I was 19 years young back then, thought the same at the time, and ever since.
This particular reaction so far:
“We shoulda bombed the heck out of ‘em in ‘79”
I was 19 years young back then, thought the same at the time, and ever since.
My thoughts: I remember George Kennan (not the biggest war-mongerer out there at the time/s) going on TV and saying that Carter should have gone to Congress for a declaration of war. (he would have had little trouble getting it as American soil had been invaded and hostages taken) The Iranians would have crumbled quickly under that threat and pressure from our allies (which we actually had at the time) would have ended the hostage crisis quickly with an uptick in respect for the US in the Mideast. Instead Carter made us look weak and we have been suffering the consequences in the region ever since.