Crisis Report: Tehran: The Carter Administration The Iran Hostage Crisis President Carter’s New Year’s 1979 toast to the Shah at a state dinner in Tehran, announcing that he was "an island of stability in one of the more troubled areas of the world”, set the tone of the stance the United States had with the Shah which indicated support. This led to the trigger of The Iran Hostage Crisis that lasted 444 days, in which Carter allowed an ally, the unpopular Shah to flee to the New York to receive medical care for his cancer and escaping the Iranian Revolution. On November 4th 1979 student demonstrators raided the US Embassy in Tehran, capturing 66 Americans, in which 13 women and minority hostages were let go almost immediately and 1 ill man shortly after. The dislike the Iranian people had for the United States began in the 1950’s, whereas the United States became allies with non-communist regimes, regardless of their country’s people support. 1953 marked the US’s decision to become an ally with the Shah, the leader of Iran.
The US then backed the Shah, who took over as an absolute monarch in Iran, using violent suppression to put down any opposition. When he was overthrown, tensions rose between Iran and the US. These tensions boiled over when President Carter allowed the Shah to enter into America in order to seek medical treatment. This greatly angered people in Iran and led to the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Protestors stormed the American Embassy and seized fifty-two American hostages.
The revolution refers to the events that led up to and occurred as a result of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini leading the overthrow of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. This would mark the end of Iran’s monarchy with the Pahlavi dynasty, which would be replaced by Khomeini’s Islamic republic. The revolution was viewed partially as a way for the conservative people to counterattack against the Shah who was so attached to western culture. Iran was still predominantly Muslim at this time, and the people were unimpressed with the fact that a non-Muslim power in the United States was contaminating the culture within Iran. Most of the people viewed Shah’s regime as being very oppressive and corrupt, the Shah made efforts to modernize Iran but was a little over ambitious in doing so leading the country into debt and inflation.
The Iran hostage crisis, referred to within Iran in Persian as تسخیر لانه جاسوسی امریکا (literally "Conquest of the American Spy Den,"), was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States. Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days (November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981), after a group of Iranian students, belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who were supporting the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. [1] President Jimmy Carter called the hostages "victims of terrorism and anarchy," adding that "the United States will not yield to blackmail. "[2] The crisis was described by the western media as an entanglement of "vengeance and mutual incomprehension. "[3] In Iran, the hostage taking was widely seen as a blow against the United States and its influence in Iran, its perceived attempts to undermine the Iranian Revolution, and its longstanding support of the recently overthrown Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Mr. ________________ World History/Literature Tuesday 8, February 2011 Oscar Arias’ Prize Winning Peace Plan In 1986 Oscar Arias Sanchez became the president of Costa Rica and proved to be one of the most influential leaders for peace. His pursuit of peace in Central America allowed him to ultimately win the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his tremendous efforts to resolve conflicts between the Sandinistas and Contras in Nicaragua. Many Costa Ricans to this day think very highly of Arias because while he was in office he sustained peace in Costa Rica and all throughout Central America. Oscar Arias’ exceptional mediation and negotiation skills were a critical element in the success of the 1987 peace plan for Central America. Although peace was already a prevalent trait in Costa Rica, “it had heavy foreign indebtedness and other economic problems” (Oscar 550).
In a year, the Soviet Union invaded and introduced communism to this country. In 1988, the Mujahedeen, aided by western powers, signed peace agreements, causing the Soviet Union to withdraw its troops. Within a year, all Soviets left, but a civil war ensued between the rebels- the Mujahedeen- and the government in power. In 1996, the Taliban seized control of the nation (“Afghanistan Profile” 2013). The Talibs were devout Muslims who “misused Islam and imposed strict rules” (Joya 36).
Four score and one hundred and fifty years ago, America’s 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, presented one of the most iconic and reputable speeches of all time, the “Gettysburg Address.” Lincoln provided his people this speech with the intent of re-instilling values of equality while honoring the dead and unifying the country. With the use of sections that represented the past, present and future, persuasive language, and rhetorical devices, Lincoln convinced his people that, those lives lost in battle were not in vain, but sacrificed in order to preserve those ideas of equality our country was founded on, which were first presented in the Declaration of Independence. Lincoln commences his speech, representing the past. He states, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” creates a stepping stone for the remainder of the speech. This section speaks solely regarding the past, and the equality of our nation.
A Covenant Broken: The story of from 1979 to 1990, touching upon their policies, politics, and their utter disregard for the natural human rights of their citizens Most people are familiar with the story of U.S. intervention in Nicaragua during the late 1970s and 80s. In 1979, Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza was overthrown by the Sandinistas, a Marxist coalition comprised mainly of renegade militarists and guerillas. The Sandinistas rose to power with the promise of healing Nicaragua's tattered social, economic, and political structures. However, when it became increasingly clear that the Sandinistas were not going to live up to their promise, U.S. President Ronald Reagan condemned the Sandinistas for plotting to promote Marxism to other Latin American countries. Since the 1950s, the U.S. had been embroiled in a notorious "Cold War" with the communist Soviet Union, and by the time Reagan became president, Cold War tensions had reached their highest.
After selling their lies and plans for the war to the America people, congress had given President Bush carte blanche to bring justice to those who caused pain and destruction on American soil. Abu Ghraib Prison, also known as Baghdad Central Prison, became the U.S Army detention center for captured Iraqis. “For decades under Saddam Hussein, many prisoners who were taken to the Abu Ghraib prison never came out. It was the centerpiece of Saddam's empire of fear, and those prisoners who did make it out told nightmarish tales of torture beyond imagining – and executions without reason.” (Abuse of Iraqi POWS by GIs Probed, 2004) In 2004 rumors began to surface, regarding the abuse of prisoners held by the U.S army. Initially the U.S media expressed little interest to the accusations, until photographic evidence emerged, exposing the violation of the prisoner’s human rights.
He says that he endured years of torture in an Iranian prison, after his picture appeared on the cover of the “Economist” magazine. He just escaped from Iran last year, and told in a 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper he recounted what he had to go through to escape and survive. Ahmad Batebi never intended to be famous. He wanted to be a photo journalist, but it was a picture of him that changed his life and almost got him killed. In July 1999, a demonstration rocked Tehran.