The irancontra scandal embodied a number of speculative foreign policy ventures. Pentagon nominee robert gates among many prominent figures involved in the scandal. President reagan to investigate the irancontra affair. Congress issues final report on irancontra scandal history. In the irancontra affair, the reagan administration secretly sold. This is the definitive, wellfootnoted summation of the christic case, which first brought the contragate scandal to the attention of the american people, which documents major wrongdoings carefully avoided by the irancontra select committees, and which may now offer us the best chance of bringing these wrongdoers to justice. Irancontra affair definition of irancontra affair by. After nearly a year of hearings into the irancontra scandal, the joint congressional investigating committee issues its final report. They will examine and analyze hearing testimony, communications, and government reports to assess north s role and legacy for themselves.
Brody and shapiro, in their analysis of public opinion in the aftermath of the scandal, credit the nations disillusionment to the participation of experts in the media coverage of the event. The iran contra affair is historically defined as the reagan administration scandal that involved the sale of arms to iran in exchange for its efforts to secure the release of hostages in lebanon and the redirection of the proceeds of those sales to the nicaraguan contras. There is much controversy surrounding this scandal, including the presidents knowledge of these. Because the reagan campaign was willing to trade arms for hostages and even bargain to have the iranians hold the hostages until reagans inau. The irancontra affair popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the irancontra scandal. Reagans scandal and the unchecked abuse of presidential power. Understanding the irancontra affairs the irancontra. Tom harkin, diowa, had sufficient information to introduce legislation designed to deny funds. The irancontra affair popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the iran contra scandal. Congress or violated the stated public policy of the government. Investigating iran contra louis fisher1 e arly in the 1980s, the reagan administration initiated a supposedly secret war against the sandinista government in nicaragua. East, subcontracted by dyncorp, helped lieutenant colonel oliver north, during the irancontra scandal in the 1980s, transport weapons and munitions for the nicaraguan contras in their fight against the sandinista government.
Iran contra affair ronald reagan was the 40th american president who served in office from january 20, 1981 to january 20, 1989. But funding of anticommunist rebels in nicaragua would lead to the worst scandal of. The first covert foreign policy initiative was the continued support for the democratic rebel contras against the communist sandinistas in nicaragua in a time when congress had cut off funds to the contras. The lasting effects of irancontra are primarily these, and they are related to our national reputation. This is our final response to your freedom of information act foia. Take notes on when the events occurred and in what order. These operations were the provision of assistance to the military activities of the.
The irancontra affair 20 years on the national security archive. Caso irancontra, popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the irancontra scandal, or simply irancontra, was a political scandal in the united states that occurred during the second term of the reagan administration. Pdf the irancontra affair from the threelevel analysis. The declassified history provides the 101 most important documents on the policy decisions, covert operations, and subsequent coverup that created the most serious constitutional crisis of modern times. Contradictions, disarray and a case for impeachment the purpose of this essay is to analyze the irancontra scandal and to argue whether the president of the united states, ronald reagan, deserved impeachment as a consequence. What he accomplished during his eight year tenure will be remembered for a very long time. The report is the prosecutors final act in an inquiry that began in december 1986 after the scandal was.
In the two decades since the irancontra scandal, both murdoch and moon have continued to pour billions of dollars into media outlets that have influenced. Iran contra scandal i agreed to sell tows antitank missiles to iran ronald reagan, diary entry, january 17, 1986. How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people. Irancontra the former attorney general, nominated to return to run the justice department, backed president george h. It concluded that the scandal, involving a complicated plan. The contras were a paramilitary group fighting against the fairly elected leftist sandinista government. Reagans administration was embroiled in scandal when it came to light that the. Examining the irancontra affair author sharlah reynolds grade level high school duration 23 class periods national standards az standards arizona social studies standards element 4.
Analyzing reagans foreign policy setting the stage president jimmy carters approach to foreign policy shifted to a more humanitarian focus focus on detente by previous presidents had given the impression that the u. Kept from the public domain, therefore, was the draft chapters explosive conclusion. To answer these questions, the research paper will examine the irancontra. Irancontra scandal essay 2291 words 10 pages the irancontra scandal of the 1980s, first brought to light in november 1986, is a complicated mess of scandal, arms dealings, hostage deals, and illegal acts irancontra affair. This book is a very good overview of the irancontra scandal, and it is well written.
