The gift 747 was only one problem in Mideast trip

By John M. Crisp / Tribune News Service

An anecdote: At some point in the early 1980s, I was talking with a friend about the shah of Iran, that is, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who ruled Iran from 1941 until he was deposed by the Iranian revolution of 1979 and replaced by the current theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Shah’s reign was characterized by corruption and despotic oppression largely carried out by SAVAK, the Shah’s loyal secret police, which specialized in terror, imprisonment and torture. Still, the U.S. liked the friendly Shah because Iran was overflowing with oil.

My friend summed up the Shah this way, paraphrasing: All you really need to know about the Shah of Iran is that his private jet had gold-plated toilets.

Which is another way of saying that the Qataris have Donald Trump’s number. I don’t know if the $400 million 747 on offer to the president actually has gold-plated toilets, but it’s billed as the epitome of lavish extravagance in airline luxury, which the Qataris know is irresistible to a man of Trump’s tastes.

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