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Iran–Contra affair

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The Iran-Contra Affair (also called the Iran-Contra Matter and Irangate) was one of the largest political scandals in the United States during the 1980s. [1] It involved several members of the Reagan Administration who in 1986 helped sell arms to Iran, an avowed enemy, and used the proceeds to fund the Contras, an anti-communist guerrilla organization in Nicaragua. [2]

After the arms sales were revealed in November 1986, President Ronald Reagan appeared on national television and denied that they had occurred.[3] But a week later, on November 13, he returned to the airwaves to affirm that weapons were indeed transferred to Iran. He denied that they were part of an exchange for hostages. [4]

Background

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Middle East faced frequent hostage-taking incidents by militant organizations. In 1979, Iranian students took hostage 63 employees of the United States embassy in Iran. On January 20, 1981, the same day Ronald Reagan became President, the hostages were freed when several demands were met. Hostage taking in the Middle East did not end there, however. [5]

In 1983, members of Al-Dawa ("The Call"), an exiled Iraq political party turned militant organization, were imprisoned for their part in a series of truck bombs in Kuwait. In response to the imprisonment, an ally of Al-Dawa, Hezbollah took 30 hostages, [6] six of whom were American. Hezbollah demanded the release of the prisoners for these hostages. Members of the Reagan Administration believed that by selling arms to Iran, Iran would influence the Hezbollah kidnappers in Lebanon to release their hostages. At the time, Iran was in the midst of the Iran-Iraq War and could find few nations willing to supply it with weapons. [7] It would also, according to National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane, improve strained relations with Iran. For that reason, President Reagan authorized the transfer of weapons to Iran.

In summer 1985, [8] Michael Ledeen, a consultant of Robert McFarlane, asked Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres for help in the sale of arms to Iran. The Israel government required that the sale of arms meet the approval of the United States government, and when it was convinced that the U.S. government approved the sale by Robert McFarlane, Israel obliged by agreeing to sell the arms. [9] In July 1985, Israel sent American-made BGM-71 TOW (Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided) anti-tank missiles to Iran for the release of Reverend Benjamin Weir; Weir was released. Despite the fact that arms were being sold to Iran, only Weir was released. This resulted in the failure of Ledeen's plan [5] with only three shipments through Israel. [9]

Robert McFarlane resigned in December 1985[10]. He was replaced by Admiral John Poindexter. On the day of McFarlane's resignation, Oliver North, a military aide to the United States National Security Council (NSC), proposed a new plan for selling arms to Iran. This time, there were two new ideas. Instead of selling arms through Israel, the sale was to be direct. Second, the proceeds from the sale would go to the Contras at a markup. Oliver North wanted a $15 million markup, and Manucher Ghorbanifar added a 41% markup of his own. [11] Other members of the NSC were in favor of North's plan, though none of them decided to let the President know of the plan. John Poindexter authorized the plan, and it went into effect. [8]

At first, the Iranians refused to buy the arms at the inflated price because of the excessive markup imposed by Oliver North and Manucher Ghorbanifar, but the arms were eventually sold in February with the shipment of 1000 TOW missiles to Iran. From May to November 1986, there were additional shipments of miscellaneous weapons and parts.[citation needed] The total of all arms sales was less than a planeload[4].

The plan went ahead, and proceeds from the arms sales went to the Contras, a group engaged in an insurgency against the left-wing Sandinista government of Nicaragua that came to power in a revolution against the dictator Somoza, and later democratically elected to power. The diversion was coordinated by Oliver North of the National Security Council. The sale of arms to the Iranians resulted in large amounts of cash for this purpose. Supporting the Contras financially was an effort to assist them in their fight against the Nicaraguan government.

Both the sale of weapons to Iran and the funding of the Contras violated stated Administration policy and legislation passed by the Congress, known as the "Boland Amendment," enacted by Congress over concerns of widespread human rights abuses by the Contras.[12]

A lesser known source of funding for the Contras came from cocaine trafficking. Much of the funding for the Contras was obtained from the shipment of large quantities of cocaine into the United States using U.S. government aircraft and U.S. military facilities [13][14]

Discovery and scandal

Lieutenant-Colonel Oliver North testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings.

