----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael C. Berch" <mcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Sunday, June 19, 2005 7:31 PM <snip> > > U.S. carriers do not serve Iran because of American economic sanctions. > Washington broke ties with Iran shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution > when militants seized the U.S. Embassy and held 52 hostages for 444 days. <snip> I don't know if the American practice of breaking relations and hardly ever reestablishing them started in the Wilson administration, but it sure is absurd in its general application. Cuba, of course, is the outstanding current example, but there is even less excuse for the break with Iran. I have never been able to find out whether we have paid compensation to the relatives of the 300 people killed by our unprovoked and mistaken attack on an Iranian A300 by USS Vincennes or not. The Iranian hostage situation, although it helped elect Ronald Reagan, did relatively little harm to the hostages, and the diplomatic consequences should have long been terminated. Gerry http://www.pbase.com/gfoley9999/ http://foley.ultinet.net/~gerry/aerial/aerial.html http://home.columbus.rr.com/gfoley http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/pollock/263/egypt/egypt.html