In 1985, while iran and iraq were at war, iran made a secret request to buy weapons from the united states. Congress or violated the stated public policy of the government. Bush pardons 6 in iran affair, aborting a weinberger trial. The irancontra affairs were covert operations managed by a member of the national security council staff. I dont think it is possible for us, under those circumstances,to deny the. Behind the iran contra affair or read the iran contra connection. Poindexter resigned, and north was fired, but irancontra was far from over. Reagan announces that profits from arms sales with iran were diverted to support the contras nov. Surprisingly, given the bad taste left in the nations mouth by the iran contra affair, particularly in the televised oiliness of its leading characters and the 14 criminal prosecutions mounted. Twenty years later, the irancontra 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.
The irancontra affair, 1986 noam chomsky chomskys brief account of the us selling arms to iran via israel in order to fund farright paramilitary contras in nicaragua. The irancontra conspiracy and coverup, was a damning indictment of how the. The iran contra affair, also referred to as irangate, contragate or the iran contra scandal, was a political scandal in the united states that came to light in november 1986. The irancontra affair, also referred to as irangate, contragate or the irancontra scandal, was a political scandal in the united states that came to light in november 1986. Cover up behind the iran contra affair trailer youtube. Fourteen people were charged with either operational or coverup crimes.
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. The irancontra affair popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the irancontra scandal. Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to the. The irancontra affair, like the ciaorganized invasion of the bay of pigs in cuba in 1961, struck a global blow to american credibility. Cover up behind the irancontra affair is a thorough investigation into information suppressed during the iran contra hearings in 1987 where it was found that senior officials in the united states government secretly facilitated the sale of arms to iran. Worldwide english title informal short title cover up. The united states was the largest seller of arms to iran under mohammad reza pahlavi, and. The robert gates file the irancontra scandal, 1991 confirmation hearings, and excerpts from new book safe for democracy.
Understanding the irancontra affairs the irancontra. Materials in the collection cover divisive debates within the reagan administration over terrorism and hostage. With elizabeth montgomery, jack brooks, barbara honegger, david macmichael. It presents a tale of politics, drugs, hostages, weapons, assassinations, covert operations and the ultimate plan to suspend the u. Reagan and bush criminal liability evaluations november 25, 2011 the irancontra affair. Prior to 1979s iranian revolution, iran and israel had been on civil terms, but this took a dramatic turn in the opposite direction following the revolution. In the end, norths conviction was overturned on a technicality, and president bush issued six. This documentary video looks inside the iran contra affair.
Worldwide english title alternative spelling cover up. You will need to download and install the free adobe acrobat reader to view. The irancontra affair american experience official site pbs. The making of a scandal, 19831988 search this guide search. Behind the iran contra affair 1988 what you saw in the iran contra hearings was the exposure of the beginnings of a national security state which believes it has the right to override the constitution of the united states in the name of national security.
Behind the iran contra affair is the third featurelength documentary produced by the empowerment project. The shadow government of assassins, arms dealers, drug smugglers, former cia operatives and top us military personnel who were running foreign policy unaccountable to the public, revealing the reaganbush administrations plan to. Top nasa images solar system collection ames research center. Reagans presidency, came into the open in the fall of 1986 with the disclosure of two intertwined secret operations. Congressman jack brooks, rex 84 and the irancontra affair. Elizabeth montgomery, jack brooks, barbara honegger, david macmichael, george bush, sam. Reagan appoints a commission, led by former senator john town rtx, to investigate the irancontra affairs dec. President ronald reagan makes his address to the nation on the iran arms and contra aid controversy nov. Each of these termsirancontra affairs, covert operations, the national security council and its socalled staffneeds some explanation, because they are not what they may seem. Irancontra affairpresident ronald reagan in 1985, during the second term of the reagan administration, the u.