While not accomplishing the intended purpose of releasing the hostages in Lebanon, the aborted deal caused political strife in the United States when the details became public knowledge.

The Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa exposed the arrangement on November 3, 1986. This was the first public reporting of the weapons-for-hostages deal. The operation was discovered only after an airlift of guns was downed over Nicaragua. The Iranian government confirmed the story, and ten days after the story was first published, President Ronald Reagan affirmed the truth of the matter. In a televised speech, on November 13, Reagan confirmed the sale of weapons to Iran, but denied it was in exchange for hostages. Reagan maintained his Administration would never conduct such deals. "Our government has a firm policy not to capitulate to terrorist demands.... We did not—repeat, did not—trade weapons or anything else for hostages, nor will we" remarked Reagan in his speech.

The scandal was compounded when on November 21, Oliver North and his secretary Fawn Hall shredded pertinent documents. US Attorney General Edwin Meese admitted on November 25 that profits from weapons sales to Iran were made available to assist the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. On the same day, John Poindexter resigned, and Oliver North was fired. Poindexter was replaced by Frank Carlucci on December 2, 1986. [15]

Tower Commission

On December 1, 1986, President Reagan, faced with mounting pressure from Congressional Democrats and the media, announced that former Senator John Tower, former Secretary of State Edmund Muskie, and former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft would serve as members of a Special Review Board looking into the matter; this Presidential Commission became known as the Tower Commission. The commission was the first presidential commission to review and evaluate the National Security Council. The objectives of the Tower Commission were to inquire into "the circumstances surrounding the Iran-Contra matter, other case studies that might reveal strengths and weaknesses in the operation of the National Security Council system under stress, and the manner in which that system has served eight different Presidents since its inception in 1947." [16]

President Reagan appeared before the Tower Commission on December 2, 1986, to answer questions. His answers were not entirely consistent, and he was plagued with poor memory, because the questions were regarding details that occurred months and years prior. [15]

The report published by the Tower Commission, known as the Tower Commission Report, was delivered to the President on February 26, 1987. It criticized the actions of Oliver North, John Poindexter, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and others. It did not determine that the President had knowledge of the extent of the program, although it argued that the President ought to have had better control of the National Security Council staff. The wording of the report surprised some since it was expected to have been weak in its criticism of the President. Instead, it heavily criticized President Reagan for not properly supervising his subordinates. The U.S. Congress issued its own report on November 18, 1987, which stated that the President bore "ultimate responsibility" for wrongdoing by his aides, and his Administration exhibited "secrecy, deception and disdain for the law." A major result of the Tower Commission was the consensus that Reagan should have listened to his National Security Advisor more, thereby placing more power in the hands of that chair. The National Security Advisor was to be seen as an "honest broker" and not someone who would use their position to further their political agenda.

Some doubted the intentions of the Tower Commission and believed that it was a political stunt.[citation needed] The commission limited its criticism of Vice President George Bush.[citation needed] Subsequently, the head of the commission, John Tower, was nominated to the position of Secretary of Defense by Bush when he became President. He was not confirmed by the Senate. Brent Scowcroft was named National Security Advisor. [17]

Aftermath

Oliver North and John Poindexter were indicted on multiple charges on March 16, 1988. North, indicted on 12 counts, was found guilty by a jury of three minor counts. The convictions were vacated on appeal on the grounds that North's Fifth Amendment rights may have been violated by the indirect use of his testimony to Congress which had been given under a grant of immunity. In 1990, Poindexter was convicted on several felony counts of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and altering and destroying documents pertinent to the investigation. His convictions were also overturned on appeal on similar grounds. The Independent Counsel, Lawrence E. Walsh, chose not to re-try North or Poindexter. Weinberger was indicted for allegedly lying to the Independent Counsel but was later pardoned by President George H.W. Bush.

Faced with undeniable evidence of his involvement in the scandal, Reagan expressed regret regarding the situation at a nationally televised White House press conference on March 4, 1987. Responding to questions, Reagan stated that his previous assertions that the U.S. did not trade arms for hostages were incorrect. He also stated that the Vice President knew of the plan.

