Again, I haven't been to the Middle East either, but in keeping w/ the purpose of the blog, I need to post something...When I was in high school, early 80's, so much was going on & I guess it still is, but one event sticks out in my mind: The Iranian Hostage Crisis ~50 Americans were taken hostage by Iranian "students" at the US Embassy in Tehran.
This was after the Shah had been deposed by the Ayatollah Khomeni. The Shah was in the United States undergoing medical treatment and the students wanted us to send him back over there so they could put him on trial or something. Well, of course we didn't. Some hostages were released early on b/c they had medical conditions, but the rest were held for 444 days! Ironically, they were released after the Democratic President Jimmy Carter lost the election to the Republican party's Ronald Reagan. But, it wasn't ironic. Whoever had the hostages did not want Jimmy Carter to be reelected. Had the hostages been released toward the end of Jimmy Carter's 4 year term, there is no doubt that he would've been reelected.
When I first heard this conclusion, it made sense to me. I then researched it and found that it is accepted as fact by many sources.
