Starr learns of clintons improper relationship w white house intern and alleges an attempted cover up by lying under oath and obstructing justices. 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. President reagan exonerated in irangate scandal the tower commission finds that the president had not been told. 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. This documentary video looks inside the iran contra affair. The senates final report on irancontra showed extent to. Oliver laurence north born october 7, 1943 is an american political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired united states marine corps. Cover up behind the iran contra affair trailer youtube. Reagan announces that profits from arms sales with iran were diverted to support the contras. Behind the irancontra affair loses force as the movie makers. The irancontra affair american experience official site pbs. The film takes an obvious conspiracy theory approach, which, although sometimes entertaining, sometime relies too much on documents and information that arent actually seen. Bush pardons 6 in iran affair, aborting a weinberger trial. But if fiers is correct, topranking cia officials not only knew about the operation and did nothing to stop it.
Understanding the irancontra affairs brown university. Institutionally, congress tur congressmen timidly pursued t tigations even when it became c to coverup. The death of irancontra special prosecutor lawrence walsh on wednesday at the age of 102 marked the passing of what is now rare in the american establishment, a person who. The irancontra affair stirred up profound political passions. The report, entitled state department and intelligence community involvement in domestic activities related to the irancontra affair, was issued by the house of representatives committee on foreign relations on september 7, 1988. The irancontra affair 20 years on the national security archive. The united states was the largest seller of arms to iran under mohammad reza pahlavi. If we ignore the october surprise for the moment, the irancontra affair began as a response to the lebanon hostage crisis, which wikipedia. For comparison, the house select committee to investigate covert arms transactions with iran and the. 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. The irancontra affair, the latest in a line of disturhing american foreign.
Government operations were publicly exposed, potentially implicating reagan administration officials in illegal activities. Behind the irancontra affair 1988 examines reagans alleged deal with iran that delayed the release of american hostages until after his inauguration. Oliver north was the most active person involved in the irancontra affair. The iran contra scandal, as this video illustrates in the beginning, is probably one of the most ignored events of the 1980s. White house intern and alleges an attempted cover up. 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. They would both see the cover up as a necessary way to preserve the political and economical structure inside and outside america and a necessary way to maintain, in their opinion. This eventually led to the full exposure of the operation and the iran contra affair. The discovery of irancontra also came on the eve of the 1988 presidential election season and the democratic leadership decided they didnt want to do anything that would allow the gop to claim they were playing politics naive as that sounds. The irancontra affair was a clandestine action not approved of by the united states congress. Reagan appoints a commission, led by former senator john town rtx, to investigate the irancontra affairs. Elizabeth victoria montgomery april 15, 1933 may 18, 1995 was an american film, stage, and television actress whose career spanned five decades. Each of these dubious activities, both the original policies and the subsequent coverup, in its way laid bare. Mar 27, 2014 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.
Covered are the allegations of secret governments, drugs, cia involvement, assassinations and even a plan to suspend the constitution. The committees formally concluded business at the end of february 1988. President reagan and national security adviser robert mcfarlane. 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.
Irancontra documents show that its chief architects were the late cia director william casey and a veteran of the cias clandestine overseas media operations, walter raymond, jr. Oliver north en john poindexter werden op 16 maart 1988 aangeklaagd. It began in 1985, when president ronald reagans administration supplied weapons to irana. The irancontra affair, like the ciaorganized invasion of the bay of pigs in cuba in 1961, struck a global blow to american credibility. The iran contra affair, like the ciaorganized invasion of the bay of pigs in cuba in 1961, struck a global blow to american credibility. Jun 24, 2001 the iran contra affair has been characterized by u. Ciara sarao born in february 6, 1911 in tampico, illinois. Officials at the highest level had been detected organizing international terrorism i. Armitage, carlucci and friends posted on april 8, 2012 by kevin ryan dick cheney and donald rumsfeld are among the leading suspects in the crimes of september 11, 2001. The rex84 plan has a remarkable resemblance to the current roundup of socalled unlawful combatants. They would both see the coverup as a necessary way to preserve the political and economical structure inside and outside america and a necessary way to maintain, in their opinion.
Reproduces on microfiche over 20,000 pages of documentation, much of it highlyclassified, pertaining to the irancontra affair,1983 1988. The iran contra affair involved a secret foreign policy operation directed by white house officials in the national security council nsc under president ronald reagan. Behind the iran contra affair is the third featurelength documentary produced by the empowerment project. Mar 06, 2020 irancontra focuses on the period from fall 1983, when congress first put limits on official u. It is the only film that puts the entire iran contra affair into a meaningful political and historical context. Behind the irancontra affair 1988 cast and crew examines reagans alleged deal with iran that delayed the release of american hostages until after his inauguration. Many nationalist and neoconservatives would see the entire irancontra affair not as a coverup but a good use of political power, an end that justifies the means. Mar 15, 2017 the senates final report on irancontra showed extent to which the investigation had been stonewalled.
