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Oliver North

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This article is about the military figure. For the British engineer, see Oliver Danson North

Oliver North
In Iraq, December 2007.
Birth nameOliver Laurence North
Nickname(s)Ollie
Born (1943-10-07) October 7, 1943 (age 81)
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service / branchUnited States Marine Corps
Years of service1968–1990
RankLieutenant Colonel
Unit1st Battalion 3rd Marines
3rd Battalion 8th Marines
2nd Marine Division
CommandsMarine Corps Northern Training Area, Okinawa
Battles / warsVietnam War
AwardsSilver Star
Bronze Star
Purple Heart(2)* Presidential Service Badge
Other workcorrespondent with the Fox News Channel
United States Senate candidate

Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is a former United States Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a New York Times best-selling author.

North was at the center of national attention during the Iran-Contra affair, a political scandal of the late 1980s. North was a National Security Council staff member involved in the clandestine sale of weapons to Iran, which served to encourage the release of U.S. hostages from Lebanon. North formulated the second part of the plan: diverting proceeds from the arms sales to support the Contra rebel groups in Nicaragua (funding to the Contras had been prohibited under the Boland Amendment amidst widespread public opposition in the U.S. and controversies surrounding human rights abuses by the Contras).

Early life

North was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Ann Theresa (née Clancy) and Oliver Clay North, a US Army major.[1][2] He grew up in Philmont, New York, and graduated from Ockawamick High School in 1961. He attended State University of New York at Brockport in Brockport, New York, for two years.[3]

While at Brockport, North spent a summer at the United States Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Class and Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, and gained an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in 1963. He received his commission as second lieutenant in 1968 (he missed a year due to injuries from an auto accident). One of North's classmates at the Academy was former Secretary of the Navy and current U.S. Senator Jim Webb. Although a heavy underdog, North beat Webb in a championship boxing match at Annapolis.[4]

U.S. Marine Corps career

North served as a platoon commander during the Vietnam War, where during his combat service, he was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal and two Purple Heart medals.[5] He then became an instructor at The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia. In 1970, North returned to South Vietnam to testify at the trial of Corporal Randy Herrod, a U.S. Marine formerly under his command who had been charged with a mass killing of Vietnamese civilians. North was promoted to Captain in 1971 and served as the commanding officer of the U.S. Marine Corps' Northern Training Area in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.

After his duty in Okinawa, Japan, North was assigned for four years to Marine Corps Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. He was then promoted to major, and served two years as the operations officer of 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, commanded by then LtCol John Southy Grinalds, 2nd Marine Division in Camp Lejeune at Jacksonville, North Carolina. It was through Lt. Col. Grinalds that North converted to Christianity. He attended the Command and Staff Course at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and graduated in 1981.

North began his assignment to the National Security Council (NSC) in Washington, D.C., where he served as the deputy director for political-military affairs[6] from 1981 until his reassignment in 1986. In 1983, North received his promotion to lieutenant colonel,[7] which would be his last.

During his tenure at the NSC, North managed a number of missions. This included leading the hunt for those responsible for the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing that killed 241 U.S. Marines, an effort that saw North arranging a midair interception of an EgyptAir jet carrying those responsible for the Achille Lauro hijacking. Also at the NSC, he helped plan the U.S. invasion of Grenada and the 1986 Bombing of Libya.[6]

During his trial, Oliver North spent his last two years on active duty assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps in Arlington, Virginia.

