And also one thing that one of the military officers who participated said he didn't think that the mission was going to work, because it was so complicated and all the pieces had to move at exactly the same way, and exactly in a perfect sort of a synchronicity. It was in flames in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't just the bus, it was the oil tanker that was blowing up. And the fact that the landing took place at a location that was supposed to be deserted, but it has so much traffic. Roberts was commenting-the discipline with which Jimmy Carter took the news and as the news deteriorated. TAKEYH: I think almost exactly the same that Mr. Ray, did you see anything that you were surprised by? And it's really extraordinary to watch it unfold. And you're right, everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. He is so pleased to be a part of this remarkable history. And so those were my two, the two real learning pieces in the film that struck me.ĪMOS: And the boy in the bus smiles through his entire interview. And to have him come up and tell his side of the story was just wonderful. Because of course, we all saw the forty people on the bus, and they were all huddled together in the sand and the kind of twilight out there in the middle of the desert. The second thing that I found wonderful was the boy on the bus. And yet he never exploded, never yelled at people, never even said, "How could this be?" To me, that was an amazing display of holding your temper and being a principle-centered leader and not letting your emotions get out in front. Each phone call was a little worse than the last one. ROBERTS: Well, for me, the two most surprising aspects were the telephone calls between President Carter and General Jones, and I was stunned by the civility and aplomb with which the president took the ever worsening news. I wanted to ask all of you, and I want to start with James Roberts in particular, what did you see in this film that surprised you that you didn't know, that is a revelation after all these years? And now we're going to talk to people who were actually in the room where it happened, as the title of an infamous book is. Yes, our great, brilliant moderator.ĪMOS: It’s really an extraordinary film. But without further ado, I'll let the guys talk. And maybe that will fire up some of our, you know, guys who are going to talk about it. I felt he's always a humanist and a diplomat. And, you know, President Carter is also a hero. People, I think, in this film have gotten the respect, I hope, and love that they needed. So, I could go on and on, but I was moved. And why we made this film also was to have presentations like this, where people could really use the film, you know, as a battering ram and then discuss what happened. And we also were able to film President Carter and Ted Koppel and Vice President Mondale-so we had an overview. And what we wanted to do in this film was really recreate that mission, so that people who were on it would say, “Wow, that's exactly as I remember it.” One of the important things also is that we got the Iranian perspective. He came from Iran and he lives in Brooklyn now so he really knew that topography. I had an amazing team of producers-Dave Cassidy, Eric Foreman, a wonderful editor Francisco Bello, a wonderful animator we called him Mr. What was so wonderful for me is that I got to really talk to people everywhere-whether it was inside the White House, whether it was the military, whether it was the people on the mission, whether it was people who were held hostage, plus their families and plus the families of people who lost people during this mission. It's also about the mission to free the hostages. The film, as we all know, is about the Iran hostage crisis where, you know, Iranian students took over the American Embassy and held fifty-two people hostage for 444 days. And to me, making this film was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I'm thrilled that this film has been viewed by four hundred participants of the Council of Foreign Relations. And I'm going to begin by turning it over to Barbara Kopple. I'm Deborah Amos, international correspondent for NPR, and I'll be presiding over today's discussion. Panelists discuss the Iranian hostage crisis and the implications of the failed rescue attempt for U.S.-Iran relations for the next forty years.ĪMOS: Welcome to today's Council on Foreign Relations virtual meeting from the Lessons From History Series: The Iranian Hostage Crisis with James Roberts, Gary Sick, and Ray Takeyh, and of course, Barbara Kopple.
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