I am no fan of the Iranian government. But this revelation can hardly make Canada seen as an impartial neutral. Rather, we will be seen as a hidden doppelgänger for the Americans.
Envoy Ken Taylor a 'valuable asset' to CIA in Iran
http://mobile.thestar.com/mobile/canada/article/755056
Diana Mehta
The Canadian Press
Sitting in a Toronto hotel room, Ken Taylor is casual as he chats about the days when he funnelled information to the CIA in the midst of the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979.
While the former Canadian ambassador to Iran is well known for keeping six American diplomats in hiding after the U.S. embassy was overrun by radical Iranian students, a new book reveals he was also Washington's "most valuable asset" at the time.
"Diplomacy can take odd turns," said 75-year-old Taylor in an interview Saturday. "I think this was a highly unusual situation."
Our Man in Tehran, by Trent University historian Robert Wright, covers Taylor's 30 months in Iran, with two chapters detailing a request the ambassador provide "aggressive intelligence" for the U.S. in a deal between president Jimmy Carter and then-prime minister Joe Clark.
In a hush-hush operation, an agent flown in by the CIA, code-named "Bob," as well as Taylor's chief accomplice Jim Edward, worked with Taylor as he smuggled his reports from Tehran to Ottawa. Much of this was in preparation for a commando raid to free American hostages held at the U.S. embassy.
While Taylor admits there were numerous elements of espionage involved in his work during that tumultuous period, calling him a CIA spy may be pushing it.
5 comments:
Why in the world would we want to be seen as "neutral" towards Iran?
HE did what he had to do, and did it for a good cause.
There is a big difference between being an active CIA agent and dealing with the CIA for the sole purpose of getting the hostages rescued.
There still seems to be some ambiguity as to which applied in this case.
Fair enough -- my only point is that Iran (and others) will be inclined to think Canada = USA
Just reading those news stories (I doubt I'll read the book though), it seems there is a bit of a conflict between the book and how some of the protagonists remember their role. The book may have a subtle spin.
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