Quote Originally Posted by SteyrAUG View Post
Carter had the opposite of the midas touch. Even when he eventually made the right decision, it still went to shit.

Nice person, terrible president. I remember in the 90s he was swinging a hammer down in Liberty City for Habitat for Humanity. He was just there to help, no press and he didn't want recognition and there was a drive by shooting on the construction site. He also died in a way I wouldn't wish on anyone but the worst serial killer / pedos. The guy just couldn't buy a break, not that it alleviates him of any of his terrible policy decisions.

The most ironic thing is Carter did actually manage to free the hostages, he negotiated until the last hours of his presidency and finally they agreed to release the hostages if Carter unfroze Iranian assets. But the hostages didn't leave Iranian airspace until after Reagan was sworn in and as a result most people credit Reagan with getting the hostages freed when it was really just a final FU from Iran to Carter.

It's a tragedy Eagle Claw didn't work. If we got similar results that Thatcher got with the SAS retaking the Iranian Embassy in London we probably wouldn't have had to endure most of the BS from that region. Obviously our hostage situation was just a bit more complex. I also don't think Carter knew how to effectively use the military, especially special forces. His efforts seemed to stress the inclusion of every branch of the armed forces making a complicated plan even more complicated. Sometimes the results are more important than making sure everyone gets equal recognition and participation.
I was just a wee lad, but severely disliked Carter's politics and policy, which has only been reinforced over the past 40-something years. With regards to Eagle Claw, at least he had the balls to try, and he took full responsibility.

Regarding bolded/italicized, we did not have SOCOM, we didn't have special operations unified commanders, we didn't have 160th SOAR, we didn't have dedicated capability. That's why we had to use every branch. Out of those ashes came those things.