Military awards

 
V
Gold star
V
Gold star
Gold star
Gold star
Bronze star
Silver star
Bronze star
Silver star
Basic Parachutist Badge
Silver Star Medal Bronze Star Medal w/ Valor device
Purple Heart Medal w/ 1 award star Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal w/ Valor device and 2 award stars Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal w/ 1 award star Combat Action Ribbon
Navy Unit Commendation Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation w/ 1 service star National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal w/ 5 campaign stars Sea Service Deployment Ribbon w/ 1 service star Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon
Vietnam Gallantry Cross w/ Silver star Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation w/ Bronze Palm Vietnam Campaign Medal
Expert marksmanship badge for rifle (not shown)
Expert marksmanship badge for pistol (not shown)
Presidential Service Badge

Iran-Contra affair

Main article: Iran-Contra Affair
North's mugshot, taken on the day of his arrest

North came into the public spotlight as a result of his participation in the Iran-Contra affair, a political scandal of the late 1980s, in which he claimed partial responsibility for the sale of weapons via intermediaries to Iran, with the profits being channeled to the Contras in Nicaragua. He was reportedly responsible for the establishment of a covert network, which aided the Contras. The Boland Amendment (to the House Appropriations Bill of 1982 and subsequent years) prohibited the appropriation of U.S. funds by intelligence agencies for this purpose at that time, thus the search for alternative funding sources. Funding was facilitated by funneling money from his shell organization, the "National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty," through Palmer National Bank of Washington, D.C. to the Contras.

According to the National Security Archive, in an August 23, 1986 e-mail to National Security Advisor John Poindexter, Oliver North described a meeting with a representative of Panamanian Dictator Manuel Noriega: "You will recall that over the years Manuel Noriega in Panama and I have developed a fairly good relationship," North writes before explaining Noriega's proposal. If U.S. officials can "help clean up his image" and lift the ban on arms sales to the Panamanian Defense Force, Noriega will "'take care of' the Sandinista leadership for us."[8][9]

North told Poindexter that Noriega could assist with sabotage against the Sandinistas and supposedly suggested that Noriega be paid one million dollars in cash, from "Project Democracy" funds raised from the sale of U.S. arms to Iran—for the Panamanian leader's help in destroying Nicaraguan economic installations.[10]

In November 1986, as the sale of weapons was made public, North was dismissed by President Ronald Reagan, and, in July 1987, he was summoned to testify before televised hearings of a joint Congressional committee that was formed to investigate Iran-Contra. The image of North taking the oath became iconic, and similar photographs made the cover of Time and Newsweek, and helped to define him in the eyes of the public.[citation needed] During the hearings, North admitted that he had lied to Congress, for which, among other things, he was later charged. He defended his actions by stating that he believed in the goal of aiding the Contras, whom he saw as freedom fighters, and said that he viewed the Iran-Contra scheme as a "neat idea".[11] North admitted shredding government documents related to his Contra and Iranian activities, at William Casey's suggestion, when the Iran Contra scandal became public. He testified that Robert McFarlane had asked him to alter official records to delete references to direct assistance to the contras and that he had helped.[12]

North was tried in 1988 in relation to his activities while at the National Security Council. He was indicted on sixteen felony counts, and, on May 4, 1989, he was initially convicted of three: accepting an illegal gratuity; aiding and abetting in the obstruction of a congressional inquiry; and ordering the destruction of documents via his secretary, Fawn Hall. He was sentenced, by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell on July 5, 1989, to a three-year suspended prison term, two years' probation, $150,000 in fines, and 1,200 hours community service.

However, on July 20, 1990, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),[13] North's convictions were vacated, after the appeals court found that witnesses in his trial might have been impermissibly affected by his immunized congressional testimony.[14]

