Jimmy Carter Biography

In January 1979, Iranians opposed to the Shah’s rule invaded the American embassy in Tehran and held a group of 52 American diplomats and other hostages for 444 days. The Shah left Iran and the victorious Ayatollah Khomeini returned that February. Of the approximately 90 people inside the embassy, 52 remained in captivity until the end of the crisis. The reputation of the Ayatollah Khomeini and the hostage taking was further enhanced with the failure of a hostage rescue attempt that cost lives. The Ayatollah Khomeini set forth several demands to be met prior to the release of the hostages. The US had options of their own; however, the risk to the hostages required the utmost consideration. In order to secure their freedom, outgoing

President Richard Nixon’s Watergate incident and resignation in August of 1974 left the nation feeling skeptic toward the national government. Gerald Ford, who was not elected by the public, took the oath of office and became the 38th president of the United States. President Ford, coined with a repugnant image in both the eyes of the public and the media, was defeated by 56 electoral votes in the election of 1976. Jimmy Carter managed to receive similar distasteful images by the end of his single term as well. Although there were similarities between Ford and Carter, the two presidents were different in terms of previous experience, domestic policies, and foreign affairs.

The United States history during 1977 to 1989 went through two presidencies and whirlwind of events happened. When President Jimmy Carter became president he wanted to lower the inflation rates to make life easier for the people of the United States. While that was his goal it got completely derailed. Near the end of Jimmy Carters presidency, a group of Iranian students took over the U.S Embassy in Tehran and took people hostage. Over the course of the 444 days the hostages where held captive while the people of the United States voted for a new president to help lead them into a new direction. The people voted for Ronald Reagan. While he was president things didn’t go as he planned as well. The issues with Iran did not calm down and escalated to something bigger. After the Iran hostage crisis, the US had another issues with Iran and it was the Iran- Contra affair. During this essay I will be talking about the book called “Taken Hostage” by David Farber and the information in the book. The book is about the time frame of Jimmy Carter’s presidency and the issues with Iran and the hostage crisis. The second half of my essay is towards President Ronald Reagan’s and the issues about the Iran- Contra affair and the lasting issues between Iran and the United states.

The Iranian hostage crisis was one of the most dramatic events in a series of problems that took place during President Jimmy Carter’s term. The crisis, beginning in November of 1979, received the most coverage of any major event since World War II. It was one of many problems faced in light of the United State’s complex relationship with Iran. The effects on both the US and Iran were astronomical, especially politically as well as economically and socially. It took a heavy toll on American relations with the Middle East and changed the way we engage in foreign affairs. In light of this crisis, Iran started an international war that we are still fighting thirty-two years later.

On November 4th, 1979, a group of enraged of Islamic revolutionists invaded the United States Embassy in Tehran. They had taken 60 Americans hostage for 444 days until President Ronald Reagan had taken Oath of office. It was nearly minutes after Reagan had taken office that they were released. Ayatollah Khomeini enforced an anti-Western Islamic theocracy, overrode the pro-Western monarchy of the Shah of Iran. Iran had felt that the United States was interfering with their internal affairs. They feared that they would return the Shah to power. The Shah had fled to mexico and the doctors there had uncovered that he was suffering an aggressive cancer. With this recent discovery they pushed the Shah to be admitted into a

President Carter, like other presidents before him, had concentrated mostly on the Soviet Union. This was caused by the Cold War and the tensions that arose from it. Therefore the US’s main attention had been directed away from the Middle East. Since Iran was anti-communist then “the United States supported any regime that was not communist” (Bechtel 2). There was more of a reason for the president to focus on the Soviets than the Iranians, but he “did not ignore Iran during this period but it was not perceived as a hot spot ”(Farber 80). The main situation the US faced with Iran was the issue over oil and even when discussing the ownership over oil fields, there was never a moment where hostages were involved. The United States had made "innumerable pleas, resolutions, declarations, special missions, and even sanctions" to try and return the hostages safely back home (Ismail). Such extents even included sending eight helicopters to rescue the hostages. “Three out of the eight were damaged in the sandstorm, the mission was aborted”, and the death of the eight persons caused the Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance to resign even though he opposed the mission to begin with (“Iran Hostage Crisis”). The President had to be prepared to attack if any of the hostages were harmed. There were three things that were first sought out when realizing what had happened overseas in Iran. First,

Farber deeply discussed the American and Iranian reactions to the crisis. Americans started to pay more and more attention to the news media. The longer the hostages were held, the more people disapproved of Carter. Americans hung yellow ribbons everywhere throughout the country to show support of the hostages. Iranian students at U.S. universities held protests at schools and outside of the White House demanding for the return of the Shah as well as requesting the freeze on Iranian assets to be released. Farber describes the Iranian students plan for the hostage. What turned into a 444-day hostage was meant to only be a three-day sit-in. However with President