Behind the irancontra affair dvd coverup exposes several of the most disturbing chapters in the history of u. The tower commission finds that the president had not been told enough about the affair to cover it up michael white in washington thu 27 feb. What we saw in the irancontra hearings, was the exposure of the beginnings of a national security state which believes it has the right to override the constitution of the united states in the name of security. Officials at the highest level had been detected organizing international terrorism i. Cover up behind the irancontra affair is a thorough investigation into information suppressed during the irancontra hearings in 1987 where it was found that senior officials in the united states government secretly facilitated the sale of arms to iran. Irancontra affair legal definition of irancontra affair. 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. Irancontra scandal tarnished credibility but americans. The major elements of the irancontra story were well known long before the 1986 exposures, apart from one fact. The film takes an obvious conspiracy theory approach, which, although sometimes entertaining, sometime relies too much on documents and information that arent actually seen. The 1988 film is updated with information from recent court cases and events. Mcfarlane sought reagans approval, in spite of the embargo against selling arms to iran.
Trumps russia scandal is more like irancontra than. This documentary of the iran contra affair consolidates the evidence and conspiracy theories of the incident after the week congressional hearings proved inadequate, acting merely as damage control and failing to show any sincere effort to get to the real truth of the matter. In the irancontra affair, the reagan administration secretly sold weapons to iran to effect the release of american hostages held in lebanon. The film reveals a shadow government of former cia operatives, drug smugglers, top us military personnel and others, revealing evidence.
American made is an irancontra movie that gets high on its own supply the new movie is one that director doug liman has been making for 15. In 1987, amid the irancontra inquiry, investigators found that the scandal fit within a larger republican scheme for manipulating. His diaries, email, and memos on the kerry report, contras and drugs. Italian premier bettino craxi told reporterssaturday. But if fiers is correct, topranking cia officials not only knew about the operation and did nothing to stop it. It is the only film that puts the entire iran contra affair into a meaningful political and historical context. The irancontra conspiracy and coverup new ed by lawrence e. There are many comparisons between the irancontra affair in the 1980s and the iran ransom scandal of today. The irancontra coverup marked the restoration of a cold war status quo in which crimes, both domestic and international, could be committed by the executive while the congress and the press. President ronald reagan shortly after the irancontra scandal engulfed his administration in november 1986. The irancontra affair 20 years on documents spotlight role of reagan, top aides. North, oliver oliver north testifying at the irancontra. American made is an irancontra movie that gets high on.
In what became known as the irancontra affair, funds from arms sales to iran were diverted through. The irancontra affair involved a secret foreign policy operation directed by white house officials in the national security council nsc under president ronald reagan. Trumps russia scandal is more like irancontra than watergate which isnt good news. Kimches outreach is the final piece in the complex. Covered are the allegations of secret governments, drugs, cia involvement, assassinations and even a plan to suspend the constitution. The irancontra affair 20 years on the national security archive. Under the socalled reagan doctrine, the cia trained and assisted this and other. In 1986, the arms for hostages deal turned into a major scandal in washington and beyond. The irancontra scandal, as this video illustrates in the beginning, is probably one of the most ignored events of the 1980s. Secret teams and covert operations in the reagan era by peter dale scott and judge for yourself. President reagan and national security adviser robert mcfarlane. The extent of iranianisraeli cooperation that came about as a result of the irancontra affair has been seen by some as even more surprising than the u. In this historic, firstperson account, the independent counsel in the irancontra investigation exposes the extraordinary duplicity of the highest officials of the reagan administration and the paralyzing effects of the coverup. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app.
Behind the iran contra affair a tangled tale of politics, drugs, hostages, weapons, assassinations, covert operations and the ultimate plan to suspend the constitution of the united states. Its sessions aired many aspects of the tangled web of illegal and offthebooks. Irancontra summary executive summary in october and november 1986, two secret u. Lawrence walshs contribution to history march 26, 2014 irancontra at 25. The irancontra affair american experience official. Digital national security archive dnsa the irancontra affair. Behind the irancontra affair 1988 examines reagans alleged deal with iran that delayed the release of american hostages until after his inauguration. What we saw in the iran contra hearings, was the exposure of the beginnings of a national security state which believes it has the right to override the constitution of the united states in the name of security.
Mark leighton bettmann corbis david kimche, the director general of israels foreign ministry, meets secretly with national security adviser robert mcfarlane to advise him that israel may be able to use its influence with iran see 1981 to engineer the release of american hostages currently held by hezbollah. This documentary video looks inside the irancontra affair. That clash continues under the presidency of george w. What are quality books about the irancontra affair. At the same time, reagan was looking for a way to circumvent congress and assist.