ATLANTA — One of the defining moments of Jimmy Carter’s presidency was the Iran hostage crisis.
Retired Army Col. Chuck Scott was one of the 52 hostages held in Iran for 444 days. In an interview with Channel 2 Action News, he said Carter got a lot of blame he did not deserve.
“People say, ‘Yeah, he really screwed up the hostage crisis.’ But how do you know? You weren’t there,” Scott said.
The crisis would overshadow many of the accomplishments during President Carter’s one and only term.
“We looked like idiots. Here we were, the most powerful nation in the world and we had a complete American embassy staff that wound up being slaves, hostages for 14 1/2 months,” Scott said.
Scott said the Carter administration underestimated the anger of the Iranian people when it allowed the deposed Shah into the United States for cancer treatment.
Scott said he and the other hostages felt betrayed.
“How the hell did they set us up for something like that if they intended to allow the Shah to come into the United States? Why didn’t they first close the embassy?” Scott said.
Scott said the hostage-takers wanted information, but he had been trained in special ops and he never broke.
RELATED STORIES:
- Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter: an enduring love story
- A timeline: 10 of Jimmy Carter’s major accomplishments
- President Jimmy Carter, Willie Nelson sing together at Atlanta concert
“It was still not a pleasant experience being beaten every day. At one point, I was hung by my wrists about a foot off the ground and left there for three days and three nights,” Scott said. “I was placed in front of three different firing squads.”
Scott said to endure the abuse, the hostages had to blame someone.
Carter took the brunt of it, but the anger would eventually subside.
“Carter got blamed for a lot of things that were not his fault,” Scott said. “I don’t know that he could have done any more than he did. Anything else could have led to a major military confrontation.”
Scott eventually met Carter in Germany just days after he and the others were released.
“We didn’t shake hands, we hugged,” said.
Scott said even though he was a hostage, Carter was one in a different way.
“He was still responsible for all of us. In many ways, it was tougher on him than it was on us,” Scott said. “I could handle the beatings and all that, but I’m not sure I would have been able to handle going to bed at night in the White House and thinking I still have 52 American citizens, I don’t know their status even.”
“He had limited choices, and, in many ways, he made the right one. We all came home,” Scott continued.
Scott died in December. He was 90 years old.
His family said they are proud of how he served our country.
RELATED NEWS:
©2023 Cox Media Group
