Assuming there was NOT a crash at Desert One and the newly formed Delta unit DID successfully extract our hostages in Iran April 1980...

1. Would the Islamic terrorism community have been put "on notice" as they were following the SAS raid at Princess Gate April 1980? Would they learn to fear a a special responce from ANY western power?

2. Would Carter have received positive recognition for his decisive use of Special Forces? Would he have won re election as a result?

3. Would the US military (under Carter or Reagan after 1980) still recieve the much needed overhaul and upgrade that was seen under Reagan?

4. Would the 1983 bombings (also in April) of a Marine base in Lebanon even have happened? Would Isamic terrorists have been conditioned to fear western special operation forces?

My crystall ball is in the shop right now...

If my grandmother had wheels she'd be a wagon.

When ifs and buts are candy and nuts, it will be Christmas every day!

Had it been sucessfull many thing would have changed, and the Peanut farmer would hve been around for 4 more years and we would not have gotten Regan and a rebuild of the Mil.

I'm going to preface this by saying that, even if the copter hadn't crashed, I don't think Eagle Claw would have gotten the hostages out alive.  Some might have made it, but the most likely outcome of the operation was a lot of dead Iranian "students," some dead American operators and a lot of dead American hostages.  A better tactic would have been to launch bomber strikes on Iranian targets every day, and keep it up till they released the hostages.

Quoted: 1. Would the Islamic terrorism community have been put "on notice" as they were following the SAS raid at Princess Gate April 1980? Would they learn to fear a a special responce from ANY western power?

That depends on how well the Delta guys dished it out.

2. Would Carter have received positive recognition for his decisive use of Special Forces? Would he have won re election as a result?

Probably.

3. Would the US military (under Carter or Reagan after 1980) still recieve the much needed overhaul and upgrade that was seen under Reagan?

Not as big of one.

4. Would the 1983 bombings (also in April) of a Marine base in Lebanon even have happened?

If we were there, yes.

Quoted: I'm going to preface this by saying that, even if the copter hadn't crashed, I don't think Eagle Claw would have gotten the hostages out alive.  Some might have made it, but the most likely outcome of the operation was a lot of dead Iranian "students," some dead American operators and a lot of dead American hostages.

I wondered about that too. As I was looking at the intended "plan" for EC it did look terribly optomistic. Of course I thought the same thing about the Hanoi raid and they (not Delta) pulled that off (except for there being no POWs to rescue).