Iran Contra

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Iran Contra

No other scandal in American history has had such far-reaching complexities with so few consequences as the Iran-Contra scandal that plagued presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush in the 1980s.

During the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, corruption was the order of the day, and cabinet members and federal judges were forced to resign to avoid impeachment. Grant prudently decided not to seek a third term. Warren G. Harding, considered by most scholars to be the worst president of all time, was spared removal from office only by his death. His wife then burned his papers to spare what was left of his reputation. Richard Nixon was not so fortunate. Once he was ordered to release tapes of conversations conducted in the Oval Office that revealed a coverup of the Watergate hotel break-in, Nixon reluctantly resigned. Bill Clinton was dogged by opponents from the point that he became the frontrunner in the 1992 presidential campaign. While he survived the Whitewater scandal, in 1998 he became only the second president to be impeached when he was accused of lying under oath about having an affair with a White House intern. Both Ronald Reagan and George Bush, however, survived their presidencies with few scars. Unlike the Watergate defendants, the Iran-Contra defendants escaped prison terms.

On the surface, Iran Contra was an arms-for-hostage exchange. Upon closer examination, it was much more. President Ronald Reagan and his advisors chose to sell arms to Iran, a designated enemy of the United States, in order to finance the activities of the anticommunist insurgents known as the Contras in Nicaragua. While noted scholar Theodore Draper wrote in his extensive study of the Iran Contra affair that "selling arms to Iran and funding the Contras was two separate operations carried out by the same Reagan errand boys," they were inherently connected because the Reagan administration could not have financed the Contras without the proceeds from the arms sale.

In November of 1986, a Beirut magazine broke the story that the United States had sold arms to Iran despite an embargo against such activities that had been in effect since 1979. The American public later learned that after arms were shipped to Iran through Israel, American hostages were released. While still reeling from the repercussions of this story, the Reagan administration was forced to admit that it had used from 10 to 30 million dollars of the money from the arms sale to finance the Contras' battle against the Sandinista-led government in Nicaragua, even though both groups had been charged by international groups with human rights violations. Later Reagan wrote in his memoirs that he believed that dealing with the moderates in Iran would open up channels of communication. Critics argued that the action took place simply because it was a pet project of the president's; and when Congress refused to appropriate the money, Reagan looked elsewhere for funds.

Other than Ronald Reagan and Vice President George Bush, the chief players in the Iran-Contra scandal were Bud McFarlane and John Poindexter, both national security advisors, and Oliver North, a mid-level member of the National Security Council staff. A subsequent congressional investigation determined that the three were the "ringleaders of a cabal of zealots who were headquartered in the National Security Council (NSC)." The common consensus was that the three believed higher-ups who told them that selling arms to Iran was a way of easing existing hostilities. While North and Poindexter took advantage of the Fifth Amendment's protection from self-incrimination during the investigations, McFarlane talked to members of Congress. He later attempted suicide when faced with the repercussions of the scandal. Oliver North, who was considered by many to be a fall guy for the entire affair, became a cult hero and escaped prison when a federal judge handed down his judgment: three suspended sentences, two year's probation, $150,000 in fines, and 1200 hours of community service. In 1992 Admiral John Poindexter was found guilty on five separate charges, and Caspar Weinberger was indicted on charges of perjury and making false statements during the inquiry. Nevertheless, in 1992 outgoing president George Bush quietly pardoned McFarlane and the others who had been found guilty on Iran-Contra charges. Both the Tower Commission appointed by Ronald Reagan and a subsequent investigation by Special Prosecutor Lawrence Walsh revealed serious misconduct throughout Iran-Contra activities.

In his autobiography, Oliver North admitted that Ronald Reagan knew everything that was going on from the beginning. Whether Richard Nixon had known what was going on from the beginning had been instrumental in his eventual resignation. Robert Timberg argued that there were inherent similarities with the Watergate scandal: abuses of authority existed in both; a bunker mentality was prevalent in both; presidential coverups followed the unveiling of the facts in both; Oval Office tapes proved involvement and coverups in both; televised hearings were held in both; and world-class irresponsibility permeated both. Nixon, he wrote, was smart but paranoid. Reagan was not nearly so smart; yet he was charming and made a slicker getaway. Whatever his reasons for engaging in the activities of the Iranian hostage deal and funding the Nicaraguan Contras, Ronald Reagan admittedly did both. Later investigations revealed that George Bush had been privy to the activities from the beginning. Both finished their terms while retaining the respect of the American people. It will be left to future scholars with the benefit of hindsight to understand why.

—Elizabeth Purdy