It?s been 25 years (today) since terrorists invaded the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran and took over 60 hostages. I remember watching the news on television and feeling horrified. This stuff didn?t happen to us. It wasn?t the first acts of terrorism I?d heard of ? it was the first time I can remember that we were attacked. Eventually, the terrorists released the women but kept the 55 male hostages in captivity for over a year.
I felt so frustrated. Why didn?t we do something? Diplomacy certainly didn?t seem to work. In fact, some of the people trying to negotiate the release of the U.S. hostages were, in fact, taken themselves. I remember this guy named Terry something. He seemed well respected but I thought he was crazy. He?d go deep into the country and negotiate and I remember thinking, they?re going to grab this guy too and sure enough, they did.
The Iranians held the hostages 444 days.
Nightline on ABC started during the crisis. It was a half hour program with Ted Koeppel and it would start at 11:30 p.m. Each night it would open with ?Day ?? whichever. Day 100, Day 212, Day 339 and so on. It began to make me crazy. Why didn?t we do something?
President Carter tried to apply some pressure by freezing Iranian assets. It didn?t work. He tried sending a rescue team to free the hostages ? like the Israelis did to rescue their hostages at Entebbe Airport. The Israeli operation was a success; ours was a total disaster. All the helicopters crashed and the soldiers all died. It was horrible.
Then Ronald Reagan arranged for the release of the hostages. Part of the deal included dissolving the sanctions. There was other stuff involved but I can?t remember specifically all the details. Anyway, the hostages were finally released after Mr. Reagan was sworn in as president.
Now, a lot of the hostages feel that the war on terrorism should have started then. I am putting this article here because as yahoo gets more news, the links tend to stop working.
"The day they took us is the day they should have started the war on terrorism," said Rodney "Rocky" Sickmann, 47, of St. Louis County, Mo., an embassy security guard.Many agree that terrorists were emboldened by their success in the Iran hostage crisis ? none of the hostages were killed, but the U.S. government agreed to release $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets ? and see the kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq as a consequence.
"Given the terrorist modus operandi nowadays, we probably wouldn't come out alive. They weren't as bold then. They had a latent fear of the United States," said Chuck Scott, 72, of Jonesboro, Ga., a former Green Beret in Vietnam who was an Army colonel when he was taken hostage.
Steven Kirtley, 47, of McLean, who was a Marine security guard at the embassy, said that while he's grateful everybody survived, he's also angry about what he sees as America's largely ineffectual response to the hostage-takers. He called the episode "a stepping stone to get that terrorist movement going. It was such a terrible loss of face ... such a show of weakness that I still don't think we've recovered."
Fifty-two of the hostages were held for the entire 444 days. Of those, 11 have since died.
Among the rest, memories of that time have resurfaced with the kidnappings and beheadings of Americans in Iraq.
"When I saw them there blindfolded with the guys with the ski masks on ? I had gone through those things in Iran," said Rick Kupke, 57, of Rensselaer, Ind. "I can tell exactly what they felt and the fear that's going through them."
William Blackburn Royer Jr., 73, of Katy, Texas, remembers being jolted awake by the screams of his captors, "herded like cattle" into another room, stripped naked and forced up against a wall in front of a firing squad.
"The whole thing was a shock to the system ? my legs were shaking from the insecurity of the situation," he said. "It was intended as a good psychological upheaval."
Still, he was not sure if he would be killed.
"I knew this was a political thing," he said. "Ultimately, I think I thought that we were too valuable to be disposed of completely. So I kept the faith in that respect. (But) I had my doubts at a couple points."
Paul Needham said he remembers reciting the 23rd Psalm as he was lined up for a firing squad. He said he reflects on his captivity every day.
"It definitely changed me," said Needham, 53, of Oakton, Va., a professor at the National Defense University. "I took a look at getting my priorities in life in order ? God and family and country, rather than work, work and work."
While nearly all the hostages said they feared for their lives at some point, many said their memories center on the tedium. Most hostages were largely isolated, and many said they were allowed outside for exercise less than once a month.
During a six-week stint in solitary confinement, Gary Earl Lee said he "made friends" with ants and a salamander that inhabited his room. He would tease the ants with a pistachio nut, letting them almost reach it before nudging it farther away.