President Reagan wanted to remain the adored figure in the public’s eye and deemed to succeed where President Carter failed, even if it meant breaking the law. Throughout the scandal, Reagan’s first priority was free the hostages. Iran stated that they would release the hostages if. there was an exchange for the arms. This exchange benefited the Reagan administration as the money they received were given to aid the Contras. In politics, the job description of a President is well known; The President runs the White House with full authority as commander in chief and everyone knows and respects this role. With this claim, how is it possible that President Reagan was unaware of the activities being conducted in his office, regarding the Iran

“On November 4, 1979, a group of Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 American hostages.”(Iran Hostage Crisis). This happened when the pro-american monarchy, the Shah, was overthrown in a revolution. The 6o Americans were held for 443 days and released on the 444th day of being captured. During this time, Carter’s foreign policy team seemed weak because it took so long for the hostages to be released. However, the plan was executed correctly. It was executed correctly in a sense that no more Americans were killed in this extensive year and a half long crisis. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was admitted into an American hospital for treatment because Pahlavi had recently developed cancer. In return, the new power

It seems that there are three main points in this section, including Gerald Ford becoming president and trying to turn things around, how Jimmy Carter went right behind him and tried to do the same thing, and the Iran Hostage Crisis of 1979-1980.Gerald Ford only became the president after Nixon resigned. During his time of presidency, he made inflation sky high, the price of gas and oil higher than ever and interest rates climbed. Until reading this passage I didn’t know that Ford had pardoned the former president so that he was able to not be charged with any crime associated with the Watergate scandal. He wasn’t a good fit for president so in the election of 1976 a Democrat from Georgia named Jimmy Carter was elected. He did nothing but

President Carter’s inability to resolve the problem made him look like a weak and ineffectual leader. At the same time, his intense focus on bringing the hostages home kept him away from the campaign trail. Carter would lose the 1980 election to California governor Ronal Reagan. On January 21st, 1981, just a few hours after Ronald Reagan’s inaugural address, the remaining hostages were released after being in captivity for 444

Fifty two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981 after a group of Iranian students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S Embassy in Tehran. After a power struggle between Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran and his prime minister, the Shah gained the support of the United States in preventing the nationalization of Iran’s oil industry. In return the Shah received economic and military aid from the United States. With increased American policy influence, Shah Pahlavi moved towards economic and social reforms of the Iranian government. However, these reforms were criticized by the Iranian nationalists. Eventually after weeks of violent demonstrations towards the Shah, he fled Iran.To the Iranians it seemed as if the United States was protecting the hated Shah because President Carter had let him into the United States for cancer

Initially, the President’s response was to appeal for the release of the hostages on the basis of humanitarian grounds, but this was ineffective against the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line because their main goal was to bring the Shah and the United States to justice, and taking hostages was just a means to do so. Since there were so many hostages taken, the United States had to tread carefully with their diplomacy. They were the ones against odds with everything to lose. The United States should have given an ultimatum earlier on in the hostage crisis, when the motives and end goals of the Muslim Students were not fully determined (Harris, 54). The hostage crisis also paved the way for an increase of political power among Muslim extremist groups such as the Irainian Mujahedin; which would then split into two groups known today as Al-Qaeda and ISIS (Cold War Museum). Many of theses extremist groups saw the hostage crisis as a war to end American imperialism. The Muslim Students that took hostages decided early on that their quarrel was with American diplomats, so the militants released thirteen women and African Americans just weeks into the hostage crisis. And finally, one hostage, Richard Queen, was released during July of 1980 when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Contrary to common belief, the hostages were actually moved from the embassy to prisons in Tehran by August of 1980 (Baqr, 97).

President Carter accepted the permission for the Shah to come the the United States to obtain treatment for cancer. The College students charged the palace quite quickly, with the takeover happening within a matter of hours. The CIA has tried to intervene the situation, but failed. Another report says that the capture of America’s Embassy and its diplomatic staff was a hugely symbolic victory over “The Great Satan.” “The Great Satan” as being America, because America is known to be hated by most Iranians. The hostages are still being kept captive with little food and water. There are supposed " mock executions" happening at the Embassy. Another source says that this is a way to raise the intra and international profile of the revolution leader, the anti-american cleric Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. There was a hostage rescue attempt called “Operation Eagle Claw” it was a United States Armed Forces operation ordered by US President Jimmy Carter to attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis by rescuing 52 embassy staff held captive at the Embassy of the United States in Tehran on 24 April 1980. When they tried to rescue the 52 American hostages held in Tehran it ended with eight U.S. servicemen dead and no hostages

Iran only released the hostages after their demands were met. Iran wanted the U.S. to stay out of their business and all damage claims made by the United States be