Flag-burning Iranians mark 35th anniversary of U.S. Embassy takeover

[bemildred]

Familiar shouts of “Death to America!” rang out Tuesday as thousands of Iranians gathered to mark the 35th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by militant students.

This year’s commemorations came against a backdrop of international tensions concerning Iran’s contentious nuclear program. The United States and five other governments have been engaged in negotiations with Iran that would lift economic sanctions on the nation if the Tehran regime accepts limits on its nuclear program intended to prevent it from gaining nuclear weapons capability. Those talks are set to conclude Nov. 24.

The hostage crisis has had long-lasting repercussions, and remains vivid in memories on both sides. Fifty-two Americans seized in the 1979 embassy takeover were held captive for 444 days, a drama that shadowed the presidency of Jimmy Carter and led to the severing of diplomatic relations between Tehran and Washington.

http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-iran-us-20141104-story.html

[DetlefK]

1. When is the anniversary of the US toppling the democratically elected government of Iran?

[truebluegreen]

2. My thought exactly.

Funny how many Americans think of that as ancient history--when it only happened 26 years before the seizure of our Embassy.

Our memories stretch that many years; why would anyone have thought theirs wouldn't?

[PDJane]

3. I would like to point out that Americans don't seem to have a memory that stretches back that long.

The assassination of JFK, for instance, occurred in my lifetime, and the echos are all around us, but it's treated as ancient history. What about the Church Committee?

If the American electorate didn't have the memory span of a goldfish, the current GOP couldn't gain a seat.