On 4 march 1987, reagan made a further nationally televised address, taking full. 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 the irancontra affair stirred up profound political passions. Behind the irancontra affair 1988 examines reagans alleged deal with iran that delayed the release of american hostages until after his inauguration. The foreignpolicy scandal known as the iran contra affair came to light in november 1986 when president ronald reagan confirmed reports that the united states had secretly sold arms to iran. It began in 1985, when president ronald reagans administration supplied weapons to irana. But if fiers is correct, topranking cia officials not only knew about the operation and did nothing to stop it. This documentary video looks inside the irancontra affair. 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. Lawrence walshs contribution to history march 26, 2014 iran contra at 25. The irancontra affair was a vast and convoluted scandal during the 1980s that involved members of reagans national security council illicitly. Many of these acquisitions are derived from the official bodiesinvestigating the irancontra affair, including the senate intelligence committee, the tower commission, the joint select.
The 1988 film is updated with information from recent court cases and events. 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. 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. Coverup was released in theaters in 80 cities across the united states in 1988 89. 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. What we can learn from the irancontra scandal the nation. 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. The irancontra affair involved a secret foreign policy operation directed by white house officials in the national security council nsc under president ronald reagan.
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. Professionally, she lent her voice as narrator to two political documentaries which were critical of us foreign policy, cover up. Jun 24, 2001 the iran contra affair has been characterized by u. From the phoenix program, secret teams, ncs and more there were many illegal and horrible things that happened inclucing the mystery death of my associate jerry hog daniels, whom. The iran contra scandal, as this video illustrates in the beginning, is probably one of the most ignored events of the 1980s.
It is the only film that puts the entire iran contra affair into a meaningful political and historical context. The plan was for israel to ship weapons to iran, for the united states to. Irancontras affair legal definition of irancontras affair. Understanding the irancontra affairs the irancontra affairs. President ronald reagan shortly after the irancontra scandal engulfed his administration in november 1986. Understanding the irancontra affairs the irancontra. 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. Like the us, israel hopes to gain influence with iranian moderates who will presumably take power after the aged, ailing. Cover up behind the iran contra affair trailer youtube. 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.
In 1984, the boland amendment passed, which said that the cia and department of defense could not give militaristic aid specifically in nicaragua. Irancontra summary executive summary in october and november 1986, two secret u. Despite the damage to his image, the president arguably got off easy, escaping the ultimate political sanction of impeachment. The iran contra cover up 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. The irancontra scandal, as this video illustrates in the beginning, is probably one of the most ignored events of the 1980s. Reagan and bush criminal liability evaluations november 25, 2011 the iran contra affair. This documentary video looks inside the iran contra affair. 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. It presents a tale of politics, drugs, hostages, weapons, assassinations, covert operations and the ultimate plan to suspend the u. Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to the. Reagan makes his address to the nation on irancontra. Mcfarlane sought reagans approval, in spite of the embargo against selling arms to iran. The film reveals a shadow government of former cia operatives, drug smugglers, top us military personnel and others, revealing evidence of. Nov 25, 2011 president ronald reagan shortly after the iran contra scandal engulfed his administration in november 1986.
Irancontra focuses on the period from fall 1983, when congress first put limits on official u. 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. Kimches outreach is the final piece in the complex. North, oliver oliver north testifying at the irancontra. Congress or violated the stated public policy of the government. Government operations were publicly exposed, potentially implicating reagan administration officials in illegal activities.
Because the reagan campaign was willing to trade arms for hostages and even bargain to have the iranians hold the hostages until reagans inau. Under the boland amendment, further funding of the contras by the. The lasting effects of irancontra are primarily these, and they are related to our national reputation. Secret teams and covert operations in the reagan era by peter dale scott and judge for yourself.
In 1985, while iran and iraq were at war, iran made a secret request to buy weapons from the united states. Washington, dc, march 26, 2014 the passing away of irancontra independent counsel lawrence e. Jan 11, 2017 the lasting effects of irancontra are primarily these, and they are related to our national reputation. Iran contra 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. In all, there were eight arms shipments to iran from aug. The irancontra affair was a clandestine action not approved of by the united states congress. He requested this appointment because he was afraid, given other challenges to the constitutionality of the independent counsel act see morrison v. Special activities division under the command and control of the cias ncs. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Covered are the allegations of secret governments, drugs, cia involvement, assassinations and even a plan to suspend the constitution. Jersey city cops with batons break up major street brawl. Behind the iran contra affair 1988 and its academy awardwinning sequel the panama deception 1992. Irancontra was one of the many clandestine operations under the guise of s. New yorker, 1121992 israel is a logical conduit for arms to iran, as it has been selling arms to iran periodically since 1979, originally as part of its efforts to get iran to allow iranian jews to emigrate to israel.
These plans were apparently aborted when the irancontra scandal broke in november 1986. Irancontra affair legal definition of irancontra affair. Draper explains to us that the iranian revolution of 19781979 brought the. 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. That clash continues under the presidency of george w. Behind the iran contra affair or read the iran contra connection. North, oliver oliver north testifying at the iran contra. Behind the irancontra affair dvd coverup exposes several of the most disturbing chapters in the history of u. Iran and israel the extent of iranianisraeli cooperation that came about as a result of the iran contra affair has been seen by some as even more surprising than the u.
Apr 06, 2020 iran contra focuses on the period from fall 1983, when congress first put limits on official u. The iran contra affair the iran contra affair was an underground operation within the cia that was interwoven between two foreign policy issues that were unlikely to connect had the players in the ordeal not utilized one to benefit the other. 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. We decided to cover irancontra for our second season of fiasco before we even started working on the firstwe meaning our. Coverup was released in theaters in 80 cities across the united states in 198889. 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. The reagan administration was found doing what during the iran contra affair. 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 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. These operations were the provision of assistance to the military activities of the. On march 4, 1987, reagan returned to the airwaves in a nationally. 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. The foreignpolicy scandal known as the irancontra affair came to light in november 1986 when president ronald reagan confirmed reports that the united st. Iran contra affair 1983 1988 the iran contra affair began as an internal u.
The film reveals a shadow government of former cia operatives, drug smugglers, top us military personnel and others, revealing evidence. 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. Institutionally, congress tur congressmen timidly pursued t tigations even when it became c to coverup. Behind the iran contra affair is the third featurelength. Apdennis cook the irancontra scandal, 25 years later.
The first two came from israel, with the promise that the u. Jun 07, 2014 in all, there were eight arms shipments to iran from aug. Walsh also receives an appointment as independent counsel from the u. President reagan and national security adviser robert mcfarlane. 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. The irancontra affair 20 years on the national security archive.
While much of irancontras obfuscation and maneuvering took place behind closed doors, the full force of the deceptions. 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. Behind the iran contra affair is the third featurelength documentary produced by the empowerment project. With elizabeth montgomery, jack brooks, barbara honegger, david macmichael. Apdennis cook the iran contra scandal, 25 years later. The irancontra affair popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the iran contra scandal. 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. It was the subject of 200 local radio shows and 150. Congress is learning the lessons of iran contra third. Reproduces on microfiche over 20,000 pages of documentation, much of it highlyclassified, pertaining to the iran contra affair,1983 1988. Behind the iran contra affair is the third featurelength documentary. The irancontra affair, also referred to as irangate, contragate or the. To fully understand irancontra, you must know the history behind it.
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