S8 Ep851: Craig Unger discusses the failure of Operation Desert One on April 24, 1980, a mission authorized by President Jimmy Carter to rescue 52 American hostages in Iran. The operation ended in disaster when a helicopter collided with a C-130 transport plane in
Podcast: The John Batchelor ShowPublished On: Sat May 09 2026
Description: Craig Unger discusses the failure of Operation Desert One on April 24, 1980, a mission authorized by President Jimmy Carter to rescue 52 American hostages in Iran. The operation ended in disaster when a helicopter collided with a C-130 transport plane in the Iranian desert, resulting in eight American deaths and the immediate cancellation of the mission. This failure was a pivotal moment in the 1980 campaign, as National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski noted Carter looked as though he had been "stabbed in the face," making a political recovery virtually impossible. Ungerexplains that the crisis was rooted in the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran, a longtime U.S. ally installed by a 1953 American coup. Carter inherited a geostrategic nightmare, further complicated by a hostile relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, who deeply resented Carter for the Camp David Accords. (1/8)1904
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