The irancontra affair as seen through american, middle eastern, and soviet news sources in early november 1986 a small local newspaper in lebanon broke a scandal that would cast dark shadows of suspicion on the reagan administration, call into question american global. One of the important events during his presidency was the scandal of the iran contra affair. The irancontra affair american experience official. Ronald reagan did not blink at fighting communism in grenada and in central america. This electronic briefing book is compiled from declassified documents obtained by the national security archive, including the notebooks kept by nsc aide and irancontra figure oliver north, electronic mail messages written by highranking reagan administration. The iran contra affair was a secret arrangement to provide funds to nicaraguan contra rebels from profits accumulated by selling arms to iran in the 1980s. More than simply having the information, its about analyzing it and trying to provide a wider.
The irancontra affair was the product of two separate initiatives during the administration of president ronald reagan. First, a brief contextualization of the developments in nicaragua are provided. The irancontra conspiracy and coverup walsh, lawrence e. Until last week the irancontra scandal seemed ready to fade from the courts, the news and the mind. This worksheet helps students analyze primary source documents from the irancontra affair. Ronald reagan was inaugurated into the most powerful office in the world january 20, 1981.
Articles such as this one were acquired and published with the primary aim of expanding the information on with greater speed and efficiency than has traditionally been possible. Assessment of the iranian contra affair politics essay. Reagans scandal and the unchecked abuse of presidential power hardcover august 6, 2014. The document, originally published by the national security archive in the book, the irancontra scandal. Understanding the irancontra affairs brown university. December 19, 1986 at the request of attorney general meese, a three judge panel appoints lawrence walsh, a former judge and deputy attorney general in the.
The declassified history, 1993, had the following redactions which are now declassified. Reagan initially rejected the plan, until israel sent information to the united states showing that the. The irancontra scandal embodied a number of speculative foreign policy ventures which aimed to enhance reagans control of problematic overseas events. Through the good, the bad, and the ugly, reagan weathered all the storms. Read the background information on the irancontra affair and highlight the major events and actors.
The irancontra affair was a controversial political scandal that dealt with senior us figures who had been facilitating the sale of arms to iran, that was under an arms embargo, to secure the release of the hostages and to fund the nicaraguan anticommunist rebel contras. Drawing on uptodate information such as the recently discovered bush diaries, this reader features once top secret. Copy link ronald reagans efforts to eradicate communism spanned the globe, but the insurgent contras cause in nicaragua was. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Contra scandal and or the iran contra scandal, as well as any search. The irancontra scandal the usa illegally sold arms to iran in order to negotiate with terrorists, and. This overview of the irancontra affair is organized into the following sections. At the exposure of the irancontra affair, however, ratings fell 15 to 21 percentagepoints. List of books and articles about irancontra affair.
Nevertheless, the scandal not only didnt bring reagan down, but his. The administration believed that changes to these countries that occurred in the 1970s threatened u. They will examine and analyze hearing testimony, communications, and government reports to. To answer these questions, the research paper will examine the iran contra. Irancontra affair synonyms, irancontra affair pronunciation, irancontra affair translation, english dictionary definition of irancontra affair.
Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to the. The events leading to the reagan administrations illegal deals to sell weapons to iran in order to fund the contras in nicaragua unfolded over several years. Let hiphughes accompany you through a basic understanding of the reagan era scandal irancontra. Iran releases 52 american hostages after 444 days in captivity. Irancontra summary executive summary in october and november 1986, two secret u. For the activity, students will need two copies of the worksheet. On the cover memo, the redaction between clair george and dewey clarridge reads tom twetten. Welcome to understanding the irancontra affairs, the only comprehensive website on the famous reaganera government scandal, which stemmed from the u. The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations.
National security archive electronic briefing book no. It was a political scandal in the united states that came to light in november 1986. Iran contra affair facts for kids the following fact sheet contains interesting facts and information on the iran contra affair and scandal. Official washington and many mainstream historians have tended to dismiss ronald reagans irancontra scandal as another case of some overzealous. The irancontra affair 1 the irancontra affair jon carroll, ronald reagan 1 overview on november 3, 1986, reports appeared abroad indicating that the united states had sent arms to iran in violation of the governments policy. A scandal from 1986 over secret deals to sell arms to iran and divert the proceeds to fund contra rebel forces in nicaragua. Examining everything from the irancontra scandal to the rise of. The enterprise eagle aviation services and technology, inc. Government operations were publicly exposed, potentially implicating reagan administration officials in illegal activities.
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