~George Orwell~
November 4, 1979 dawned on the Iranian capital of Tehran as many had during the fall of 1979, with student protests in the streets outside of the United States embassy compound. Although virtually empty at this point, the embassy compound still housed a skeleton crew of United States Marines guards and embassy personel. At least this is what the American government refered to them as. The Iranians, however, had accused those inside the embassy of espionage and destabalizing the Iranian nation. Ever since the fall of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran months earlier, student followers of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had taken to the streets to voice their protests at what they saw as American complicity in the Shahs crimes against the Iranian people. It was well known that the Shahs secret police, the SAVAK, had dealt brutaly with anyone who dared oppose the Shah. With the Shah now out of the country in exhile in the United States, the Iranian students now called for his return to face trial for crimes against the Iranian people. As the spiritual leader of this movement, Khomeini fueled the flames of unrest with his popular anti American rhetoric. Having recently returned from exile in France, Khomeini desperately wanted the Shah returned at any cost. For his part, United States president James Earl Carter did not immediately see this student movement as a significant threat to our national security. After all, all they were doing was chanting "Death to America" and protesting. Prior to November 4th, a few of the students has attempted to gain access to the embassy compound, but had been denied by the Marine guards there. However, the histories of both nations were about to be changed forever.
Men, all this stuff you hear about America not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of the war, is alot of bullshit. Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, the big league ball players and the toughest boxers. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. Thats why Americans have never lost and never will lose a war. The very thought of losing is hateful to Americans.
~General George S Patton Junior~
At 6:30 am on November 4th, 1979, the Iranian student demonstrators outside the embassy compound did just what nobody had expected, they began climbing over the walls of the compound. Overwhelmed, the marine guards retreated with the embassy staff into the interior of the main building. The Iranian hostage crisis had begun. Soon, the cpatured hostages would be paraded through the embassy compound by their captors as the students produced "evidence" of United States corruption in Iranian affairs. For president Carter, two viable options remained open for the release of the hostages, negotiations and military intervention. The very fact that the United States had very little in the way of special forces personel available at this point in our history was not lost on Carters decision making. Enter general Charles "Chargin Charlie" Beckwith of the United States army. For it was Beckwith who had approached president Carter with a daring plan to rescue the American hostages. Stage one of this operation would involve positioning a select team secretly in Tehran to scout the embassy and, later, provide the troops to execute the operation. The second part of the plan, and that which ultimately doomed it to failure, called for Navy helicopters to rendevous with the assault force and the liberated hostages in the Iranian desert outside of Tehran. Ultimately, Carter gave approval to what became known as operation Eagle Claw. From the start, the mission was wrought with accidents. Losing a vital C-130 transport to engine failure was only the begining. After the loss of one of the teams helicopters, the decision was made to scrub the mission and withdraw. However, 8 American servicemen had already been killed in the failed operation. In the aftermath, president Carter took responsibility for the failed operation, and the Iranian hostage crisis would haunt him, and America, for 444 days. In the aftermath of the failed military operation to rescue the hostages, general Beckwith recognised the need for a rapidly deployed special forces unit along the lines of the Navy SEAL's and the British SAS. In fact, it was the SAS which Beckwith tapped to assist in the development and training of his newly formed unit. Today, this unit is scarcely revealed by the United States government, but is known worldwide as 1SFODD {1ST Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta}, The United States armys Delta Force.
~Scott~
