Former President Jimmy Carter, who turned 90 on Wednesday, says he would have beaten Ronald Reagan and been re-elected had he been be more "manly" in his dealings with Iran.
In an interview with "CNBC Meets," Carter analyzed the failures of Operation Eagle Claw, a 1980 attempt to rescue hostages who had been taken by Iranian revolutionaries at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, asserting he "made the right decision in retrospect."
"I could've been re-elected if I'd taken military action against Iran, shown that I was strong and resolute and, um, manly and so forth," said the former Democratic president.
The Washington Examiner reported it had obtained a transcript of the interview.
"I could have wiped Iran off the map with the weapons that we had, but in the process a lot of innocent people would have been killed, probably including the hostages, and so I stood up against all that, er, all that advice, and then eventually my prayers were answered and every hostage came home safe and free. And so, I think I made the right decision in retrospect, but it was not easy at the time."
Carter says "everybody asks" what more he would have done in the hostage crisis.
"I would say I would send one more helicopter because if I had one more helicopter, we could have brought out not only the 52 hostages, but also brought out the rescue team, and when that failed, then I think that was the main factor that brought about my failure to be re-elected," he said. "So, that's one thing I would change."
Business Insider notes the hostage rescue was aborted after three of the helicopters in the mission experienced mechanical problems.
Interviewed with his wife, Rosalynn, Carter said he also had to ignore her pleas to "do something." But the former first lady said she's proud of her husband and his decisions.
"Peace is very difficult. War is popular in our country," she said.
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