Fifty years ago today, in a bold and far-reaching covert operation, the CIA overthrew the elected government of Iran. Although the coup seemed successful at first, its “haunting and terrible legacy” is now becoming clear.

Operation Ajax, as the plot was code-named, reshaped the history of Iran, the Middle East and the world. It restored Mohammad Reza Shah to the Peacock Throne, allowing him to impose a tyranny that ultimately sparked the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

The Islamic Revolution, in turn, inspired fundamentalists throughout the Muslim world, including the Taliban and terrorists who thrived under its protection.

In his new book “All The Shah’s Men,” New York Times correspondent Stephen Kinzer asserts “It is not far-fetched to draw a line from Operation Ajax through the Shah’s repressive regime and the Islamic Revolution to the fireballs that engulfed the World Trade Center in New York.”

Guests:

Stephen Kinzer, New York Times correspondent, who has reported from more than fifty countries on four continents. Author of the new book “All The Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror”