Word: shahs
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Thank goodness they are home. But will our emotions blind us to the events that led to the embassy seizure? The U.S. role in reinstalling the Shah in 1953 and our continued support were as inexcusable as Iran's recent behavior. The hostages suffered for America's sins...
...must not let our joy blind us to reality. The British made a patriotic myth out of Dunkirk, based on courage and exertion, but Dunkirk was still a staggering defeat. The overthrow of the Shah by Khomeini was a defeat for American foreign policy, heightened by our impotence during the hostage crisis. We are still in serious trouble in the Persian Gulf. That is what we have to remember...
Americans rejoiced in the Inauguration Day liberation of the 52 hostages from the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Nonetheless, Iran threatens to succeed Viet Nam as a symbol of American frustration and impotence. American diplomatic support and military backing could not prevent the fall of the Shah, who for decades seemed the paragon of a U.S. friend overseas. Then came the humiliation of the embassy seizure, the burning of American flags, the ritual chanting of "Death to the great satan!" by mullah-led mobs. Recent years have spawned an array offerees seemingly inimical to American interests, ranging from the extortionist pricing...
...pleased as anyone that the hostages are free. But had we listened to the Iranian people's cries for freedom and justice instead of to the Shah, the mess would never have happened...
After perfunctory questioning that evening at an Islamic Guards headquarters set up in the late Shah's lavish Saadabad Palace in the northern part of the city, most of the detainees were released. I was not. My questioning had scarcely begun when a guard whispered something into my interrogator's ear. "You are sure?" he replied. "Yes," answered the first. I was blindfolded again and taken to another detention center. The conversation among my guards was chilling: "Tonight? ... What's he done...