Difference between revisions of "Iran-Contra affair"
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The Iran-Contra Affair (also called the Iran-Contra Scandal, the Iran-Contra Matter and Iran-gate) was the result of an arms deal between the United States, Iran and the Nicaraguan Contras, an anti-communist group operating against the [[Marxist]] government of Nicaragua. Essentially, arms were sold to Iran against an international embargo which was spearheaded just years earlier by the United States. The proceeds from this arms sale were then used to purchase additional arms for the Contra Guerilla group operating in the mountains of Nicaragua. | The Iran-Contra Affair (also called the Iran-Contra Scandal, the Iran-Contra Matter and Iran-gate) was the result of an arms deal between the United States, Iran and the Nicaraguan Contras, an anti-communist group operating against the [[Marxist]] government of Nicaragua. Essentially, arms were sold to Iran against an international embargo which was spearheaded just years earlier by the United States. The proceeds from this arms sale were then used to purchase additional arms for the Contra Guerilla group operating in the mountains of Nicaragua. | ||
| − | Independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, who | + | In the opinion of Independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, who investigated the affair, under the Arms Export Control Act <ref> http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode22/usc_sup_01_22_10_39_20_II.html </ref> such sales to foreign powers not deemed under the term of the act friendly are illegal. <ref> http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/execsum.htm </ref> Payments to the Contras from the proceeds of private sales, while not illegal, in the opinion of critics were considered highly unethical. Later such arrangements were made explicitly illegal by the Borland amendment to the Federal Appropriation Bill. The independent counsel's opinion alleged that the Reagan administration set about misleading congressional inquiries and may have withheld some documents. |
| − | + | When the story was blown open by media outlets in the wake of midterm congressional elections after Democrats retook the Senate in November 1986, President Ronald Reagan answered questions on national television and denied Administration involvement in an Amrs-for hoastages deal. the following week he returned to the airwaves to affirm that weapons were transferred to Iran but he reiterated they were part of an exchange for hostages. It later emerged from minutes of the National Security Advisory Group that Reagan not only knew about the private sales of weapons at the time, but also that he knew that such sales were questionable. One section of the minutes of a June 1984 meeting has him quoted as saying "If such a story gets out, we'll all be hanging by our thumbs in front of the White House until we find out who did it." <ref> NSPG Minutes, 6/25/84, ALU 007876. </ref> | |
==Sources== | ==Sources== | ||
Revision as of 14:40, April 4, 2007
The Iran-Contra Affair (also called the Iran-Contra Scandal, the Iran-Contra Matter and Iran-gate) was the result of an arms deal between the United States, Iran and the Nicaraguan Contras, an anti-communist group operating against the Marxist government of Nicaragua. Essentially, arms were sold to Iran against an international embargo which was spearheaded just years earlier by the United States. The proceeds from this arms sale were then used to purchase additional arms for the Contra Guerilla group operating in the mountains of Nicaragua.
In the opinion of Independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, who investigated the affair, under the Arms Export Control Act [1] such sales to foreign powers not deemed under the term of the act friendly are illegal. [2] Payments to the Contras from the proceeds of private sales, while not illegal, in the opinion of critics were considered highly unethical. Later such arrangements were made explicitly illegal by the Borland amendment to the Federal Appropriation Bill. The independent counsel's opinion alleged that the Reagan administration set about misleading congressional inquiries and may have withheld some documents.
When the story was blown open by media outlets in the wake of midterm congressional elections after Democrats retook the Senate in November 1986, President Ronald Reagan answered questions on national television and denied Administration involvement in an Amrs-for hoastages deal. the following week he returned to the airwaves to affirm that weapons were transferred to Iran but he reiterated they were part of an exchange for hostages. It later emerged from minutes of the National Security Advisory Group that Reagan not only knew about the private sales of weapons at the time, but also that he knew that such sales were questionable. One section of the minutes of a June 1984 meeting has him quoted as saying "If such a story gets out, we'll all be hanging by our thumbs in front of the White House until we find out who did it." [3]
Sources
- The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: A Review of the Justice Department's Investigations and Prosecutions, December 1997
References
- ↑ http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode22/usc_sup_01_22_10_39_20_II.html
- ↑ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/execsum.htm
- ↑ NSPG Minutes, 6/25/84, ALU 007876.