Desert One provides a thoughtful revisit to one of the greatest intelligence failures in recent American history. How is it possible that this tragic mission was green-lighted at the highest levels of our government when according to the film, its realistic chances for success seemed so painfully and obviously lacking? As the documentary clearly points out, a key element in the rescue plan required a nighttime multi-helicopter journey over hundreds of miles of unknown (and likely dangerous) desert terrain and weather conditions. Apparently all of this was to be done with only limited advance preparation and thus a minimal awareness of the probable circumstances we could reasonably expect to encounter in the mission.
It is said that success has many parents but failure is always an orphan. Desert One presents an obvious example of just how true this statement is. As the documentary recalls one unforeseen and surprising event after another---the cumulative effects of which ultimately led to an aborting of the mission--we again are struck by its apparent lack of appropriate readiness and the absence of reliable intelligence that denied us the opportunity to get a more sober assessment of Operation Eagle Claw's chances for a positive outcome.
Desert One unfolds in a sober and riveting way as it tells us the story of this mission, the truly brave men who participated in it and where and how it went wrong. Of course unanswered questions remain. Who were the principal cabinet advisors who counseled President Carter to go ahead with Operation Eagle Claw given all its risks? Why were we so ill prepared to deal with the real conditions encountered on the ground? Could the mission have been aborted sooner based upon the facts experienced at the time?
We come away from seeing Desert One much better informed about this sad episode. That is the hallmark of a good documentary. We should be grateful to all who participated in its creation who enabled us to better understand the facts depicted in Desert One. And when another such dangerous mission does turn out well--like the later taking out of Osama Bin Laden-we should better appreciate the tremendous difficulties heroic Americans needed to overcome to achieve that success.