Because North had been granted limited immunity for his Congressional testimony, the law prohibited the independent counsel (or any prosecutor) from using that testimony as part of a criminal case against him. To prepare for the expected defense challenge that North's testimony had been used, the prosecution team had—before North's congressional testimony had been given—listed and isolated all of its evidence.[citation needed] Further, the individual members of the prosecution team had isolated themselves from news reports and discussion of North's testimony. While the defense could show no specific instance in which North's congressional testimony was used in his trial, the Court of Appeals ruled that the trial judge had made an insufficient examination of the issue. Consequently, North's convictions were reversed. The Supreme Court declined to review the case. After further hearings on the immunity issue, Judge Gesell dismissed all charges against North on September 16, 1991, on the motion of the independent counsel. Allegations were made, most notably by the Kerry Subcomitee, that North and other senior officials created a privatized contra network that attracted drug traffickers looking for cover for their operations, then turned a blind eye to repeated reports of drug smuggling related to the contras, and actively worked with known drug smugglers such as Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to assist the contras.[15] Most Contra associates found guilty of trafficking by the Kerry Committee were involved in the supply chain (ostensibly for "humanitarian goods," though the supply chain was later found to have serviced the transport of arms), which had been set up by North. Organizations and individuals involved in the supply chain under investigation for trafficking included the company SETCO (operated by large-scale trafficker Juan Matta-Ballesteros), the fruit company Frigorificos de Puntarenas, rancher John Hull, and several Cuban Exiles; North and other US government officials were criticized by the Kerry Report for their practice of "ticket punching" for these parties, whereby people under active investigation for drug trafficking were given cover and pay by joining in the Contra supply chain. In addition to the Kerry Committee's investigation, the Costa Rican government of Nobel-Prize winner Óscar Arias conducted an investigation of Contra-related drug trafficking, and as a result of this investigation, North and several other US Government officials were permanently banned from entering Costa Rica. North has consistently denied any involvement with drug trafficking, stating on Fox's Hannity and Colmes, "...nobody in the government of the United States, going all the way back to the earliest days of this under Jimmy Carter, ever had anything to do with running drugs to support the Nicaraguan resistance."[16]

Later life and career

Oliver North in April 2002, autographing one of his books for a U.S. Marine Staff Sergeant.

Politics

In 1994, North unsuccessfully ran for the United States Senate as the Republican Party candidate in Virginia. Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia endorsed Marshall Coleman, a Republican who ran as an independent, instead of North. On the eve of the election, former first lady Nancy Reagan told a reporter that North had lied to her husband when discussing Iran-Contra with the former president, effectively stopping his campaign. North lost by a 46% to 43% margin to incumbent Democrat Charles Robb,[17] a son-in-law of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Coleman received 11%. North's candidacy was documented in the 1996 film A Perfect Candidate.[18]

Oliver North in 2005, pictured with Clinton Township, Franklin County, Ohio Assistant Fire Chief John Harris and Lieutenant Douglas Brown, at a public speaking event.

In his failed bid to unseat Robb, North raised $20.3 million in a single year through nationwide direct mail solicitations, telemarketing, fundraising events, and contributions from major donors. About $16 million of that amount was from direct mail alone. This was the biggest accumulation of direct mail funds for a statewide campaign to that date, and it made North the top direct mail political fundraiser in the country in 1994.[19]

Books and media

North has written several best-selling books including Under Fire, One More Mission, War Stories — Operation Iraqi Freedom, Mission Compromised, The Jericho Sanction, and The Assassins.

His latest book, American Heroes, was released nationally in the U.S. on May 6, 2008. In this book, North addresses issues of defense against global terrorism, Jihad, and radical Islam from his perspective as a military officer and national security advisor and current Middle East war correspondent.[20] North is also a syndicated columnist.[21]

In 1991, North appeared on the first season of The Jerry Springer Show.

From 1995 to 2003, North was host of his own nationally-syndicated radio program known as the Oliver North Radio Show or Common Sense Radio. He also served as co-host of Equal Time on MSNBC for a couple of including the years starting in 1999. North is currently the host of the television show War Stories with Oliver North, and a regular commentator on Hannity, both on the Fox News Channel. North appeared as himself on many television shows including the sitcom Wings in 1991, and three episodes of the TV military drama JAG in 1995, 1996 and 2002.[22] In addition, he regularly speaks at both public and private events. North appears in an episode of Auction Kings who gets his sword back after it was stolen in 1980.

