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This Day In History

April 24, 2014
April 24th 1980: Operation Eagle Claw
On this day in 1980, the American military operation named Operation Eagle Claw to try to end the Iran Hostage Crisis was launched. 52 Americans had been taken hostage at the US Embassy in Tehran in November 1979 and the operation was intended to save the captives by sending helicopters into Iran. However many of the helicopters were damaged and some crashed, killing 8 servicemen. When the scale of the catastrophe became apparent, President Carter aborted the mission. Upon discovery of the attempt, the hostages were scattered across Iran to make a second rescue attempt impossible. The debacle was humiliating for the Carter administration and contributed to Carter's defeat in the 1980 presidential election to Ronald Reagan. The hostages were eventually released after extensive diplomatic negotiations on January 20th 1981, Carter's last day in office.





David S. Maxwell
Associate Director
Center for Security Studies &
Security Studies Program
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
Georgetown University
Office: 202-687-3834
Cell: 703-300-8263
email: dsm62@georgetown.edu
AKO: david.maxwell@us.army.mil
Alt email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
SSP Web Site: css.georgetown.edu
Associate Director News Blog: http://maxoki161.blogspot.com/
Global Security Studies Review: https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/globalsecuritystudiesreview/