The Iran-Contra Affair

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, when Ronald Reagan became president, one of his most crucial goals was to stop the spread of leftist ideologies in Central America especially in Nicaragua. The author points out that, in Reagan's second term, this objective expanded into several separate entities concerning secret arms deals with the nation of Iran for the release of American hostages and the covert shipping of weapons and cash to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. The paper relates that the amazing details of these allegedly illegal actions were revealed to the public and became part of the American cultural consciousness in the form of "Irangate". The author stresses that a long series of highly-publicized governmental hearings, special investigations and the prosecution of many upper echelon officials of the Reagan and Bush administrations revealed that some kind of clandestine operation had occurred, which would determine U.S. foreign policy for years to come.

From the Paper:

"The ultimate findings of the Tower Commission were not good for Oliver North who continued his covert operations with Iran for at least another year, all the while transferring arms and cash to his beleaguered Contra amigos in Nicaragua and shredding thousands of documents with the able assistance of his beautiful and loyal secretary Fawn Hall. When Oliver North was given complete immunity by the joint congressional hearings, he made it crystal clear to everyone involved that he was only carrying out his orders so as to defend his self-proclaimed "Operation Democracy"."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Diggins, John Patrick. Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom and the Making of History. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007.
• Donahue, Bruce. "Power and Personality: A Study of the Iran Arms-for-Hostages Deal." Defense Technical Information Center. Internet. 2002. Retrieved from http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA442148.
• Emerson, Steven. Secret Warriors: Inside the Covert Military Operations of the Reagan Era. New York: G.P. Putnam, 1988.
• Herman, Edward S. "Contragate and Counter-Terrorism: A Global Perspective." Crime and Social Justice. Nos. 27-28, 1987.
• Kornbluh, Peter and Malcolm Byrne, eds. The Iran-Contra Scandal: The Declassified History. New York: The New Press, 1993.

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