The irancontra affair popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the iran contra scandal. The administration hoped to use the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the contras in. It was ronald reagans desperation to secure the release of these hostages that led him to approve weapons sales to iran, leading to the irancontra scandal that. Details the origins of the irancontra scandal, the roles of reagan, bush, cia director casey, and. Several public officials were eventually convicted of lying to congress. The scandal involved the united states government selling weapons to iran in exchange for hostages and to fund the nicaraguan contras. This overview of the irancontra affair is intended for use by lasa h. North insists pointedly that president reagan knew everything about the armsforhostages scandal, but excerpts of the.
Iran contra affair cia makes science fiction unexciting pmplt edition by potty, scotty 2008 pamphlet. North says reagan knew of iran deal the new york times. Dec 25, 1992 the iran contra affair, the worst scandal of mr. Cia involvement in trafficking is usually alleged to be connected to the contra war in nicaragua and the irancontra affair during the reagan administration. But id love to see some very simple explanations to unconfuse me after seeing the conflicting viewpoints in the books.
The iran contra affair was the product of two separate initiatives during the administration of president ronald reagan. Shortly after the iranian weapons deals became public, bush tried to distance himself from the irancontra scandal by telling reporters that it was ridiculous to even consider selling arms to. In 1986 its spokesman acknowledged that funds from sales of cocaine smuggled into the us had helped fund the contra rebels, but said that the smuggling was not authorized by the us. Malcolm byrne is the deputy director and director of research at the national security archive. His resume includes some key periods in contemporary history, serving in a white house role as deputy national security adviser during the first gulf war, leading the u.
Reagans presidency, came into the open in the fall of 1986 with the disclosure of two intertwined secret operations. This is pretty much the definitive book on iran contra scandal. Congress or violated the stated public policy of the government. Thats how neyfakh and his team get started on researching for any series, by reading all the books, like ann wroes lives, lies and the iran contra affair and jane mayer and doyle mcmanuss. The irancontra affair im writing a paper on this in my ap us history course, and ive read a couple of long books on it. 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. The iran contra conspiracy and coverup by lawrence e. Though he writes earnestly and with the highest integrity, his recounting of the events surrounding iran contra. But an important new book provides fascinating details about us ignorance about iran, which contributed to the largely botched effort to free us hostages in lebanon and hindered a possible breakthrough in us iran ties 30 years ago. Aug 26, 2014 the scandal that became known as iran contra is a distant memory for most americans and iranians. The affair wove together a number of important story lines, from u.
New irancontra book shows how usiran ties were scuttled. Professor kohs valuable book provides an insightful and thorough analysis of the constitutional implications of the irancontra affair. Oliver laurence north is an american political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired united states marine corps lieutenant colonel. In his book iran contra, malcolm byrne describes the details of the confusing scandal that raised the prospect of presidential impeachment. They had gone there to discuss the sale of missiles in exchange for the release of american hostages held in lebanon. This fully documented, often bizarre tale of sheer. What are quality books about the irancontra affair. A very thin line the irancontra affairs by theodore draper 690 pages. Ross role in what became known as the iran contra affair that took place during the ronald reagan administration was outlined in san jose mercury news reporter gary webbs original series of articles alleging that the cia was complicit in smuggling drugs into the u. The irancontra affairs paperback june 1, 1992 by theodore draper author. Reagans scandal and the unchecked abuse of presidential power 9780700619917. The irancontra affair was the product of two separate initiatives during the administration of president ronald reagan.
Report of the congressional committees investigating the iran contra affair by daniel chairman s. The irancontra affair involved secretly selling arms to iran and funneling the money to support the contras in nicaragua. When 1,500 missiles were shipped three hostages were released but those. Twenty years later, the iran contra affair continues to resonate on many levels, especially as washington gears up for a new season of political inquiry with the pending inauguration of the 110th congress and the seeming inevitability of hearings into a range of bush administration policies. After the irancontra scandal broke in late 1986, no issue or controversy more captivated the nations attention. If youre old enough to remember the iran contra affair, this book will either seem incredible or a validation of what you suspected. How americans challenged the media and seized political initiative during the iran contra debate hardcover. The most comprehensive book on the matter is theodore drapers a very thin line. It provides a starting point for inclass discussion about this and other events. It was in that role that he oversaw a plot to prevent ms.
The best books on the irancontra affair 2020 including a very thin line. The irancontra conspiracy and coverup by lawrence e. Weinberger had been indicted on five felony charges, including accusations that he obstructed federal investigations and lied to congress about the iran contra affair. Popular iran contra affair books goodreads share book. Aug 27, 20 irancontra links report of the congressional committees investigating the irancontra affair. The iran contra affairs by theodore draperjun 1, 1992. The declassified history by peter kornbluh and malcolm byrne new york. Sep 18, 2015 this overview of the iran contra affair is intended for use by lasa h. He is quite right to stress that there was no irancontra affair. Pottker from writing a book on the circuss treatment of animals and. The irancontra affair never ended washington monthly. May, 20 lives, lies and the iran contra affair by ann wroeaug 15, 1992 firewall.
