General Eisenhower, the epitome of decisiveness, secretly wrote a note taking full responsibility for D-Day's potential failure. This highlights how effective leaders manage massive internal doubt while projecting external confidence, using doubt as a tool rather than a weakness.

A strategic reason for a leader to resign is to de-escalate public tension. After a crisis, the leader can become a symbol of that difficult period. By stepping down, they absorb the negative sentiment, lower the political temperature, and allow their organization to move forward.

The Carter administration was explicitly warned by its own diplomats that allowing the deposed Shah into the US would provoke an attack on the Tehran embassy. Carter, aware of the risk, ultimately relented due to humanitarian pressure and political concerns about appearing disloyal.

Instead of viewing the crisis as an immediate disaster, some in Carter's re-election team saw it as an opportunity. They believed it would allow Carter to "wrap himself in the flag" and appear presidential, a strategy that catastrophically backfired as the crisis dragged on.

Days before Iran's 1978 revolution, President Jimmy Carter lauded the Shah's leadership and Iran's "stability." This highlights a catastrophic failure of intelligence and a reliance on superficial state-level relationships over understanding ground-level dissent.

In a final act of humiliation, Iranian authorities delayed the hostages' release until the very moment Ronald Reagan finished his inaugural address. This ensured Jimmy Carter, who had obsessed over their freedom, was a private citizen, denying him his final presidential goal.

The multi-stage Iran hostage rescue mission, involving different aircraft, desert landings, and covert teams, was so intricate that it lacked resilience. A few predictable setbacks, like a sandstorm and mechanical failures, caused the entire high-stakes plan to collapse.

Facing a national crisis over gas prices, President Carter diagnosed a "spiritual malaise" and denounced consumerism. Instead of offering concrete solutions, he lectured the American public on their moral failings. This approach was perceived as weird and out of touch, cementing his image as an ineffective leader.

The US response to the Iranian crisis was crippled by a fierce turf war between the dovish Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and the hawkish National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski. This infighting prevented a coherent strategy, leading to fatal indecision at a critical moment.