Saigon January 30, 1968, Tet offensive. The communists enter the capital of South Vietnam and, among other targets, attack the American embassy.
Despite the tactical defeat, the forces of North Vietnam obtain a significant strategic victory: the Americans are unable to defend the Saigon regime, the communist victory is only a matter of time.
Eleven years later, in 1979, the Islamic Revolution broke out in Tehran and the Shah was forced into exile to avoid a bloodbath. On November 4, the United States learns that the staff of its embassy (photo), along with some State Department officials, were kidnapped by revolutionaries loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran's religious and political leader, where he established a regime. Islamic fundamentalist.
The hostage situation is worrying.
When diplomatic negotiations stall, Americans consider freeing hostages. The operation, scheduled for April 26, 1980, results in a sensational fiasco.
The US embassy was attacked in Baghdad on December 31, the Trump administration accuses Iran of orchestrating the assault.
This time, however, the reaction is immediate. Trump certainly remembered the outrage of American public opinion in the face of the hostage taking in the diplomatic office in Tehran, as well as the manifest impotence of the Carter Administration.
This time Washington has decided to hit a paying target, just to get rid of that sense of helplessness that could have gripped the American people. In addition, there will be presidential elections in November and Trump wants what all the presidents want in the first term: a second term.
Photo: web / US Marine Corps
