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08/03/2026

When Geopolitics Overrides Secular Values

For decades, powerful Western countries such as America and Britain have presented themselves as global defenders of democracy, secularism, and human rights. At the same time, they often portray communism as a destructive ideology that ruined countries wherever it appeared. But history shows a more complicated and uncomfortable reality.

One clear example is Iran in 1953. Iran had a secular nationalist government led by Mohammad Mosaddegh, who nationalized the country’s oil industry so that Iran could control its own natural resources. This decision threatened British oil interests, particularly the company that later became BP. In response, American and British intelligence services organized the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, overthrowing Iran’s elected government and restoring the Shah’s authoritarian rule. That intervention destabilized Iranian politics and helped create conditions that later produced the Islamic Revolution.

A similar story unfolded in Afghanistan during the Cold War. After the 1978 revolution, a secular communist government attempted major reforms such as land redistribution and expanded education. However, because the government was aligned with the Soviet Union, it became a target of geopolitical competition. The United States, working closely with Pakistan, supported Islamist fighters known as the Afghan Mujahideen. These groups fought the Afghan government and later Soviet forces. Over time, militant networks grew stronger and the country fell into prolonged instability. From this environment, the Taliban eventually emerged.

These episodes highlight a contradiction in international politics. Governments that publicly defend secular values and democracy have sometimes supported coups, proxy wars, and militant groups when it served their strategic interests..

08/03/2026

“This was a magazine in the United States during the 1970s, when Afghanistan had a secular communist government that was trying to modernize the country. At that time, the United States and Pakistan supported and armed the Mujahideen to fight that government. Later many of those fighters became the Taliban, and it eventually backfired on the United States itself.

Just remember this clearly. They were not fighting for democracy, secularism, women’s rights, or human rights. They were fighting for their own geopolitical power and influence, while spreading propaganda through their media and magazines.

This is not something new. During British colonial rule in India, British newspapers and European publications also justified their colonialism. They portrayed India as backward and uncivilized so they could claim that their rule was necessary and beneficial.

That is how Western imperialist and capitalist colonial powers have often operated. They create narratives in their media to justify their political and economic control.”