[lbo-talk] The Idea of the Third World (was Re: Iran andLatinAmerica)

[Jordan Hayes]

Yoshie writes:

> During the Cold War, Qaddafi's Libya got very close to the
> USSR.  The Soviets sold him MiGs, for instance.  The Islamic
> Republic of Iran never got that close to either the USSR or the USA.

Of course, they didn't need to: they inherited one of the most capable 
and well-armed/trained air forces in the world after the revolution: 
hundreds of US-made F-14s, F-4s and F-5s.  They were set for the next 
decade.  Around 1991, after sanctions kept them from being able to 
maintain the US hardware, they went on a buying spree, picking up ~350 
aircraft from FSU.  In a sort of ironic twist, they eventually sold 
MiG-29s to China that they got from Iraq during Desert Storm.

/jordan