The 1988 film is updated with information from recent court cases and events. Iran contra affair 1983 1988 the iran contra affair began as an internal u. Under the socalled reagan doctrine, the cia trained and assisted this and other. Poindexter resigned, and north was fired, but irancontra was far from over. Elizabeth montgomery, jack brooks, barbara honegger, david macmichael, george bush, sam. These operations were the provision of assistance to the military activities of the.
Mar 26, 2014 washington, dc, march 26, 2014 the passing away of irancontra independent counsel lawrence e. 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. She is best remembered for her leading role as samantha stephens on the television series bewitched. Walsh on march 19, at age 102, is an appropriate occasion to recall some of the extraordinary outcomes of his investigation into the most significant political scandal of the 1980s. Materials in the collection cover divisive debates within the reagan administration over terrorism and hostage rescue operations and provide a detailed road map to enable researchers to reconstruct key covert policy decisions related to. The irancontra affair american experience official. Caso iran contra, 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. Fourteen people were charged with either operational or coverup crimes. See generally meyer, congressional control of foreign assistance, yale j. In 1985, while iran and iraq were at war, iran made a secret request to buy weapons from the united states. Each of these dubious activities, both the original policies and the subsequent coverup, in its way laid bare assumptions by key officials about the scope of presidential power.
This eventually led to the full exposure of the operation and the irancontra affair. Iran contra affair legal definition of iran contra affair. Irancontra summary executive summary in october and november 1986, two secret u. Mcfarlane sought reagans approval, in spite of the embargo against selling arms to iran. President ronald reagan makes his address to the nation on the iran arms and contra aid controversy. The film reveals a shadow government of former cia operatives, drug smugglers, top us military personnel and others, revealing evidence of.
The irancontra affair popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the iran contra scandal. The irancontra affair popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the irancontra scandal. The video revealed that rex84 was a plan to detain aliens from latin american countries in camps in case of a serious federal emergency or breakdown of the government. Behind the iran contra affair is the third featurelength documentary. Washington, dc, march 26, 2014 the passing away of irancontra independent counsel lawrence e. That clash continues under the presidency of george w. The irancontra affair involved a secret foreign policy operation directed by white house officials in the national security council nsc under president ronald reagan. This documentary video looks inside the irancontra affair. Reagans presidency, came into the open in the fall of 1986 with the disclosure of two intertwined secret operations. The rex84 plan has a remarkable resemblance to the current round up of socalled unlawful combatants.
In the end, norths conviction was overturned on a technicality, and president bush issued six. Coverup was the first film to reveal the october surprise hostage deal the reaganbush campaigndeal with iran to delay the release of the 52 american hostages until after the 1980 election, and is the only film which presents a comprehensive overview of the most important stories suppressed during the iran contra hearings. His legitimate efforts, nefarious tactics, and uncouth operations show the spread of this affair. 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. 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. Iran contra documents show that its chief architects were the late cia director william casey and a veteran of the cias clandestine overseas media operations, walter raymond, jr. Rarely seen report uncovered in cia archives lends credence to coverup. Many of these acquisitions are derived from the official bodiesinvestigating the irancontra affair, including the senate intelligence committee, the tower commission, the joint select. Knowledge of drug trafficking and the contras the national security archive obtained the handwritten notebooks of oliver north, the national security council aide who helped run the contra war and other reagan administration covert operations, through a freedom of information act lawsuit filed in 1989. In 1984, the boland amendment passed, which said that the cia and department of defense could not give militaristic aid specifically in nicaragua. While parts of it were high treason, other parts of the iran contra affair were perfectly in line with the american policy abroad.
Inside the iran contra cover up by robert parry washington in crucial ways, watergate, the signature scandal of the 1970s, and iran contra, the signature scandal of the. The irancontra conspiracy and coverup walsh, lawrence e. The first shipment through the second channel is sent to iran. Behind the iran contra affair 1988 the story of fausta 1987 ligia elena 1983. With elizabeth montgomery, jack brooks, barbara honegger, david macmichael. President reagan exonerated in irangate scandal the tower commission finds that the president had not been told enough about the affair to cover it up michael. 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. Inside the irancontra coverup by robert parry washington in crucial ways, watergate, the signature scandal of the 1970s, and irancontra, the signature scandal of the. 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.
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