I remember it so well. God Bless you Mr. North!

I am unable to see your article.. only most of the first sentence are visible after the link is clicked on.

Lillian, once you click on that link there is ANOTHER link that says 'View Original Post'. Click that, too.

Wasn't that the Bush administrations fault? :)

...and history is written by those with the biggest propaganda machines. It was a Canadian, Ken Taylor, who freed those hostages.

Robert I do hope you are being facetious...if not...hmm google it

thanks Mr North, we need more men like you!thanks for all your hard work. May GOD bless you and yours.

Robert surely you jest...even though the One always blames Bush, that one was due to the ineptness of his brother, Jimmy Carter. Our great leader Ronald Reagan told the Iranians, release the prisoners on or before I take office or Iran will cease to exist. We will nuke you til you glow., or something to that effect.

Iran released the hostages because they believed Reagan's resolve to secure the release of the hostages. The rest of America believed with the Iranians that the outgoing president did not have that resolve. On the night of 24 Apr 1980 there were many soldiers who finally were allowed to do what they were trained to do. Unfortunately because of technical difficulties (Who overlooked sand?), the mission was aborted.

histoiry repeating itself ? If so I pray another Reagan is coming soon.

I had the pleasure of knowing one of the Captive Marines from that Embassy when I was based at Tustin Air Field, or what was mentally left of him...

Yes, I'm with u on that one Ken.. Hope there is another Reagan in the making.. Anyone except Obama, he is dragging this nation down the wrong road!

I couldn't beleive that yesterday after he knew of the tradjedy in Texas that he had to remind the nation that he was commander and chief for almost 3 minutes before he told us what he knew about the mass murder.

Chaing Kai Shek was not repressive compared to Mao, but he was incompetent and corrupt.

William, you are correct, this country has backed the most repressive leaders and still does so. They are now backing Chavez, Castro, and Manuel Zelaya of Honduras. Carter backed the revolution in Iran that led to the takeover. Clinton backed the North Koreans. Now they back the worst of all, Nancy Pelosi!

"Change" can sometimes be disappointing.

Pete, I agree - he spent more time talking about himself than he did the actual tragedy event itself. Typical of this ego.

I was active duty USAF during that seige. We were gung-ho but sadly, had a dithering Commander-in-Chief.

History will be repeated... That's what happens when you vote in a spineless president.

was in 2nd tank bn when entire 2nd mar div put to sea, then was ordered back after a few days. yes ms. coates, spinelessness.

Pray for those affected by the Ft. Hood tragedy. Also pray that POLITICAL CORRECTNESS doesn't take more lives. The underlying tragedy is there were many signs that this guy was off the ranch, and no one did anything for fear of being perceived as not PC, protecting their own career. Dotting all the i's crossing all the t's before anyone could take action. Speak up... Do not let PC trump what is right.

I remember that incident. Mike was with the 82nd at Ft Bragg doing MI.

the failed rescue mission was a main reason I decided to join the Army.

Ron, as an incredibly proud USMC wife, I'm not sure how to take your comment. You can look at it like this, the Marines who took part in the aborted rescue attempt at least had the courage, honor and cahugnas to try to rescue their fellow Americans. The Army didn't volunteer for that mission. Hmmm...

GREAT point, Christy!

So very true about Political Correctness! It is killing us!! So very true!

I recently retired from the Army and after over 20 years of service, I had had enough. Politics is ruining this great country; the country I raised my hand to defend against all enemies, foriegn or domestic. I think it's time we start to defend ourselvers from "ourselves". Political correctness is a bunch of horse-sh#t! Oh, by the way, Ron and Christie, I saw the blood of Marines and Soldiers during my three tours in Iraq and one in Bosnia. It was all the same color.

I personally, will not give in without a fight!

And the greatest threat then was Osama Bin Laden, as it is today... only difference we are making way to many exceptions for them to have permission slips to hurt our soldiers. Our soldiers deserve better...in every area of their lives. The blood being shed should not be in vain. They should have everything at their disposal to do the mission. Do the mission and come home w/nothing less than honor for a job well done... our men and women depend on it.

muslims are taking over Europe and that's not a rumor. We ran away from Europe and its taxation and wanted to be free to practice the religion of our choice. America is going to be more Europe than Europe is...before long.

And it wasn't appeasement that finally got these hostages released.

PC at it's best.. it's going to FOLK our nation .. Google Captain Crunch ( a friend of mine ) and see when this PC BS started. We lost marines in Beirut because of PC... they threw Keith under the Tank ... disregarded his work that warned more attacks were on the way ex post facto the embassy bombing. Keith was in charge of the investigation.

