands for further American credit to improve his military. Forced to contend with the Shah’s increasingly strident demands, US officials worked hard to placate the Iranian monarch and maintain some semblance of influence over his policies using their limited resources. However, America’s escalating involvement in Vietnam lent weight to those in Congress who favoured limiting the extent of foreign military sales credit given to developing countries. The Johnson administration therefore had to reconcile Congressional reticence with the need to compensate the Shah for his support.