1.8 KiB
| category | tags | summary | born | died | location | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence & Government |
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Brzezinski dismissed suggestions from Prime Minister Begin that the U.S. | 1928-03-28 | 2017-05-26 | Warsaw, Poland |
Zbigniew Brzezinski was the United States National Security Adviser during the Jimmy Carter administration, playing a key role in foreign policy decisions during a period of significant Middle Eastern upheaval.
Iran Policy
Brzezinski dismissed suggestions from Menachem Begin that the United States should support Mehdi Bazargan government in Iran against the growing Iraq threat. Instead, Brzezinski and the Jimmy Carter administration believed Iran should be allowed to disintegrate until a United States-supported leader emerged.1
VELA Satellite Nuclear Incident
On September 22, 1979, a VELA Satellite recorded two distinctive bright flashes of light over the South Indian Ocean, probable evidence of a nuclear explosion. This event, suspected to be a joint Israeli-South African nuclear test, was reported to Brzezinski and President Jimmy Carter. Gerald G. Oplinger, Brzezinski's aide for global issues, recalled that Brzezinski was present at an urgent meeting in the White House situation room where the Central Intelligence Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency stated that the odds were at least ninety percent that it had been a nuclear explosion. Brzezinski had little to say during this meeting.2