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" YANKEE GO HOME! " From left: lranian student displays photogrsphs ofPresident Carter and the ex-Shsh in front of csptured
U.
S.
embassy in Tehran; poster bearing caricature of Shah is parsded through streets of Tehran; lranians use American Rag to
hsul garbage on embsssy grounds; jeering mob in Tehran demonstrstes against U.S., csrrying efñgy of Une/e Sam.
factor of respect, or the lack of it.
America has become the Rodney
Dangerfield of the world (' ' 1 don't
get no respect").* Because the U.S.
enjoys so little respect and its world–
wide prestige is so low, Khomaini's
mobs could get away with storming
thc American embassy with no fear
of reprisal. As formcr Secretary of
Defense James Schlesinger said: "An
image of weakness is going to elicit
this kind of behavior. Wild as the
Ayatollah seems to be, he would not
dare to touch the Soviet embassy."
Schlesi nger's words seemed almost
prophetic. Shortly afterward, anoth–
cr U.S. embassy was stormed, this
time in lslamabad, capital of Paki–
stan. One hundred diplomatic per–
sonnel were fortunately rescued by
Pakistani soldiers.
The rioters had erroneously be-
*Rodncy Dangerfield is an American comedi–
a n noted for his "1 don' t get no respect"
routines.
January 1980
licved the U.S. to be responsible for
damage the previous day to lslam's
holiest shrine in Mecca.
lt
was felt
that some of Khomaini's followers
may have spread the rumor.
A Polic y of lmpotence?
Former Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger, alarmed a t the shocking
episode unfolding in lran, sajd that
America "must not elevate impo–
tence" on the international scene
"into a political principie. ... We
must not turn a sensc of our limits
into a doctrine of abdication, for
without our commitment, there can
be no world security.... Without
faith in us, our friends will despair,
and without respect for our strength,
our adversaries will be embold–
ened."
The most ringing denunciation of
American foreign policy to date has
becn delivered by syndicated col–
umnist George F. Will. He wrote:
"Enduring the contempt of the con-
temptible is just one severity that life
has in store for a declining nation.
"A nation that loses a war [in
Vietnam] that it could have won by
confidently employing its conven–
tional military assets had better get
used to humiliation.... A nation
that has no serious response when
three ambassadors a re murdered (in
Cyprus, Sudan and Afghanistan)
had better get used to spittle on its
cheeks.... A nation that collabo–
rates in throwing to the wolves an
a lly like the Shah should not expect
respect from the wolves...."
Follows Cuban Retreat
The grim Ii-anian atfai r amounted to
the second slap in the face for Uncle
Sam in a month's time. In early
October, President Carter ac–
quiesced to the Soviets over the pres–
ence in Cuba of their 3,000-man
armed brigade. The President had
initially said he would not accept the
"status quo" in Cuba, but ended up
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