President Carter's Coverage In Iran In The 1980s

In early November 1979, a group of radical Iranian students stormed the United States embassy in Tehran, Iran. 66 American citizens and diplomats were taken hostage, although fourteen hostages were released, leaving fifty-two American citizens held hostage for 444 days. Iranian propaganda explained that the hostages were treated like guests, but they were actually punished and beaten. Constant American media coverage played its part in the 1980 presidential election, negatively affecting President Carter’s chances of a second term in office. Just a few hours after Reagan’s inaugural address, the hostages were released from the embassy in Iran.
Throughout the 1970s, Iranians became increasingly annoyed with the Shah’s government, and turned to radical revolutionary Ayotallah Ruhollah Khomeini in protest. Ayotallah promised a change from the past and a better future for the Iranian people, and in July 1979, his following forced the Shah to dissolve his government and escape to Egypt. President Carter was reluctant to welcome him to the states, although allowed him in for
President Carter’s foreign policy cabinet often seemed weak during this patient process, and as such, other nations took advantages of this weakness. The Soviet Union made strong gains for its Marxist rebels in Ethiopia, Angola, and Mozambique. Vietnam took over Cambodia from Khmer Rouge, and in late 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Secretary of State Cyrus Roberts Vance recommended that President Carter assert a policy of negotiation, but by 1980, nearing the end of his term, he favored National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski’s confrontational approach. There was much debate between Brzezinski and Vance over whether or not to carry out a rescue mission, and it eventually got to the point to where Vance had resigned from his position as Secretary of