Reagan survived the scandal, and his approval ratings returned to previous levels; as the scandal broke in 1986, "Reagan's approval rating plummeted to 46%", but he later "finished strong with a December 1988 Gallup poll recording a 63% approval rating".[18]

Separation of powers

The Iran-Contra Affair is significant because it brought many questions into public view that continue to resonate today:

  • Does the President have unconditional authority to conduct foreign policy over the objection of Congress and the laws it passes?
  • Can the President approve selling arms to a foreign nation without congressional approval?
  • What information does the President have to provide to Congress and when should that information be supplied?
  • What information does the President have to provide the American people?
  • Can the President present factually incorrect information to the American people about key foreign policy initiatives if he believes his motives are just?
  • What authority does Congress have to oversee functions of the executive branch?
  • Does funding for foreign policy initiatives have to be approved by Congress?
  • Who defines the entire spending budget and who regulates it?
  • Is the provision of the 1978 Ethics in Government Act that creates the position of independent counsel answering to the Attorney General, constitutional?
  • What role does the Supreme Court have in deciding conflicts between the legislative branch and executive branch?
  • How much support is America entitled to provide to armed opposition forces seeking to replace governments with ones more sympathetic to the United States?

Most, if not all, of the constitutional and ethical questions are still unresolved. On one view, it appears that if the legislative and executive branches do not wish to work together, there are no legal remedies.

These unresolved issues were again in the public eye during the Presidency of George W. Bush, who selected some individuals implicated in the Iran-Contra scandal for high-level posts. These include:

Senator John Kerry's 1988 U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations report on Contra-drug links concluded that "senior U.S. policy makers were not immune to the idea that drug money was a perfect solution to the Contras' funding problems." [1] Kerry was suspicious of North's connection with Manuel Noriega, Panama's drug-baron. According to the National Security Archive, Oliver North had been in contact with Noriega who had previously worked for the CIA from 1950 to 1986, and had met him personally.

See also

Sources

  1. ^ NYT's Apologies Miss the Point by Robert Parry, Consortium News, June 2, 2004, retrieved May 19, 2006.
  2. ^ A Tale of Three Countries: The Iran-Contra Affair by Kara Rockwell, March 3, 2005, retrieved May 19, 2006.
  3. ^ The Iran-Contra Affair by Julie Wolf, PBS, retrieved May 14, 2006.
  4. ^ a b Address to the Nation on the Iran Arms and Contra Aid Controversy
  5. ^ a b An Affair to Remember: The Extent of Reagan’s Knowledge in the Iran-Contra Affair by Megan Tuck, retrieved May 14, 2006.
  6. ^ The Tragedy of Iran by Gary Hucul, April 25, 2006, retrieved May 14, 2006.
  7. ^ Military History of the Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988
  8. ^ a b Iran-Contra Affair by Steve Avery, U-S-History.com, retrieved May 15, 2006.
  9. ^ a b The Iran-Contra Affair by Jewish Virtual Library, The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, retrieved May 19, 2006.
  10. ^ United States v. Robert C. McFarlane
  11. ^ Vol. I: Investigations and Prosecutions by Lawrence Walsh, Final Report Of The Independent Counsel For Iran/Contra Matters, August 4, 1993, retrieved May 18, 2006.
  12. ^ The Iran-Contra Affair by Julie Wolf, PBS, retrieved May 14, 2006.
  13. ^ "The Contras, Cocaine, and Covert Operations / Documentation of Official U.S. Knowledge of Drug Trafficking and the Contras". The National Security Archive, The George Washington University. Retrieved July 22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Cockburn, Alexander (1998). Whiteout, the CIA, Drugs and the Press. New York: Verso. ISBN 1859842585. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ a b Timeline of Ronald Reagan's Life retrieved May 14, 2006.
  16. ^ Tower Commission Report Excerpts retrieved May 14, 2006.
  17. ^ Unwise Men by Asher Price, The New Republic Online, June 28, 2002, retrieved May 14, 2006.
  18. ^ "More Gloss for the Gipper: The Myth of Reagan's "Enormous Popularity"". FAIR: Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting. Retrieved July 25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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