Word: firstness
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Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
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From the U.S. came a warning of military force, from Iran an appeal to mob violence. Such violence broke out from Turkey to India, most seriously in Pakistan, where the first American blood was shed. And by this time Iran's fire-eating Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini had become so extreme, so demagogic, so streaked with irrationality that serious diplomats wondered how the breach could be repaired. "This is not a struggle between the United States and Iran," Khomeini declared. "It is a struggle between Islam and the infidels." He repeatedly threatened that the 49 American hostages held in the captured...
...Vance: "Our relief that you are safe is muted by our concern for your colleagues who remain." A day later, White House Press Spokesman Jody Powell announced after Carter conferred with his top aides at Camp David: "The last American hostage is just as important to us as the first...
...fleet will take no offensive action so long as all the hostages remain alive. But Administration officials suggest that if even one hostage is killed, attacks on Iranian targets would begin speedily. The first assault might well be an air strike aimed at destroying the 77 F-14 jets and Phoenix missiles sold to Iran by the U.S. when the Shah was in power. The rationale...
...Within an instant after hearing the first word of a suspicious movement" by the American ships, they said, they would blow up the embassy and kill all the hostages. Khomeini, on television, added: "I have no doubt that they would...
public opinion around the country last week found Americans almost unanimously against handing over the Shah to Khomeini. "We'd be groveling if we caved in now," says Boston Lawyer-Author George V. Higgins. But some consider that it was a major blunder to admit the Shah in the first place, even for medical treatment. Above all, there is frustration and anger. Willard Hedrick, owner of a construction company...