First-Person History

The assignment for War and Diplomacy II was to write an account of a historic diplomatic event from the perspective of a key figure involved. I chose Jimmy Carter’s meeting with the former hostages released from 444 days of Iranian captivity…

January 20, 1981

Wiesbaden, West Germany

[recording starts]

“Sorry I am late… the press conference took a bit longer than I thought it would, but the American people – the families, friends, and co-workers of all 52 of you folks – really needed some answers and closure on this whole ‘Iranian Hostage Crisis’ event.

“My words earlier that this has been ‘an abominable circumstance that will never be forgotten’ cannot do justice to my feelings for what you all have been through.^[1] My own role in this affair has been less than what I hoped it would be; history might judge me as ‘not the sharpest tack in the drawer,’ and that might be an accurate, though not the best way, to put it.

“I tried – I genuinely tried everything short of paying off those savages. They lost, I think, somewhere in the neighborhood of 11 to 12 billion dollars in held in the United States – anything even remotely associated with the word ‘Iran’ in our economic system was frozen. The folks in the Air Force came up with a pretty good idea for rescuing you… it was gonna be one of the most complex rescue operations in history. Things didn’t go well in the planning stage – they only found new and creative ways of bustin’ up one of their own transports, and that should have been an indication of the problems that they were going to face with the execution… oh… excuse me… with the conduct of the actual mission. To sum it up, because I can see that you folks are tired, the operation – ‘Operation Eagle Claw’ – was a pretty bad failure, lost more aircraft, more folks, and more of our credibility, once the Iranian press got ahold of it.^[2]

“We all have something in common: we are going home. You folks to a nation who feared for your safety as well as family who will be relieved to see you once again; as for myself and Rosalynn, we are going directly to Plains, Georgia here in a few minutes.^[3] We all have shown the strength to endure this whole ordeal, and we all deserve a bit of time to recompose ourselves before moving on. I was proud to be your President, and I am humbled at your conduct during times of duress. May God continue to bless you all. Thanks for your time.”

[recording ends]

The interesting thing about historic role-play in an academic setting is the fact that there are times when the other students don’t “get it” when it comes to staying within the timeframe and role they adopt. 

One response to “President Carter” indicated that there was little in the way of information to indicate the motives for letting “the situation go as far as it did:

I am not trying to instigate issues amongst presidents, but I feel President Roosevelt, or Nixon did more action and would have reacted differently here. Even our current President, President Trump would not have stood by as this happened.

Follow-on statements compromised the continuity of the theme established by the forum rules. President Obama’s negotiations for the release of the American sailors (again by Iran) in 2016 supported this student’s idea that warfare was the only option possible for a successful resolution of the hostage crisis. It was a class on war and diplomacy, after all…

“President Carter’s” response:

February 18, 1981

Plains, Georgia

Mr. Norton,

My apologies in my reply being delayed, I fear that the United States Postal Service have not fully recovered from their strikes a decade ago – at least, that is what the folks down at the Plains office tell me.

As a former Naval officer myself, let me take this opportunity to thank you for your service. I can appreciate and understand how the recording of my conversations with the former hostages can seem as wilted as a Georgia sunflower in mid-August, but let me assure you that I made every attempt to resolve the crisis with the same level of honor and intensity as the fine men who held the office before me. Both Roosevelts – Teddy and Franklin – were faced with their own challenges which were peculiar during their terms. Teddy was faced with the domestic challenges of monopolies and the construction of the Panama Canal, while his cousin wrestled with the effects of the Great Depression and the wars in both the Pacific and Europe.^[4] Nixon’s efforts in Vietnam, as well as his diplomacy between The People’s Democratic Republic of China and the U.S.S.R were mixed results that were ultimately overshadowed by the Watergate issue – a level of scandal I am proud to have not endured during my term.^[5] As for these other folks you mentioned – “Trump” and “Obama” – I cannot speak intelligently about people I know nothing of.

Getting back to your questions, Iran is part of the United Nations – you are quite correct. As pointed out in the New York Times, their role was ineffective, at best. Other less-prosperous nations undermined the ability of the U.N. to implement effective sanctions, and the idea of an all-out war would have strained our national credibility as well as alienated any regional allies.^[6] In short, I feel that negotiation and sanctions was the best, and only way for us to resolve the situation without making things worse than they already were.

I agree with you, and I truly wish there was more that we could have done, and it could be argued by political philosophers and moralists on the issue of whether the greater benefit of a group – or nation – outweighs the benefits afforded to a select subgroup, but that sounds like something Dr. Spock from Star Trek would say. For my own involvement in the crisis, I can assure you the same thing I told those amazing Americans upon meeting them in Germany – I tried my best.

I hope that this addresses your concerns. I must now go and address my own concerns with the family’s peanut business – during my time as President, the needs of my own business were taken advantage of and damaged by a certain few… to the tune of a bit more than a million in debt.^[7]

Jimmy Carter

First-person history can be somewhat fascinating. The creativity involved in linking history to fiction poses a challenge and, for academic purposes, serves an excellent purpose – to study one specific aspect of our past on an individual level. Part of my issue with making a habit of this is the fact that, in the case of Carter’s involvement and perspectives, there exists the possibility of being quite wrong when compared to the direct memoirs, recordings, and footage of recent events.

Either way, I had fun with the assignment.

[1] Wesley Pippert, “Carter Meets Hostages, Decries Iranian ‘Savagery,’” upi.com, 1981, accessed August 11, 2017, http://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/01/21/Carter-meets-hostages-decries-Iranian-savagery/4942348901200/.

[2] Gregory Ball, “1980 – Operation Eagle Claw,” afhistory.af.mil, 2012, accessed August 11, 2017, http://www.afhistory.af.mil/FAQs/Fact-Sheets/Article/458949/operation-eagle-claw/.

[3] Terrence Smith, “A Weary Carter Returns to Plains,” newyorktimes.com, 1981, accessed August 11, 2017, http://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/21/us/a-weary-carter-returns-to-plains.html.

[4] “Theodore Roosevelt,” whitehouse.gov, n.d., accessed August 18, 2017, https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/theodoreroosevelt.

[5] “Richard M. Nixon,” whitehouse.gov, n.d., accessed August 18, 2017, https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/richardnixon.

[6] Bernard Nossiter, “Role of the U.N. in the Hostage Situation Proved Minor,” nytimes.com, 1981, accessed August 18, 2017, http://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/23/world/role-of-un-in-the-hostage-situation-proved-minor.html?mcubz=0

[7] Philip Taubman, “Carter Drops ‘Blind Trust’ Secrecy and Divulges Finances for 1978-9,” New York Times, 1979, accessed August 18, 2017, http://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/31/archives/carter-drops-blind-trust-secrecy-and-divulges-finances-for-19789.html?mcubz=0.