with your country and government based on equality and mutual respect. But, quite frankly, the possibility of having such a relationship in the future will not be possible unless all hostages are returned safely to our country at an early date.
From the outset, President Carter had pursued a policy of patience and restraint…. However, the atmosphere of restraint…cannot last forever. A growing number of political figures and journalists who have supported President Carter…are now advocating extreme measures as a result of the commission’s departure from Tehran. Despite this growing frustration, President Carter has not abandoned his policy of restraint. As soon as we learned of the commission’s decision to leave Iran, [he] called on the American people and the Congress to be patient. He also conveyed to the UN Commission through Secretary General Waldheim and Secretary Vance his desire that the Commission not abandon their work and be prepared to return to Tehran under the proper circumstances.
We believe the process negotiated by Misters Villalon and Bourget represents an honorable way to resolve our problems. We are prepared to renew our commitment to that process, but must have evidence of your government’s willingness and ability to abide by the process. The transfer of the hostages to the custody of the government would be evidence of Iranian good will.
Beyond the present problems, I can assure you that our government will adopt a reasonable attitude in resolving the numerous bilateral issues we face.
Finally, I appreciate the opportunity to be able to communicate directly with you. Please know that we will do everything possible to bring an early and honorable conclusion to the present crisis. I hope that you will accept my frank analysis and that time is working against U.S.
I hope I have the honor of meeting you someday.
It was not a bluff. The pressure was growing on Carter to act. His approval ratings had fallen sharply in polls, down to 40 percent, and Ted Kennedy had picked up several early primary victories. Indiana Republican senator Richard Lugar charged that the president was bungling the crisis and called for an immediate naval blockade of Iran and the mining of its harbors. Republican presidential candidate George H. W. Bush, a former CIA director, accused Carter of “pussy-footing around” with the ayatollah, and of “appeasement.” Ronald Reagan, the governor of California and front-runner among the Republican candidates, offered his own homespun analysis of the Iranians, suggesting that it was a waste to pursue diplomacy with such faithless negotiators: “They keep slicing the salami up. They lead us to believe that if a certain thing is done, the hostages will be released, and as soon as we say, ‘That’s fine,’ then they add another term, another condition. As long as we are willing to negotiate these additional conditions, then they’ve got a reason for keeping the hostages.” Asked what he would do instead, Reagan said he didn’t know, that he was “waiting for a miracle.”
Days after the UN commission returned to New York, Brzezinski, long an advocate for more forceful measures, suggested to the president that power in Tehran was so confused there was little point in continuing to work with Ghotbzadeh and Bani-Sadr. He found the plans of both would-be leaders, despite their official titles, had “an unrealistic quality,” because neither Iranian seemed to fully comprehend all the forces at work. Days later, Brzezinski complained further about Iran “diddling along” the United States, and urged the president to issue an ultimatum. The administration had considered blockading Iran and mining its harbors, but Carter was fearful that such a step would lead to a much broader conflict. So Brzezinski proposed another approach. Why not seize Kharg, an island in the northeastern Persian Gulf about sixteen miles off the Iranian coast that was the world’s largest offshore crude oil plant and the principal sea terminal for Iran’s oil industry? It would be a limited military strike, self-contained, and the island could be held until the hostages were released. That way, the decision to escalate the conflict would be Iran’s.
Brzezinski’s dramatic idea was not adopted, but clearly the mood in the White House was testy. When Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher worried that daring Khomeini to broaden the conflict might just feed into the Shiite “martyrdom complex,” Harold Brown, the defense secretary, noted, “A man with a martyr complex rarely lives to be seventy-nine.”
In a long Saturday meeting at Camp David, with participants dressed casually before a roaring fire in the stone fireplace, the president approved a secret, very risky reconnaissance trip into Iran to put the final piece in place for a rescue mission. Brzezinski and General Jones, chairman of the joint chiefs, both argued that the rescue mission could work, provided no word of it leaked in advance. When Secretary of State Vance objected to further discussion of military action, which he had adamantly opposed from the start, Carter’s shifting mood showed.
“Should we wait another year then?” he asked Vance.
Vance agreed to support the reconnaissance mission because it made sense even from his perspective; if it ever became necessary to rescue the hostages, if Iran started show trials and executions, the better prepared Delta Force was, the more likely it could succeed.
On March 23, the ailing shah flew from Panama to Egypt, despite administration efforts to prevent it. President Anwar Sadat of Egypt offered the shah permanent sanctuary. The official reason for the move was that he needed surgery to remove a cancerous spleen. A Cairo newspaper reported that he had fled Panama when he learned of a secret American plot to poison him.
11. I’m Not Going to Answer Questions from Anyone Wearing a Dress!
On March 19, Richard Queen and Joe Hall were told that they were going to be moved later that day.
“We are going to move you to a better place,” the guard said. “This is a good thing. You should be very happy.”
They were not very happy. Like the others, both men found that change flung them into fear and uncertainty. Both dreaded the move, especially when they were told they were going to be separated.
“You are going to be with some very important people,” Queen was told. “I don’t want to go with any important people. I want to stay with Joe. We get along well. We want to stay together.”
They packed up their small stash of toiletries, letters, books, and Queen’s Civil War game that Hall refused to play—one look at the thick book of rules and instructions and he had backed down. Later that day they were led outside with blankets over their heads and placed in a car. They were driven around for about half an hour, mostly in circles. Both Hall and Queen knew they were still on the compound when they were let out. They were led inside a building and told to sit on the floor. From beneath his blanket Hall could see feet moving back and forth, shod guard feet and sandaled hostage feet. Then he was moved and told to sit someplace else, then someplace else. At last he was taken to a room and the blanket was removed…and standing across from him was Queen. They had not been separated after all. The room was on the top floor of the chancery, one that had been trashed on the day of the takeover and left that way. The smell of tear gas still clung to its walls like a bad memory. They asked for some supplies and set about cleaning. The guards gave them two big leather chairs, perfect for reading, and a table with a lamp. But no matter how bright and clean and pleasant the room was—they were both especially thrilled to have a window and actual sunlight—the lingering tear gas continued to sting their eyes. It got worse and worse until finally the guards moved them out to another room down the hall, a nicer one, which they promptly cleaned and arranged to their liking, hanging their snapshots and keepsakes on the walls. Then they were moved again.
This time they were placed in a basement chancery office that had belonged to Bruce German, the embassy budget officer. It was an ugly space with walls that had been stained by a burst pipe. This was where marines Jimmy Lopez and Steve Kirtley had given the guards such fits months earlier. They had drawn and painted slogans all over the walls. Lopez had written out patriotic lines in Spanish and drawn a giant eagle. Hamid the Liar brought them a big gum eraser and instructed the new tenants to remove the drawing, which had been done in thick pencil. Hall went to work on it, but found that the eraser wasn’t doing the job.
“Do it yourself,” he told Hamid.
“If you don’t remove it, you will be taken back to the Mushroom,” he said.
