Jimmy Carter: Wimp
Carters envoy to the UN, a certain Andrew Young, described Khomeini as a Twentieth Century saint, and begged the ayatollah to show magnanimity and compassion.
Carter went further by sending a letter to Khomeini. Written in longhand, it was an appeal from one believer to a man of God. Carters syrupy prose must have amused Khomeini who preferred a minimalist style with such phrases as we shall cut off Americas hands.
As days passed, with the American diplomats paraded in front of television cameras blindfolded and threatened with execution, it became increasingly clear that there would be no thunder and lightning from Washington. By the end of the first week of the drama, that was to last for 444 days and ended the day Ronald Reagan entered the White House, Khomeinis view of the United States had changed.
Ahmad Khomeinis memoirs echo the surprise that his father, the ayatollah, showed, as the Carter administration behaved like a headless chicken.
What especially surprised Khomeini was that Cater and his aides, notably Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, rather than condemning the seizure and the treatment of the hostages as a barbarous act, appeared apologetic for unspecified mistakes supposedly committed by the US and asked for forgiveness and magnanimity.
Once he had concluded that the US would not take any meaningful action against his regime, Khomeini took over control of the hostages enterprise and used it as a means of propping his anti-imperialist credentials while outflanking the left.
