Word: strikingly
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...frustration of government officials at their powerlessness in Iran is understandable, but the quick-strike force clearly appeals to their fancy and their vanity, not their common sense. Undoubtedly it stirs fond memories of the Entebbe incident, in which the Israeli government managed to save hostages in Uganda through a clean, neat military operation. But unlike Entabbe, the American embassy in Tehran is not conveniently located at an airport--and the Ayatollah Khomeini does not drive a Mercedes Benz...
...AQUICK-STRIKE FORCE would be no help to future presidents faced with crisis like the embassy takeover, except to give them one more option that could endanger hostage' lives. But it would be very convenient for future Secretaries of State who might itch to tip the balance in some civil war in Africa or Asia. Proponents of the force say that today our government understands the dangers of intervening in complex local conflicts, and would only use a quick-strike force to defend our "legitimate interests...
Those interests are open to very different interpretations, however; and a careful examination of the arguments for the force reveals more suspect purposes. Senator Gary Hart (D-Colo.), for example, told The New York Times why we need the quick-strike force: "Our forces aren't structured well to intervene in Third World countries. sixteen infantry divisions don't do you a bit of good in Angola...
...send off to the next Angola, thanks to the recent presidential decision to fund the force. The White House, hawkish congressmen and the Pentagon itself are using the fear excited by the embassy takeover to effect a turnabout in foreign policy too quick for anyone to protest. The quick-strike force makes up only one part of the pro-military campaign; a reinvigorated opposition to ratifying the SALT II arms limitation treaty will undoubtedly follow, and new demands for giving the Central Intelligence Agency more freedom to act covertly abroad will surface after that...
...West, the Iranian students are not unmotivated anarchists but impassioned believers. If we expect to protect our interests from similar fanatics, we must spend some of our billions on educating our leaders and ourselves about them--otherwise, our presidents won't know how to use the brand-new quick-strike force without getting burned. A mechanized division can be surprised as easily as an embassy garrison when its leaders don't understand the opposition...