eolesen said:
So did the stroke of the pen that traded five terrorists for a deserter.
Carter caved in negotiations with the Iranians, and was negotiating from a position of weakness in trying to salvage his legacy. Sad part was that the Iranians didn't want to have to negotiate with Reagan, and would have probably cut a different deal if he'd held out.
But, you're right that the deal got them freedom. And backing out of the deal after they were returned wouldn't send them back into captivity. There have been reasons to abrogate the agreement several times, but nobody did.
Lets try and focus on one at a time. Throwing out a red herring serves no purpose.
You nor I were there so saying someone caved is mere speculation. Ideologues tend to place their values over money so it is just as likely that Iran told the US to give us what they want or the hostages die. They did not know squat about Reagan other than he was a former B movie start and a former governor. Ends up they got arms for hostages with Reagan. Yes, they got the raw end of that deal.
Sure. Back out of a deal. How could that possibly go bad. Not like anyone else could possibly doubt our commitment to a deal in the future right?
That is quite telling about you though. I pity anyone who makes an agreement with you given that you place no value on your word.
By the way, you have complained about the Iran hostages not being allowed to sue Iran for damages but you never mentioned the hostages held by Iran in Lebanon that Reagan traded the arms for. How badly did that work out for Iran? How much money did those hostages recover from Iran? Given how much of a bad ass Reagan was and how fearful of him Iran must have been I'm sure they got a butt load of money right? Right? Yea, Reagan had Iran quaking in their boots.
Lets see. Mr Weir was worth 500 Tow missiles. What could go wrong with giving 500 TOW's to "Murder Incorporated" (Reagan's words).
Never mind the fact that according to testimony by Hakim that the pressure to get the hostages released before the elections was so that republicans could makes gains. Reagan authorized the sale of 4,000 more anti-tank missiles. What could go wrong?
Reagan had them so scared at this point that in 1986 two more hostages were taken. The plan was working great. Release some hostages to get some arms .... hmmmm need more arms.... get more hostages. Rinse and repeat as needed.
All said and done, Iran was given over 1,600 TOW's and over 250 HAWKS plus spare parts. Worked out great huh.
