. >> i was given a copy of the german magazine, der spiegel. were photographs in there, and diagrams of the rescue attempt. you could tell from the diagram that it had been a very risky attempt, a very dangerous effort. it had cost people's lives and that was a very saddening thing to realize. people had actually died trying to give us back some freedom. >> the rescue mission was a great disaster. and when you take risks like this, if you win, you look brilliant. and if you lose, you look stupid. and you just have to live with that. >> our rescue team knew, and i knew, that the operation was certain to be difficult. and it was certain to be dangerous. we were all convinced that if and when the rescue operation had been commenced that it had an excellent chance of success. >> jimmy carter ended up looking very bad, and he had to face up to that, he had to deal with it. >> the iranians were taken completely by surprise by the rescue mission. they had not expected it. they really didn't know it was coming. and it was a huge shock to them. so they,