Russell
Germain
2/24/13
Professor
Knapp
English
1A
The Iran-Contra Scandal
How did the contra, a guerilla military faction from Nicaragua, come to be
associated with the Nation of Iran in what is now known as the Iran-Contra Scandal? The answer to that question has to do with
the United States of America’s endeavor to end the spread of communism, and our
quest to free several American hostages held in Iran. These seemingly
independent incidents, were in fact, directly related and would result in one
of the largest scandals in American history.
During the cold war, America was
involved in numerous third party conflicts with the USSR. When the USSR would
target a country, often, by backing a particular leader or military group, in
order to spread their ideology of communism; America would enter the same
country and fund the opposition. One such interaction took place in the Central
American country of Nicaragua during a period of revolution. The PBS news article "American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." writes, "Ronald Reagan's efforts to
eradicate Communism spanned the globe, but the insurgent Contras' cause in
Nicaragua was particularly dear to him. Battling the Cuban-backed Sandinistas,
the Contras were, according to Reagan, "the moral equivalent of our
Founding Fathers.""("American Experience: TV's Most-watched
History Series.") The
Contras, backed by America, were fighting the Sandinistas, backed by Cuba, in
turn backed by the USSR. Former president Ronald Reagan, helped to procure
funds for the contra, an action he would come to regret. Incidentally, the
Contra just so happened to be part of a very large cocaine smuggling operation.
Disgraced by America’s involved with such immoral peoples, the United States
Congress barred any further funding of the Contra. However, a group of
high-ranking members of the American military complex envisioned a way to side
step congress: selling missiles to Iran in a time of war.
On September 22, 1980 military forces
form Iraq invaded their neighboring country of Iran. Iran asked the United
States for assistance. The American Government agreed to sell Iran missiles in
order to gain a foothold in the struggle to liberate several American hostages
from Iran. The hostages had been in Iran for over a year, captured when the
American embassy was overrun, and America had made virtually no progress in
procuring their release. The United States, under Ronald Reagan, decided to
help Iran defeat the invading forces of Iraq. However, at the same time,
Reagan's administration decided to help the Iraqi war effort as well. Using the
funds from the sale of weapons to Iran, Reagan’s administration continued to
fund the Contras and strengthened their bargaining for the release of hostages.
In fact because of the sale of aforementioned missiles, Iran even released a
hostage. Eventually, however, the press found out about the
transactions. In the web article "Profile: Al Shira" it is stated, "With the public now aware of these embarrassing and potentially
criminal acts by the Reagan administration, support for Iran within the
administration collapses, most of the pro-Iranian officials leave government
service, and the pro-Iraqi wing of the executive branch, led by Defense
Secretary Caspar Weinberger and Secretary of State George Shultz, wins
out."("Profile: Al Shira."). Due to the highly illegal interactions between Iran and ourselves, being discovered, the
Reagan administration had no choice but to back Iraq in the war with Iran.
Soon, everyone involved with the Iran-Contra affair found
themselves in six weeks of federal depositions. The star of such
depositions was Lt. Colonel Oliver North. North gave such a charming testimony
that to this day many people consider him to be a hero, despite the fact that
what he participated in was technically treason. Oliver North, and several
other government officials involved in the Contra scandal walked away due to
technicalities or presidential pardons. One such pardon was given to National
Security Adviser Robert McFarlane, arguably the mastermind behind everything,
before he even gave his testimony. The sale of weapons to Iran, in order to
fund the Contras and gather momentum in the "Argo" hostage
negotiation, is now known as the Iran-Contra Scandal.
Works Cited:
"Profile: Al Shira." History Commons. N.p., n.d. Web.
"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
"The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On." The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
Works Cited:
"Profile: Al Shira." History Commons. N.p., n.d. Web.
"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
"The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On." The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
