THE TRUTH ABOUT IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIR

I donated $75 to the Freedom Fighters

     Just in from the Ass. Of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) Weekly Intelligence News (WIN)! Were you involved in the President Reagan era scandal called the "Iran-Contra Affair"? Did you ever wonder about what really happened during that ordeal? 
     You can find out much of the details on Wednesday, January 7, 2015 from 12:00pm- 7:00pm in Washington DC. A seminar entitled, "Iran-Contra: Reagan’s Scandal and the Unchecked Abuse of Presidential Power" will be presented by author Malcolm Byrne at the International Spy Museum.
     Through exhaustive use of declassified documents, previously unavailable investigative materials, and wide-ranging interviews, Malcolm Byrne will discuss what made the Iran-Contra scandal possible and meticulously relate how it unfolded—including clarifying minor myths about cakes, keys, bibles, diversion memos, and shredding parties.


     Byrne, the Deputy Director and Research Director at the National Security Archive, will demonstrate that the affair could not have occurred without awareness and approval at the top levels of the US government. He will also reveal an unmistakable pattern of dubious behavior—including potentially illegal conduct by the president, vice president, the secretaries of state and defense, the CIA director and others—that formed the true core of the scandal.
     The presentation is Free and no registration is required.  Visit the International Spy Museum Website to find out more.  
     The Iran–Contra affair was also known as Irangate, Contragate or the Iran-Contra scandal and occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administration. In a nutshell, senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, despite an on-going arms embargo. It was hoped that the arms sales would secure the release of several hostages and allow U.S. intelligence agencies to fund the Nicaraguan Contras. Under the Boland Amendment, further funding of the Contras by the government had been prohibited by Congress.

     Quite frankly, I thought the Boland Amendment sucked and I illegally donated $75 of my hard-earned money to a cause supporting the Nicaraguan Contras...."freedom fighters" as I called them at the time.
     The Iran-Contra affair  began as an operation to free the seven American hostages being held in Lebanon by a group with Iranian ties connected to the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution. It was planned that Israel would ship weapons to Iran, and then the U.S. would resupply Israel and receive the Israeli payment. The Iranian recipients promised to do everything in their power to achieve the release of the U.S. hostages. The plan deteriorated into an arms-for-hostages scheme, in which members of the executive branch sold weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of the American hostages. Large modifications to the plan were devised by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North of the National Security Council in late 1985, in which a portion of the proceeds from the weapon sales was diverted to fund anti-Sandinista and anti-communist rebels, or Contras, in Nicaragua.
     Lastly, here's the complete Final Report Of The Independent Counsel For Iran/Contra Matters report, dated August 4, 1993 in Washington, D.C. from the UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S. is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and publishes the online spy series "Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster in the Caribbean". His views are his own and do not represent those of any agency he is a member of. We welcome comments and suggestions- contact OSINT News on the Secure Contact Form.