On May 1, 2012, he appeared in the Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 documentary trailer.

Freedom Alliance

In 1990, North founded the Freedom Alliance, a 501(c)(3) foundation "... to advance the American heritage of freedom by honoring and encouraging military service, defending the sovereignty of the United States and promoting a strong national defense." The foundation's primary activities include providing support for wounded combat soldiers and providing scholarships for the sons and the daughters of service members killed in action.[23] Beginning in 2003, Sean Hannity has raised over $10 million for the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund through Freedom Concerts and donations from the Sean Hannity Show and its listeners. The charity has been criticized by conservative-leaning blogger Debbie Schlussel for distributing too little of its funds for charitable purposes.[24] Hannity, North, and other charity spokespersons claim that all of the net proceeds from the Freedom Concerts are donated to the fund.[25]

Personal life

Although raised a Roman Catholic, he has long attended Anglican services with his family.[26] North is a board member in the NRA and had appeared at the NRA national convention in 2007[27] and 2008.[28]

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ "Obituaries". Los Angeles Times. October 20, 1999.
  3. ^ Official biography on OliverNorth.com
  4. ^ Real Clear Sports Top 10 Most Athletic Democrats
  5. ^ Cushman Jr, John H. (July 7, 1987). "NY Times: Washington Talk, July 7, 1987". New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  6. ^ a b Greenwald, John (November 17, 1986). "Time Magazine: Washington's Cowboys". TIME. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  7. ^ "Oliver North". Speaker Line-Up 2002. The Bakersfield Business Conference. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  8. ^ Cockburn, Alexander; St. Clair, Jeffrey (1998). Whiteout: the CIA, drugs, and the press. Verso. p. 287. ISBN 1-85984-139-2. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  9. ^ North American Congress on Latin America (1993). NACLA report on the Americas. Vol. 27. California: NACLA. p. 31. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  10. ^ "The Oliver North File". Gwu.edu. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  11. ^ "A Perfect Candidate (1996)". Imdb.com. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  12. ^ "Hostile Witnesses (Page Three)". The Washington Post. August 19, 1998. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  13. ^ Shenon, Philip (July 21, 1988). "New York Times". Select.nytimes.com. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  14. ^ "Walsh Iran / Contra Report – Chapter 2 United States v. Oliver L. North". Fas.org. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  15. ^ Drugs, Law Enforcement And Foreign Policy: Report By The Committee On Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, DIANE Publishing Company, (2004) ISBN 0-7881-2984-8. Google Books. August 30, 2004. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  16. ^ "The Oliver North File". Gwu.edu. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  17. ^ "Statistics Of The Congressional Election Of November 8, 1994". Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  18. ^ IMDb: A Perfect candidate
  19. ^ "Ollie, Inc.: how Oliver North raised over $20 million in a losing U.S. Senate race". Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved September 24, 2007.
  20. ^ Trackback URI. "author Oliver North & editor Chuck Holton's American Heroes Book blog". Americanheroesbook.com. Retrieved June 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Text "Comments RSS" ignored (help)
  21. ^ "Oliver North's TownHall.com column". Townhall.com. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  22. ^ Internet Movie Database: Oliver north
  23. ^ the Freedom Alliance Website[dead link‍]
  24. ^ Watts Jr., James D. (August 19, 2010). "A concert with an attitude: Sean Hannity's benefit show isn't without controversy". McClatchy – Tribune Business News. Washington.
  25. ^ https://freedomconcerts.com/ [dead link‍]
  26. ^ "London Review of Books: Robert Fisk writes about Oliver North's contributions to the ordeal of the Middle East". Lrb.co.uk. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  27. ^ "Bolton, Oliver North among speakers at NRA conference". Showmenews.com. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  28. ^ http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/NewsReleases.aspx?ID=11026
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oliver North.
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican Party nominee for United States Senate from Virginia (class 1)
1994 (lost) 		Succeeded by

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