Operation Eagle Claw
Monika Bochert History 151.003 Operation Eagle Claw mbochert@rams.colostate.edu
What was supposed to go down in history as the heroic rescue of 52 hostages in during the Iranian Hostage Crisis is now labeled as one of America’s greatest military blunders. The failed rescue mission, known as Operation Eagle Claw, was devised as the result of a climactic point of tension in Iran-US relations. Since reading All the Shah’s Men, I have gained an interest in Iranian history and our diplomatic relations with them. Researching Operation Eagle Claw has given me another taste of what this rich history has to offer. In the late 1970s, Iran was experiencing severe domestic discontent. According to http://www.airpower.au.af.mil/apjinternational/apj-s/2006/3tri=06/kampseng.html, when the Shah lost favor with his people he fled to America and was replaced with a theocracy under the leadership of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The Iranian people demanded that the Shah return but when he remained abroad, a group of militant students seized the American embassy and held captive several American diplomatic personnel. As much as President Jimmy Carter wanted to diplomatically solve the problem, he was forced to go in militarily. As detailed in the website http://www.mindef.gov.sg/safti/pointer/back/journals/ 2002/ Vol28_2/5.htm, the plan was to send in eight Sea Stallion helicopters from the aircraft carrier Nimitz and six other transport aircrafts to Desert One, a secret Iranian landing strip where they would be refueled. Once the helicopters were ready to fly, they would take counterterrorist Delta Force troopers to Desert Two, a remote mountain hideaway near Tehran. After waiting a full day, the troopers would then use all necessary force to free the hostages and escape the country in the ready helicopters. However, things did not go as smoothly as Carter would have hoped, according to http://www.specwarnet.net/miscinfo/eagleclaw.htm. Due to a flying height limitation, the
What was supposed to go down in history as the heroic rescue of 52 hostages in during the Iranian Hostage Crisis is now labeled as one of America’s greatest military blunders. The failed rescue mission, known as Operation Eagle Claw, was devised as the result of a climactic point of tension in Iran-US relations. Since reading All the Shah’s Men, I have gained an interest in Iranian history and our diplomatic relations with them. Researching Operation Eagle Claw has given me another taste of what this rich history has to offer. In the late 1970s, Iran was experiencing severe domestic discontent. According to http://www.airpower.au.af.mil/apjinternational/apj-s/2006/3tri=06/kampseng.html, when the Shah lost favor with his people he fled to America and was replaced with a theocracy under the leadership of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The Iranian people demanded that the Shah return but when he remained abroad, a group of militant students seized the American embassy and held captive several American diplomatic personnel. As much as President Jimmy Carter wanted to diplomatically solve the problem, he was forced to go in militarily. As detailed in the website http://www.mindef.gov.sg/safti/pointer/back/journals/ 2002/ Vol28_2/5.htm, the plan was to send in eight Sea Stallion helicopters from the aircraft carrier Nimitz and six other transport aircrafts to Desert One, a secret Iranian landing strip where they would be refueled. Once the helicopters were ready to fly, they would take counterterrorist Delta Force troopers to Desert Two, a remote mountain hideaway near Tehran. After waiting a full day, the troopers would then use all necessary force to free the hostages and escape the country in the ready helicopters. However, things did not go as smoothly as Carter would have hoped, according to http://www.specwarnet.net/miscinfo/eagleclaw.htm. Due to a flying height limitation, the