The Crisis : The President, the Prophet, and the Shah-1979 and the Coming of Militant Islam

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I know, a lame title for my review, but it neatly sums up David Harris's "The Crisis." This richly detailed, insightful book provides both a panoramic and microscopic level of detail into not only the Iranian Hostage Crisis but the geopolitical forces that were coming together in the late 1970s that bore fruit on Sept. 11, 2001.

As an opening comment, the portrayal of decision making in the Carter Administration is both exhaustive and maddening. Carter comes off as a caring, if wobbly leader who shows great courage and leadership one moment and jellyfish spine the next. Harris does a great job of giving the reader background into the US relationship with the Shah and our diplomacy in that region during the 1970s.

After Carter is elected and the Shah's hold on power becomes more tenuous, the coil unravels and we see the seeds of the hostage taking planted. Indeed, as The Shah (or as Harris annoyingly refers to HIM) teeters on the brink of losing control of his country, Carter's political tin ear (and Zbig's awful advice) start the downward spiral. Zbig comes off poorly as he continues to argue for blind loyalty and support for the Shah even as the political winds are turning into hurricanes in Iran. Even more disheartening is a little remembered attack on the embassy NINE MONTHS before the full scall takeover that should have served as a not so subtle hint that our policies needed to change or we risked reaping the whirlwind. Harris neatly ties together the Shah's nomadic odyssey after he leaves Iran with the effect Carter's allowing him into the US triggers among the radicalized students in Iran.

Once the hostages are taken, the feckless and toothless response of our government will make any Democrat hang his head in shame and cause them to understand why that party is viewed as "soft." Instead of taking immediate and aggressive action (i.e. release hostages or your country ceases to exist) the Carterites engage in endless months of negotiation without any apparent understanding of the "negotiating" strategy so common in the Arab World. That being said, some of the book's most interesting chapters involve Carter CoS Ham Jordan's back door negotiations with French liasions to the Iranian government. The clock and dagger elements of their meetings are really enjoyable. That said, the Carter folks showed little to no grasp of how to negotiate, constantly agreed to extend deadlines, saw hope in false starts and in short, could have, with a quick call to Tom Friedman, who was reporting for the NYT at that time from Lebanon understood how they were being toyed with.

When Carter does green light military action it ends in tragedy and the US looks even weaker. The disheartening loss of life and the limp support of Cy Vance (he resigned in private before the attack commenced, making it public two days after the tragedy) are not some of our nation's finest moments. Indeed, the hostage crisis largely ends because the utility the hostages had as symbols of US turgidity pale in comparison to the internal strife in Iran and (TRUE IRONY) the invasion of that country by none other than Saddam Hussein (yes, Virginia the very man who has cost us 1300+ lives and 200 billion dollars is the same guy who indirectly got our hostages freed).

On the macro level, what is even more frustrating about this episode is that we learned few if any lessons from it. Little is spoken of with regard to adding Arabic agents to the CIA, strengthening intelligence on the ground, analyzing why the hostages were taken in the first place, etc. Indeed, some of the main players (particularly Warren Christopher, whose final efforts to seal the release were heroic) ended up right back in the next Democratic administration. Don't get me wrong, the brief cameo that the Reagan folks make in this narrative is not good, as Harris details the efforts of William Casey to cultivate leakers within the Carter White House, steal debate briefing books, and *possibly* negotiate with the Iranians to NOT release the hostages before election day. These tactics will sound very familiar to anyone who know about the "win at all costs" tactics of our current administration. This in addition to the efforts of Kissinger and David Rockefeller to lean on Carter to allow the Shah admission to the US in the first place show that poor decision making occurred in both parties.

It is clear that radical Islamists took from this experience the idea that we could be cowed and that thought was reinforced four years later when 240 Marines were killed in Beirut and Reagan withdrew, when hostages were taken in Beirut and held for years on end, when Reagan Admin. officials traded arms for hostages, and carried on into the Bush and Clinton years.

This book IS a must read for anyone who wants to not only revisit a particularly dim chapter in our nation's history, but understand some of the roots of 9/11.

Rating:
Summary: The Crisis: A must read
Review: The Crisis is a must read for anyone interested in the situation in the Middle East today. David Harris has written an insightful, informative book on the three leaders who were involved in the Iranian hostage take-over. It is the best written book I have read on the subject. The book is clearly written and with such sensitivity that I didn't want to put it down. By focusing in on the personalities of President Carter, the Ayatollah Khomeinni and the Shah of Iran, I came away with a much better understanding of the three men and the incredible mistakes and misunderstandings that can happen in the world of international politics. Harris writes with a dramatic and visual flare that makes it a pleasure to read.

Judith Dwan Hallet
Documentary Filmmaker

Rating:
Summary: Excellent history
Review: This is a fine book. The research is thorough, and the writing is compelling -- there really are no lulls in the narrative. (My only quibble is with the author's alternating use of first names and surnames throughout the text. Somehow, it just doesn't quite work.)