In December of 1983, the Rev. Jesse Jackson went to Syria to seek the release of an American airman who had been shot down there. That went against the wishes of President Ronald Reagan, who thought Jackson was grandstanding to jump-start his own campaign for the White House. Reagan also feared that Jackson’s intercession might cause the Syrians to dig in their heels or even to harm Navy Lieutenant Robert O. Goodman Jr., the captured airman.
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