NCJ Number
98749
Date Published
1984
Length
22 pages
Annotation
In developing an analytical framework for the Iranian hostages crisis based on international law, this paper identifies the defects of President Carter's approach to the crisis and the Reagan administration's counterapproach to foreign affairs.
Abstract
The Carter administration erred in the Iranian hostages crisis by posturing the United States as a 'righteous' nation victimized by 'terrorists' and an outlaw nation. This posturing also reserved the right to use unilateral force against Iran. Such an approach to the crisis failed to acknowledge broader issues in the United States-Iran conflict, such as the Carter administration's current and past support of the Shah, who had used terrorist methods to suppress political opposition. The Carter administration should have thoroughly conformed to United Nations principles for resolving disputes between nations, acknowledging that there were legitimate issues to be negotiated between the two countries. Carter was correct in not authorizing a massive military invasion of Iran, although he was mistaken in undertaking the ill-fated rescue mission. The subsequent isolation of Iran by both the Carter and Reagan administrations, including indirect support of Iraq in its aggression against Iran, has not promoted U.S. interests. The alienation of Iran has made that area of the Middle East increasingly vulnerable to Soviet influence. American foreign policy should fully restore the United Nations Charter as the fundamental basis for the future conduct of international relations; in so doing, it will promote its own national interests and the cause of world peace.