A good idea of what I speak comes from SEALs
http://navyseals.com/forums//showthread.php?t=133415

Keith "Captain Crunch" Hall is an American patriot.
... See More
A few days ago their was an episode of "Heroes Under Fire" on the history channel, which depicted the actions of an unsung hero named Keith Hall.
Hall was sent to Beirut by the CIA's paramilitary division to investigate the 1983 Beirut bombing of the US Embassy. Hall (a former Marine) managed to survive in the hell hole of Beirut, and tied the embassy bombing to Iran, the PLO and the scum of Hezbollah. After risking his life for this country he returned to CIA headquarters. CIA headquarters then proceeded to tell Keith that no one in the CIA or Reagan administration was willing to take action against Hezbollah or Iran. Keith was then actually investigated for the rough interrogation tactics he used against the bombing suspects in Lebanon, and was then fired by the CIA.

Every current and former Marine, especially those who have served in Force Recon, is well aware of the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut that occurred in late 1983. Kieth Hall had provided the CIA with intel that could have led to the prevention of this horrible attack, if only the CIA had followed up on it.

This is one of the most disgraceful episodes in CIA and American history. The fact that America did nothing to prevent this bombing, and then did nothing to avenge the embassy and Marine barracks bombing is an unjustifiable act of cowardice from a country that has spawned the greatest and most potent military in history. As someone who is thinking of joining the CIA, I can only pray that since 9/11 the CIA has grown some balls and is now willing to do whatever it takes to kill the terrorists who threaten us. The CIA role in Afghanistan is certainly promising, but more needs to be done.

As for Keith Hall, this man was treated disgracefully by an agency and a nation he served so honorably, I can only hope that this program will serve to let Americans know that thier are people like him (and other like former Marine Commander Bill Cowan) who are America's greatest asset. It is good that Kieth's story is being told perhaps now he will be granted the respect and admiration that he so much deserves.

Keith's Dad was a Marine and WWII PoW. Keith was a NAM Era Marine and Keith Jr. served as a Marine in Desert Storm I.

"Hall believes that the United States may have paid dearly for backing away from his investigation and letting the matter drop. William Buckley, who was Hall's station chief, was subsequently kidnapped, tortured, and killed. He was among fourteen Western civilians kidnapped in Beirut in 1984. In October of the previous year, 241 American servicemen were killed in the bombing of their barracks at the Beirut airport. Some analysts believe that all these atrocities were committed by the same group, the one Hall believes he unearthed in his investigation. Still bitter about it nineteen years later, Hall says, "No one was punished for it, except me!"

Hall sees the loss of his career as dramatic proof that the CIA sold out to the "tree huggers" two decades ago, and points with scorn to a directive from President Bill Clinton that effectively barred intelligence agents from doing business with unsavory characters."... See More... See More

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200310/bowden

Nobody experienced the effects of this shift more dramatically than Keith Hall, who earned the nickname Captain Crunch before he lost his job as a CIA agent. Now he describes himself as "a poster child for political correctness." He is a pugnacious brick of a man, who at age fifty-two is just a thicker (especially in the middle) version of the young man who joined the Marines thirty years ago. After his discharge he earned a master's degree in history and international relations; he took a job as a police officer, because he craved a more physical brand of excitement than academia had to offer. His nickname comes from this craving.

The CIA hired Hall immediately after he applied, in 1979, because of his relatively rare combination of academic and real-world credentials. He was routed into the Investigation and Analysis Directorate, where he became one of the Agency's covert operators, a relatively small group ("about forty-eight guys, total," Hall says) known as the "knuckle-draggers." Most CIA agents, especially by the 1980s, were just deskmen.

Hall preferred traveling, training, and blowing things up, even though he felt that the rest of the Agency looked down its patrician nose at guys like him. When the U.S. Embassy in Beirut was bombed, on April 18, 1983, eight of the seventeen Americans killed were CIA employees. There were going to be plenty of official investigations, but the Agency wanted one of its own. Hall was selected to carry it out.... See More

"They flew me to Langley on one of their private planes, and delivered me to the seventh floor," he says. "They told me, 'We want you to go to Beirut and find out who blew up the embassy and how they did it. The President himself is going to be reading your cables. There is going to be some retribution here.'"

Hall was honored, and excited. This was a mission of singular purpose, of the highest priority, and he knew he was expected to get results. Having been a police officer and a Marine, he knew that the official investigations had to build a case that might someday stand up in court. His goal was not to build a case but just to find out who did it.

