Taken Hostage Key Topics

Taken Hostage Key Topics

Throughout the book:

• The Shah began controlling Iran using military power because he was not convinced that the Muslim clergy and the fundamentalists were capable of bringing development in his country. As such, the Shah continued being unpopular with the Iranians as their distrust for their government prevailed.
• The United States continued supporting the Shah because they needed his help in the Persian Gulf which was the primary source of oil. Also, the U.S. was afraid of the growing influence of the communists Soviet, and the alliance with the Shah would neutralize it from growing in the Islamic world.

Introduction:

• According to David Farber, the hostage crisis symbolized the Muslim militants’ hatred for the Americans. It was a sign that they did not want anything to do with the U.S., and they wanted them to leave the Iranian affairs to the locals.
• Taken Hostage is a significant demonstrator of the involvement of the Americans in terrorism and Muslim student fundamentalists in the history of the U.S. as it provides a disturbing reminder that the past is a prologue.

Chapter 1:

• Many Americans considered the U.S. to be in crisis in the 1970s because everything in the country seemed to be going wrong and little or nothing was done to bring most of the things happening under control. They saw that nothing positive was happening or being done by even the leaders.
• One of significant President Carter’s weaknesses was that he knew little about politics when he took over the presidency of the United States. However, he was disciplined, intelligent, and incorruptible, and he was dedicated to serving the Americans.

Chapter 2:

• The United States replaced Mossadegh with the Shah because they knew that he could assist them in operating in the Middle East as long as they continued supporting the ruling regime in Iran. Also, the U.S. needed to control the Persian Gulf, which was being in the hands of the Soviet Union unless something was done to change that.
• The Shah’s White Revolution had positive implications on the Iranians because it helped them become more civilized as more secondary schools were built and significant businesspeople invested in the Middle East country. Also, the U.S. was able to acquire oil from the Persian Gulf at a fairer price than before the alliance with the Shah. It had adverse effects also as the Iranians started fighting amongst themselves like the dispute between Khomeini and the Shah that led to the taking hostages at the American Embassy in 1979.

Chapter 3:

• In 1977, the unrest in Iran was caused by the Firouz’s intentions of getting back the throne after the Shah left for the White House. He had hope that the Americans would believe him and help him regain power in Iran of which did not happen because the U.S. sided with the Shah and was not going to replace him with anybody.
• The U.S. responded to unrest in Iran by sending a letter to the Shah through the Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, assuring him of the American’s support to back him up and provided him with the military power he required to solve things on his side. Also, the Shah was requested to do something and ensure that he calmed things in his country and that he should consider coming to the White House to make significant negotiations with President Carter.

Chapter 4:

• Farber argues that Carter and the subsequent American presidents should have followed up on the Soviet’s Brzezinski’s rethinking of the American policy toward Iran because of the latter’s influence is significant global matters and his contribution to the crushing of domestic dissent and individual freedoms. They also needed to ensure that specific negative implications such as nuclear annihilation were avoided.
• The primary thing holding the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and 1980 was the attack on the U.S. Embassy and taking of 52 American diplomats and citizens. The hostage crisis went on for 444 days from 1979 to 1981.
• Iranian College Students, who belonged to the Muslim Students Followers of Imam Line, were responsible for taking of the American hostages at the U.S. Embassy. They said that they were outraged by the travelling of the Shah to the United States for treatment after he had been ousted from power.

Chapter 5:

• The hostage-takers in Iran intended to punish President Carter for his unrelenting support for the Shah and to facilitate the success of the Iranian Revolution. They were unwilling to give in to the U.S.’s negotiation for the release of the hostages until Carter’s term ended.
• The State Department was unable to negotiate with the college students for the release of the hostages because they insisted that they were punishing President Carter and his administration for supporting the Shah in massacring the Iranians. They intended to delay the release until Carter stepped down from the office of the presidency.
• The American people had a different perception regarding the Iranian Hostage Crisis from that of the members of the Iranian revolution because one side was considering it to be an unjust act whiles the other supported it as the best way to get back to the U.S. The revolutionists saw it as an opportunity to punish the Americans for supporting their enemy, the Shah, while the U.S. people considered it as unfair to hurt people because of a few individuals in the government.
• President Carter ordered a mission called Operation Eagle Claw in April 1980 to rescue the Americans held hostages at the U.S. embassy in Iran. The mission failed, and numerous negotiations were arranged in a bid to have the hostages released.
• The Soviet Union took advantage of the Iranian Hostage Crisis to advance in the cold war because the issue weakened President Carter’s conduct of foreign policy. He began distrusting the views of the Secretary of State. He became more receptive of the opinions of his National Security Adviser because he believed he had more experience and knowledge about foreign policy.
• The hostage crisis weakened Carter’s administration as he was seen incapable of making significant decisions considering that it brought about an open conflict between the National Security and the Department of State. He lost the 1980 presidential election by a landslide to the Republican nominee, Ronald Reagan.
• According to Farber, the hostage crisis was the symbol of the Americans’ problems of the 1970s because it was the aftermath of the relationship of the American presidents and the Shah of Iran. It was the landmark of what came out of this alliance because it was the reason the student militants abducted the Americans.

Epilogue:

• Algeria was the foreign country that helped the United States negotiate with Iran for the release of the 52 hostages held at the American Embassy of January 20, 1981. The negotiation had a significant impact on Warren Christopher’s, was the Deputy Secretary of State at the time, reputation because he would later become the 63^rd Secretary of State during Bill Clinton’s administration.
• The Iranian Revolution declined to be paid in U.S. dollar bills, and they demanded to be compensated in gold worth $7.98 billion that was being held at the Bank of England. The 50 tonnes of gold was transferred to Iran, but the U.S. withheld the Iranian gold that was being frozen at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, and the hostages were later released that day.
• It was a mistake to interfere with the affairs of Afghanistan because the Reagan Doctrine was aimed at providing the mujahedeen with military and other significant support as long as they were against the communists. The involvement was a similar mistake to Carter’s in Iran because he too was influenced by the same goal of supporting the anti-communist of which ended hurtfully.
• The Iranian Hostage Crisis had a lot to teach the Americans, according to Farber. They ought to understand that the hostage-takers were influenced by their hatred for their leader, the Shah and instead not by their Islamic religion. Also, the U.S. should not have been involved with the Shah after they realized that he was not welcome to the Iranians. Lastly, it was a mistake to act rapidly, including ordering of the failed attack as it played a significant role in the delay of the release of the hostages.

Reference

Bohite, R. (2008). Taken Hostage: The Iranian Hostage Crisis and America’s First Encounter With Radical Islam–By David Farber. Historian, 70(2), 308-309.