30 years after the Iran hostage crisis, we're still fighting Reagan's war
Ted Koppel, in his usual insightful manner, reminds us how we got here. How many times we literally encouraged the Iranian relationship that 'we all but wanted'.
Quote:
In their approach to the United States in the decade that followed, the mullahs provided chilling evidence of how closely they had studied the influence of the media and public opinion on U.S. foreign policy. ...
Iran watched and learned. They realized that the fixations of the American media could lead to shifts in U.S. policy. ...
Far from punishing the Iranians, Washington arranged for Israel to sell weapons to Iran. The Israeli stockpiles would be secretly replenished by the United States, which was legally prohibited from selling directly to Iran. In return, Iran would free some hostages. ...
Ultimately, Reagan's broad-shouldered bravado was no more effective in dealing with Tehran than Carter's mild-mannered diplomacy. ...
Here we are, 30 years after what we thought was the conclusion of a crisis, still wondering if the end will ever be in sight.
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