Michael Rubin
President Jimmy Carter openly projected weakness. “It’s clear that the true problems of our nation are much deeper … than gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inflation or recession,” he said in his July 15, 1979 “malaise” speech. When Iranian students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran 45 years ago, they did more than violate diplomatic norms. By holding 52 Americans hostage for 444 days, they humiliated America. In the eyes of its adversaries, America was a paper tiger. Iran, a pillar of American policy for decades, fell. Sixteen days later, an anti-monarchy and religious extremists seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca. For two weeks, Saudi Arabia appeared to teeter. Not long after, the Soviets marched into Afghanistan. Iran-backed insurgents challenged Bahrain, Kuwait, and Lebanon. The Islamist challenge peaked with the October 6, 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat.
American novelist Mark Twain once quipped, “History doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes.”
Certainly, 2024 increasingly looks like 1979. Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” is on the warpath, putting Suez Canal traffic at risk. Hamas seeks to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Even Ethiopia challenges law and order as it seeks to use water against Egypt, Kenya, and Somalia.
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