He slept on rooftops in Beirut, changing the location every two nights. It was a dangerous time to be an American—especially a CIA officer—there, and Hall kept moving. He worked with the Lebanese Special Security Force, and set up a computer in the police building.

Hall says he took part without hesitation in brutal questioning by the Lebanese, during which suspects were beaten with clubs and rubber hoses or wired up to electrical generators and doused with water. Such methods eventually led him to the suspected "paymaster" of the embassy bombing, a man named Elias Nimr. "He was our biggest catch," Hall says—a man with powerful connections. "When I told the Lebanese Minister of Defense, I watched the blood drain out of his face."

Nimr was a fat, pampered-looking twenty-eight-year-old, used to living the good life, a young man of wealth, leisure, and power. He came to the police building wearing slacks, a shiny sport shirt, and Gucci shoes. He had a small, well-trimmed moustache at the center of his soft, round face, and wore gold on his neck, wrists, and fingers. When he was marched into the building, Hall says, some of the officers "tried to melt into the shadows" for fear of eventual retribution. Nimr was nonchalant and smirking in his initial interview, convinced that when word got back to his family and connections, he would promptly be released.

When Hall got a chance to talk to him, he set out to disabuse Nimr. "I'm an American intelligence officer," he said. "You really didn't think that you were going to blow up our embassy and we wouldn't do anything about it, did you? You really should be looking inside yourself and telling yourself that it's a good idea to talk to me. The best way to go is to be civilized ... I know you think you are going to walk right out of here in a few minutes. That's not going to happen. You're mine. I'm the one who will make the decisions about what happens to you. The only thing that will save your ass is to cooperate." Nimr smiled at him dismissively.

The next time they met, Nimr wasn't in such good shape. In this case his connections were failing him. No one had roughed him up, but he had been kept standing for two days. Hall placed him in a straight-backed metal chair, with hot floodlights in his face. The agent sat behind the light, so that Nimr couldn't see him. Nimr wasn't as cocky, but he was still silent.

At the third interrogation session, Hall says, he kicked Nimr out of his chair. It was the first time anyone had physically abused him, and he seemed stunned. He just stared at Hall. He hadn't eaten since his arrest, four days earlier. But he still had nothing to say.

"I sent him back to his cell, had water poured over him again and again while he sat under a big fan, kept him freezing for about twenty-four hours. He comes back after this, and you can see his mood is changing. He hasn't walked out of jail, and it's beginning to dawn on him that no one is going to spring him."

Over the next ten days Hall kept up the pressure. During the questioning sessions he again kicked Nimr out of his chair, and both he and the Lebanese captain involved cracked him occasionally across the shins with a wooden bat. Finally Nimr broke. According to Hall, he explained his role in the bombing, and in the assassination of Lebanon's President. He explained that Syrian intelligence agents had been behind the plan. (Not everyone in the CIA agrees with Hall's interpretation.)

Soon afterwards Nimr died in his cell. Hall was back in Washington when he heard the news. He assumed that Nimr had been killed to prevent him from testifying and naming others involved in the plot. Armed with tapes of Nimr's confession, Hall felt he had accomplished his mission; but several months after finishing his report he was fired. As he understood it, word had leaked out about torture sessions conducted by a CIA agent, and the U.S. government was embarrassed.

None of the men charged was ever prosecuted for the bombing. Hall believes that the United States may have paid dearly for backing away from his investigation and letting the matter drop. William Buckley, who was Hall's station chief, was subsequently kidnapped, tortured, and killed. He was among fourteen Western civilians kidnapped in Beirut in 1984. In October of the previous year, 241 American servicemen were killed in the bombing of their barracks at the Beirut airport. Some analysts believe that all these atrocities were committed by the same group, the one Hall believes he unearthed in his investigation. Still bitter about it nineteen years later, Hall says, "No one was punished for it, except me!"

Hall sees the loss of his career as dramatic proof that the CIA sold out to the "tree huggers" two decades ago, and points with scorn to a directive from President Bill Clinton that effectively barred intelligence agents from doing business with unsavory characters. The full-scale U.S. retreat from the uglier side of espionage is well documented—but has, by all accounts, been sharply reversed in the aftermath of 9/11.

...like it was yesterday.

I hope all of you go to the Protest the Prosecution of 3 Navy SEALs on facebook and join that group. All the links are there. I just spoke with a young recently returned Marine and
he is under NCIS investigation for allegedly slapping an insurgent who spit on him. All Vet benefits are being denied and his life is on hold until this is sorted out.
What has happened to our country to allow this to go on?
I want my country back! So, succinctly~~LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT~oh, and take the ACLU with you.