> 1975-76 church committee hearings had almost completely demolished the cia's credibility, and people aka normies were starting to notice expanding on this: when jimmy carter was elected in november 1976 the whole country had been through over a decade of near-total societal, cultural transformatuon, upheaval and turmoil. the populace was divided, and now had healthy suspicion of fedgov, yet demographically much of the country was still of the 'greatest generation' and not completely demoralized (incoming post-vietnam economic offshoring, perma-recession and de-industrialization would take care of that) the cia and state department worked together since the 1940s to exert u.s. foreign policy globally. jimmy carter had some 'new ideas' about the u.s. power projection and roles which were not deep administrative state- or aipac-compliant, and by 1979 it needed to be fixed. hence the sabotage of operation eagle claw, and the october surprise.
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