My Reading Notes

U.S. hostages in Tehran

Nov 1979-April 1980, the American hostages in Tehran was a big issue; not a single government in the world took any; perfect exercise in global crisis management;

The government least surprised was the U.S.. the seize of the embassy had taken place w/ the full knowledge and support of the Carter administration; After Khomeini's seizure of Power, the US did not interrupt its ongoing program of military supply, training and arms sales to Iran; 747s flew from NY to Iran, flying spare parts for helicopters and military aircraft; the equpiment was badly needed in the battle to put down Kurdish tribesmen in Iran's western provinces ()

The resupply was officially admiitted byt eh State Depamrtnet and reported in EIR, Wall Street Journal, Financial TRimes of London and elsewhere;

Americans began to adivse the Iranian secret government; David aaron (NSC) and Warren Christopher and Ramsey Clark, 60 CIA agents who entered Iran in Jan 1979; to smooth the transition to Khomeini; By Sept 1979 it had become clear that France, West Germany and their allies did not intende to capitulate to US pressure and were proceeding full steam ahead w/ the EMS; pulling togeterht eh Arab world, OPEC, India, Mexic and USSR thorugh a "peace through development" slogan;

Carter wanted an artificial crisis in Iran; subordintae broader concerns to teh "NATO alliance"; Since coming to power in 1977, the Carter administration had sought justification for sending U.S. Marines to seize the oil fields of Saudi arabia (strategic denial); "Reichstag fire"; and was consideriong dispatching a liminted number of technicians to Iran as well; Shah was allowed to come ot hte U.S. to recieve medical treatment; if the Shah were admitted to the United Staes;

Khomeini gave a long speech, protests by oil workers, etc; Brzezinski met w/ Yazdi to hammer out hte details of the embassy takeover; taking of the emabssy, and everything went into global crisis management; (*) First, they froze all the assets; FEMA had this plan to freeze assets two weeks before they actually did it; (chief cause of the Crisis in the first place); doctors



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Go along w/ what we say,or we'll cut off your oil supplies; was the message delivered to European capitals by the Carter administration; Throughout the winter, Carter's reelection chances shot up high, Carter played the hostage crisis for all it was worth; (US was working w/ Bani-Sadr to release the hostages, but of course no such thing took place);

At the end of April, the Iranian crisis broke in way that almost touched off WWIII..

posted by Paul Sholtz @ 12:57 AM