US Foreign Policy and the Iran Hostage Crisis (Cambridge Studies in International Relations, Series Number 75)

Why did a handful of Iranian students seize the American embassy in Tehran in November 1979? Why did most members of the US government initially believe that the incident would be over quickly? Why did the Carter administration then decide to launch a rescue mission, and why did it fail so spectacularly? US Foreign Policy and the Iran Hostage Crisis examines these puzzles and others, using an analogical reasoning approach to decision-making, a theoretical perspective which highlights the role played by historical analogies in the genesis of foreign policy decisions. Using interviews with key decision-makers on both sides, Houghton provides an analysis of one of the United States' greatest foreign policy disasters, the events of which continue to poison relations between the two states. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of foreign policy analysis and international relations. "Why did a handful of Iranian students seize the American Embassy in Tehran in November 1979? Why did most members of the US government initially believe that the incident would be over quickly? Why did the Carter administration then decide to launch a rescue mission, and why did it fail so spectacularly? US Foreign Policy and the Iran Hostage Crisis examines these puzzles and others, using an analogical reasoning approach to decision-making, a theoretical perspective which highlights the role played by historical analogies in the genesis of foreign policy decisions. Twenty years after the failure of the hostage rescue operation, Houghton uses interviews with key decision-makers on both sides to reconsider these events - events which continue to poison relations between the two states. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of foreign policy analysis and international relations."--BOOK JACKET. Why did Iranian students seize the American embassy in Tehran in 1979? Why did the Carter administration launch a rescue mission, and why did it fail so spectacularly? This book answers these and other puzzles using an analogical reasoning approach that highlights the role of historical analogies in decision making. Using interviews with key decision makers on both sides, Houghton provides an original analysis of one of the United States' greatest foreign policy disasters of recent years. The book will interest students and scholars of foreign policy analysis and international relations. Why did Iranian students seize the American embassy in Tehran in 1979? Why did the Carter administration launch a rescue mission, and why did it fail so spectacularly? Using interviews with key decision-makers on both sides, this book provides an original analysis of a great foreign policy disaster David Patrick Houghton. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 229-241) And Index.