Courtesy of truthout.org, a three-part Robert Parry review of the full known story of how Reagan/Bush undercut the existing President's effort to free the hostages in the U.S. Embassy in order to boost their chances of beating Carter. Of course, they also thereby gave the Ayatollah his say in the presidential election of 1980.
Khomeini's choice: Ronald Reagan.
This is fascinating reading. From truthout's introduction to the series:
Ironically, however, the 1980 "October Surprise" controversy came to refer to an alleged dirty trick by Bush and other Republicans that thwarted Carter from gaining the hostages' freedom. Carter's failure propelled Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. to a landslide victory.
Arguably, the "October Surprise" of 1980 ushered in the modern era of GOP dominance, with the 12 years of the Reagan-Bush administrations. Arguably, too, the Democrats' failure in December 1992 to get the truth out about the Republican chicanery set the stage for the Right's congressional resurgence in 1994 and for today's George W. Bush Era.
So, given the importance of the 1980 election in shaping today's political terrain - and given the current interest in what might happen in the days ahead - we are publishing a series about the original October Surprise adapted from Robert Parry's Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq:
Lots of information here about one of the most despicable acts in American history.
Part I is here:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/102606M.shtmlAnd you won't have any trouble finding their links to parts II and III.
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