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. 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. President ronald reagan shortly after the irancontra scandal engulfed his administration in november 1986. 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. Irancontra affair, 19851990, military assistance, american, military assistance, american, political corruption publisher washington. 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. The film reveals a shadow government of former cia operatives, drug smugglers, top us military personnel and others, revealing evidence. August richard norton, boston globe we would never have known the truth about irancontra without the tenacious sevenyear struggle by the independent counsel in the affair, lawrence walsh, to get to the bottom of itof firstrate historical importance. 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. Irancontra summary executive summary in october and november 1986, two secret u.
Report of the congressional committees investigating the. Behind the irancontra affair dvd coverup exposes several of the most disturbing chapters in the history of u. The 1988 film is updated with information from recent court cases and events. Congress established another investigation, which issued its. It had limited time, and could not question two key agents, north or poindexter. 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. Elizabeth montgomery, jack brooks, barbara honegger, david macmichael, george bush, sam. Iran contra affair 1983 1988 the iran contra affair began as an internal u. 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. To fully understand irancontra, you must know the history behind it. Irancontra affairpresident ronald reagan in 1985, during the second term of the reagan administration, the u.
Reagan announces that profits from arms sales with iran were diverted to support the contras 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. The irancontra affair the tower commission was named after its chair, former senator john tower, and was established by reagan to investigate the irancontra affair. In the end, norths conviction was overturned on a technicality, and president bush issued six. The irancontra affairs were covert operations managed by a member of the national security council staff. Not simply an important public accounting of an egregiously misconceived policy, but a cautionary tale of power. Congress or violated the stated public policy of the government. Mcfarlane sought reagans approval, in spite of the embargo against selling arms to iran. Understanding the irancontra affairs the irancontra. The two policies intersected when profits from the arms sales to iran were used to. This documentary video looks inside the irancontra affair. The irancontra affair american experience official. Whenever president reagan shows up in the irancontra pop culture, it is always in the context of questioning the credibility of his stated knowledge of actions of his subordinates. 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.
In 1985, while iran and iraq were at war, iran made a secret request to buy weapons from the united states. The foreignpolicy scandal known as the irancontra affair came to light in november 1986 when president ronald reagan confirmed reports that the united st. The film takes an obvious conspiracy theory approach, which, although sometimes entertaining, sometime relies too much on documents and information that arent actually seen. Behind the iran contra affair 1988 live leak by lasrever 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. It presents a tale of politics, drugs, hostages, weapons, assassinations, covert operations and the ultimate plan to suspend the u. The story drew on court testimony in 1990 of fabio ernesto carrasco, a pilot for a major columbian drug smuggler named george morales. President ronald reagan makes his address to the nation on the iran arms and contra aid controversy nov. 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. President reagan and national security adviser robert mcfarlane. Covered are the allegations of secret governments, drugs, cia involvement, assassinations and even a plan to suspend the constitution. Cover up behind the iran contra affair trailer youtube. American made is an irancontra movie that gets high on.
Draper explains to us that the iranian revolution of 19781979 brought the. North, oliver oliver north testifying at the irancontra. Irancontra affair legal definition of irancontra affair. Irancontra focuses on the period from fall 1983, when congress first put limits on official u. Reagan appoints a commission, led by former senator john town rtx, to investigate the irancontra affairs dec. 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. 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. On october 31, 1996, the washington post ran a follow up story to the san jose mercury news series titled cia, contras and drugs. Bush pardons 6 in iran affair, aborting a weinberger trial. You will need to download and install the free adobe acrobat reader to view. Many of these acquisitions are derived from the official bodiesinvestigating the irancontra affair, including the senate intelligence committee, the tower commission, the joint select. House of representatives select committee to investigate covert arms transactions with iran. Behind the iran contra affair is the third featurelength documentary produced by the empowerment project.
Despite the damage to his image, the president arguably got off easy, escaping the ultimate political sanction of impeachment. The irancontra affair involved a secret foreign policy operation directed by white house officials in the national security council nsc under president ronald reagan. 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. Apdennis cook the irancontra scandal, 25 years later. The united states was the largest seller of arms to iran under mohammad reza pahlavi. But if fiers is correct, topranking cia officials not only knew about the operation and did nothing to stop it. Behind the irancontra affair loses force as the movie makers run out of. That clash continues under the presidency of george w. The irancontra affair of 19841987 was not one affair but two separate covert foreign policy. Iran and israel 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. 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.
In 1984, the boland amendment passed, which said that the cia and department of defense could not give militaristic aid specifically in nicaragua. Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to the. The irancontra affair 20 years on the national security archive. President reagan signs a finding retroactively authorizing the iran operation. Irancontra affair larry gilman in october and november of 1986, it was discovered that for several years, agents of the united states government had been running an illegal operation to sell weapons to iran and funnel the profits to the contras, a military organization dedicated to overthrowing the leftist government of nicaragua. During his campaign for the white house, reagan had promised to assist. The irancontra affair was a clandestine action not approved of by the united states congress.
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. Through the eighties, iraq attempted to sue iran for peace, but it wasnt until 1988 that iran accepted a ceasefire, and in 1990 final terms to end the war were agreed upon. With elizabeth montgomery, jack brooks, barbara honegger, david macmichael. The irancontra affair the making of a scandal, 19831988. Senate select committee on secret military assistance to iran and the nicaraguan opposition. Behind the irancontra affair 1988 examines reagans alleged deal with iran that delayed the release of american hostages until after his inauguration. As irancontra special prosecutor lawrence walsh later described in his book, firewall, the coverup took formal shape at a meeting of reagan and his top advisers in the situation room at the. Fourteen people were charged with either operational or coverup crimes. The irancontra affair popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the irancontra scandal. It is the only film that puts the entire iran contra affair into a meaningful political and historical context.
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. Behind the iran contra affair is the third featurelength documentary. 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. Reagans presidency, came into the open in the fall of 1986 with the disclosure of two intertwined secret operations. 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.
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