"At least they were something better than the guards," said Lee, a retiree living in south Texas.L. Bruce Laingen, of Bethesda, the embassy's charge d'affaires, was the highest ranking American taken hostage. He said it doesn't make sense that 25 years later the United States has little dialogue with Iran, considering the large American stake in the Middle East.
He mainly faulted Iranian leaders for pursuing hostile policies such as developing nuclear technology and continuing to threaten Israel. He has lingering bitterness for the men and women who took him hostage.
But he doesn't blame the Iranian people, who he said were welcoming.
"We need to understand Iran, and Iran needs to seek to understand us," he said.
Scott said he's still frustrated that the U.S. government has never held Iran accountable for taking the hostages.
"I agree with the war on terrorism, but the war on terror by the current administration has been a very selective war. So far we've gone after the really easy targets," said Scott, who opposed going into Iraq but says America must now remain committed to finishing the job there.
Kirtley, on the other hand, believes America is on the right track with the war in Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites).
"It's the right approach," he said. "That culture responds more to strength than to a negotiated response."As for the anniversary, many said they prefer to remember another day.
"We celebrate Jan. 20, the anniversary of our release," Laingen said. "That's a good day. Nov. 4 is the day the roof fell in."
And now the Iranians have nuclear weapons. President Bush seems to want to use diplomacy to try and get them to unarm. Huh????
1.Do you have a favorite season? Which is it? Why?
My favorite season is fall. I love the cool weather and I love the colors of the leaves when they change.
2. Mood and mind changes come along with seasonal changes. Why do you think that is?
I think it?s because we don?t get as much sun as we did in spring and summer.
3. Which seasons are your highlights? Which ones are 'the blahs'?
I feel the happiest in the spring, mid-fall, and during the holiday season. The blahs occur for me after the leaves fall and after the holiday is over.
Bonus Question for Comments: If you had to choose one season that would last all year, which one would it be? Why?
Fall or spring because the weather is so mild! In the fall the changing leaves are beautiful; in the spring the new flowers are lovely.
From a couple weeks ago:
1.Are you generally a paranoid person? How so/how not?
Nope. I don?t think people are out to ?get? me
2. Are you one of those people that's afraid of always loosing your job? If so, do you have just cause to think this way? Why/why not?
I am not working now but when I did, I always worried about losing my job. I worry about everything, regardless of whether there?s cause or not. I imagine that there is cause to worry.
3. Name 3 things that you are paranoid about.
My health
The health of my loved ones
Airplane rides
Bonus Question for Comments: What's your favorite song about paranoia?
?Who Can It Be Now?? by the Police
::Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day::
Onesome: Winnie the Pooh-- What was your favorite book series as a kid? Was there one you tried to find the complete set to read? ...or maybe just one book you remember well?
The only series I can remember is the Mrs. Pickerill series. There are two books I remember well from childhood: It?s Like This, Cat and All Aboard for Freedom
Twosome: and the-- holidays are just around the corner? Are you ready for things? ...or are you too immersed in life to even think about it?
Right now I am just too immersed in what?s going on to think about the holidays.
Threesome: Blustery Day-- Hey, what do you like to do on a stormy day when you're not working or in school? Do you curl up with a book? Watch TV? Bake? How do you pass the time when you don't feel like going "out in it"?
I like to write on the computer, read a book, or watch a good movie!
From a couple weeks ago:
Onesome: Lights!- What do you think of the trend to light up houses for *every* holiday? It used to be just Christmas and maybe Halloween, but lately the stores have been full of Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day lights. Oh, and Thanksgiving/Autumn and...
I think it?s overkill. I love the lights for the Christmas holidays but looking at them year round gets boring
Twosome: Camera!- What's your preference? Digital or film, black and white or color, portraits, candids, or just whatever catches your eye?
I like to take pictures with electronic cameras. I like candids best because the people in the pictures are more genuine.
Threesome: Action!- Do you have a favorite sport? Do you follow the local high school or college team, trek to the kids' games each weekend or are you all about the pros?
I used to follow pro football and pro baseball but not anymore. My kids don?t play for the school teams and so I don?t follow them either.