GROSS: So in the case of the Kuwaiti ships, how come - and this was during the Reagan administration.
And I think that was probably the second-closest time we've come. Two years later, by the time we'd really uncovered the Iranian role in this, it revitalizes a whole set of new military plans to attack Iran. And probably by about - that was in 1996. But Iran took it as a deliberate act of covert war.Īnd so they respond in their usual way, with terrorism, which is a truck bomb outside this dormitory, kills 19 airmen. It was done very publicly, mostly for domestic reasons. Newt Gingrich is the main sponsor of that. pushes through a plus-up of the CIA's covert budget.
Khobar Towers was a dormitory for Air Force personnel in Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. The other example, I think, is Khobar Towers. warship, which resulted in the Navy's largest battle since Leyte Gulf in World War II. And the Iranians took that as a direct challenge in their war effort and deliberately mined us, damaged a U.S. At the time, Kuwait was a major financial backer of Iraq in their war with Iran. made the decision to escort, naval escort Kuwaiti tankers who were being attacked by Iranian warships. I think in the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq war, the U.S. What's the closest that we've come to war with Iran?ĭAVID CRIST: There's been a couple of key times. The book is based on documents released through his Freedom of Information Act requests, his father's papers and hundreds of interviews with people ranging from CIA officials to members of Hezbollah.ĭavid Crist, welcome to FRESH AIR. His father, General George Crist, was the commander of CENTCOM from 1985 to '88.ĭavid Crist is now a senior historian for the Defense Department, but the book reflects his own analysis and does not represent the views of the government. Marine Corps, he made two tours with the elite Special Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Crist has a unique perspective on this conflict. coordinating international sanctions against Iran's nuclear program. This history explains how we got to where we are today, with no diplomatic contact and the U.S. The book is called "The Twilight War," and it details conflicts that have frustrated six American presidents, involved Iranian-backed acts of terrorism, ongoing failures of diplomatic dialogue and several times that nearly led to war. My guest David Crist has written a new book about the secret war between Iran and the U.S., one that has gone on for 30 years.
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