Wasn't he Carter's National Security Advisor during the Iran Hostage crisis? A pretty good quote concering that situation: "President Carter inherited an impossible situation -- and he and his advisers made the worst of it."

Yes, the same guy and a reasonable quote, although I am never quite sure what you are supposed to do in an impossible situation.

I think it was no-win. Do nothing? Get hammered by the Reagan campaign. Do something? Get hammered by the Reagan campaign. In cynical political terms, I have to guess that the desperate "Eagle Claw" probably *was* the only thing that would have improved Carter's reelection chances -- if that's what you care about -- had it worked.

Well, its low probability of success was borne out and Khomeini certainly got to stick his finger in Carter's eye (and got their 8 billion back, too!). Perhaps Carter should have just skipped Eagle Claw and sent the Ayatollah a bunch of TOW missiles on the QT.