JCO's US History: Iran-Contra Affair

For my fourth quarter blog project I have chosen to report on the Iran-Contra Affair that plagued the Reagan Administration in it's later years. In a nutshell the Iran-Contra Affair was a covert arms deal between the United States, Israel, Iran, and Nicaraguan “freedom fighters”, the Contras. The United States, through Israel, was dealing arms to Iran, who was subsequently dealing arms to the Contras in Nicaragua who were fighting against a “Communist” Sandinista regime. Israel would give Iran the weapons and the United States would reimburse the Israelis. Another theory was that the United States was giving Iran the weapons in exchange for hostages which is an unprecedented and frowned-upon action. Throughout the ordeal Reagan insisted he was unaware of the deals that were going on with the entire chain of arms dealing.

As mentioned this ordeal took place under the Reagan administration. Prior to the illegal actions the Congress had passed a statement that made them illegal. Congress stated that it was forbidden to deal with the Contras of Nicaragua. Congress' statement did little to sway the actions of those who were adamant about aiding the so called “freedom fighters”. They had to try and aid them in a very roundabout way that would not have them discovered to be helping them despite Congress' actions. The whole ordeal brought a negative light upon the Reagan administration. The American people thought badly of the affair because at first it seemed as though the president was authorizing arms trade to a violent, unstable Iran. Yet alone, that the president was going against the orders of Congress who, in essence, symbolizes the American people in the federal government.

One of the most memorable parts of the entire affair would have to be council hearings regarding the key players in the affair. When facts about the entire affair surfaced a council of Congressman was assembled in order to review the ordeal and to reach a verdict regarding the people involved and also to discover who was involved. The hearings were streamed to the public through the C-SPAN network so that the people could watch the case and know its outcome.

One of the most recognizable of all the key players is Lt. Col. Oliver North. North was a key player in the arms for hostages actions between the United States and the Iranians. North's testimony in the council hearings was one of the most pivotal parts. North's testimony and questioning lasted for the duration of a week. North is accused of shredding pertinent papers regarding the affair and also for engaging in illegal actions with other nations. During and after the trials the public had varying views on Oliver North. Some people saw North as nothing more than a traitor for supplying the Iranians with weapons, whereas some saw North as a national hero for going against orders to try and help a cause that he felt worthy of aid, the Contras. In the end North was indicted. Lt. Col. North now works for Fox News.

Another recognizable figure in the hearings is Fawn Hall. Hall was North's secretary who got dragged into the affair for her position. She was accused of shredding papers that were pertinent to the Iran-Contra affair. Hall testified a month before North gave his bit. Hall was not charged of illegally destroying National Security Council documents or obstructing justice, she was given immunity. It would later become known that Hall did assist in the destroying of documents and even in helping North sneak documents out of his office in order to properly discard of them. These actions, had they become apparent to the council would definitely have sunken here case in the form of innocence.

Another of the key players in the affair was member of the review council, Daniel Inouye. Inouye was a Democratic Senator from Hawaii. Inouye was appointed to the position by Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd. Inouye had been a member of the review council that presided over the Watergate Scandal during Nixon's presidency. Inouye was known as a self-effacing man and many thought that he would be over shadowed by the other council members. Contrary to such beliefs Inouye became very active during North's testimony. Inouye also delivered the councils closing statement to North. He famously references the Nuremberg Trials during his closing statement which sets North's lawyer to arguing stating that it was a personal attack. Inouye delivered the verdict of North being guilty of illegal actions and destroying NSC (National Security Council) documents.

In the end, the council found North guilty, Hall received immunity and Reagan was also found guilty of authorizing the actions of North. To this day no one knows exactly what all took place, how many weapons were traded, how much of the stuff made its way to Nicaragua, or who all was involved. This is mostly due to many of the documentation of the events being destroyed. But despite this it is well known that the Iran-Contra Affair was definitely not a bright spot in the Reagan administration.