Jimmy Carter and the sale of the AWACS to Iran in 1977

Murray, Robert W.; McGlinchey, Stephen

Abstract

© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. It appeared that as 1977 dawned, the political climate in the United States might render multi-billion dollar arms sales into unstable regions a thing of the past. Jimmy Carter triumphed in the presidential election of November 1976 on a popular platform of arms control and the introduction of human rights considerations into American foreign policy. His transition from that idealistic candidate to the president who agreed to sell Iran a fleet of highly advanced AWACS aircraft, as part of a record breaking $5.7 billion arms package, is therefore outwardly confusing. Yet, when examining the entrenched policy path that Carter inherited regarding arming Iran, and the larger needs of Cold War containment, the logic of Carter’s decisions essentially to betray his own policies in this case becomes clear.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 16, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Jun 20, 2017
• Publication Date: Apr 3, 2017
• Deposit Date: Aug 8, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 4, 2018
• Journal: Diplomacy and Statecraft
• Print ISSN: 0959-2296
• Electronic ISSN: 1557-301X
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 28
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 254-276
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09592296.2017.1309883
• Keywords: Jimmy Carter, Iran, Shah, Cold War, Richard Nixon, Iranian Revolution, US Foreign Policy, USA
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/885326
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09592296.2017.1309883
• Contract Date: Aug 8, 2016