Debacle, indeed; the planes never even came near Tehran.

Perhaps it’s a good thing they didn’t. From the evidence in the piece, the loss of life would likely have been even greater had they done so. It’s very difficult to believe that this mission ever had any chance of succeeding. Not only was the weather problem in the desert underestimated, and the assault force relatively small (one hundred thirty two men maximum, with some planes expected to encounter technical difficulties and drop out), but here was the game plan for controlling crowds around the embassy:

“Another presidential directive concerned the use of nonlethal riot-control agents. Given that the shah’s occasionally violent riot control during the revolution was now Exhibit A in Iran’s human-rights case against the former regime and America, Carter wanted to avoid killing Iranians, so he had insisted that if a hostile crowd formed during the raid, Delta should attempt to control it without shooting people. Burruss considered this ridiculous. He and his men were going to assault a guarded compound in the middle of a city of more than 5 million people, most of them presumed to be aggressively hostile. It was unbelievably risky; everyone on the mission knew there was a very good chance they would not get home alive. Wade Ishmoto, a Delta captain who worked with the unit’s intelligence division, had joked, ‘The only difference between this and the Alamo is that Davy Crockett didn’t have to fight his way in.'”

parker Says:

I agree, but I think there is at least one more factor; they may have been afraid of a rescue mission failing and reminding older voters of Carter’s failed rescue mission.

See, this is what pisses me off about progressives (among other things): Their complete non-understanding of military capability. If anyone with a lick of sense in this Administration knew diddly about special ops, they would know the Carter rescue mission failed because sand got into the helicopters and too many went down to continue the mission. Well, we’ve been fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq for awhile now, not places known for their deciduous forests. In other words, our fighting capability in desert conditions is magnitudes better than in 1979, just in special ops toys alone. Our warriors are now battle tested in desert conditions and are found to be quite capable. The progressive in the Offal Office was too cowardly to make a decision instead voting his career long and safe ‘present’, if he was even briefed (those pesky 3 a.m. phone calls have a jarring tendency to wake one up from a night’s slumber).

I agree, but I think there is at least one more factor; they may have been afraid of a rescue mission failing and reminding older voters of Carter’s failed rescue mission.

What’s the point? It’s terrible. But why was no aid sent?

Your source, bitte?

http://tinyurl.com/8ws5d4j