Irancontra affair simple english wikipedia, the free. History news network provides fascinating details about us ignorance about iran, which contributed to the largely botched effort to free us hostages in lebanon and hindered a possible breakthrough in usiran ties 30 years ago. He coedited the archives first book on the irancontra scandal, the. Despite the publicity given to the iran contra affair, most of the story has never been tolduntil now. The world soon learned how these two seemingly unrelated events were linked, and the resulting scandal came to be known as the iran contra affair. After the iran contra scandal broke in late 1986, no issue or controversy more captivated the nations attention. Oliver north is sworn in july 7, 1987, before the congressional committee investigating the irancontra affair. Both poindexter and north acknowledged and defended their various deceptions in the irancontra affairs. As malcolm byrne demonstrates in his very fine book, the irancontra affair belongs as a key chapter in that longer story. It began in 1985, when president ronald reagans administration supplied weapons to irana.
Sep 05, 2014 washington, dc, september 5, 2014 a new book on the irancontra affair shows that president ronald reagan stood at the epicenter of the scandal both in terms of his willingness to break the law in order to free american hostages in lebanon and his failure to take account of the costs and consequences of his decisions, including the illicit. Dec 09, 2018 the reaganera irancontra affair lit up the political skies over washington for well over a year in the late 1980s. Reagan and the irancontra affair the politics of presidential. Understanding the irancontra affairs enduring issues.
The biggest scandal since watergate, it dominated the news starting in late 1986, when word broke about the administrations illegal backing of contra rebels in nicaragua and illicit sales of hightech weapons to the islamic republic of iran. See also whats at wikipedia, your library, or elsewhere broader terms. 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. The irancontra affair popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the irancontra scandal. The iran contra affair stemmed from reagan administration officials funding of the contras, who were fighting against the sandinista regime in nicaragua, with money from the sale of arms to iran. Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to the khomeini government of the islamic republic of iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo. In either case, it almost pales in comparison to nixons sabotoge of the viet nam peace agreement so he could get elected and carry on the war for two more bloody years. Nov 25, 2016 the iran contra affair inundated national news coverage starting a few weeks before the november 1986 press conference as stories about the contra and iran operations leaked out and lasting through summer 1987. The contest between the united states and iran, however, outlasted the sudden collapse of the soviet power from 19891991. Cia involvement in contra cocaine trafficking wikipedia. There was an iran affair and a contra affair, which most. Walsh was the independent counsel for the iran contra investigation from 1986 to 1993. Is there a great neutral book about the irancontra affair.
His principal thesisthat the affair was a consequence of fundamental inadequacies in our system for managing relations among the executive, legislative, and judicial branchesis a challenging one. However, the book is 700 pages long and it is out of print. The unmooring of american military power by rachel maddow, necessary illusions. The irancontra scandal rocked the reagan presidency to its core in late 1986 and 1987. Report congressional committees investigating iran contra. How to cover the iran contra affairs has posed a serious challenge. The author was the independent counsel appointed to investigate the affair. Podcast fiascos season two tackles irancontra right on. The best books on the irancontra affair 2020 the strategist new.
Discover librarianselected research resources on irancontra affair from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals. List of books and articles about irancontra affair online research. If youre old enough to remember the irancontra affair, this book will either seem incredible or a validation of what you suspected. There is not a single website devoted exclusively to this subject like there is for watergate. Iran contra affair casey was suspected, by some, of involvement with the controversial iran contra affair, in which reagan administration personnel secretly traded arms to the islamic republic of iran. The irancontra affair was a clandestine action not approved of by the united states congress. The irancontra affair 19861987 the washington post. The iran contra affair was a scandal that happened from august 1985 to march 1987. List of books and articles about irancontra affair online. The iran contra affair, popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the iran contra scandal, or simply iran contra, was a political scandal in the united states that occurred during the second term of the reagan administration. Each of these terms iran contra affairs, covert operations, the national security council and its socalled staffneeds some explanation, because they are not what they may seem.
Oct 20, 1991 in his forthcoming book about his role in the iran contra affair, oliver l. Rh disney staff and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. A a sworn enemy a in hopes of securing the release of american hostages held in lebanon by hezbollah terrorists loyal to the ayatollah khomeini, irans leader. A book published in 2008 by israeli journalist and terrorism expert ronen bergman asserts that bush was also personally and secretly briefed on. List of books and articles about irancontra affair.
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