The irancontra affair, 1986 noam chomsky chomskys brief account of the us selling arms to iran via israel in order to fund farright paramilitary contras in nicaragua. Before the films ignominious conclusion, real violence rears its head. Reagan and bush criminal liability evaluations november 25, 2011 the irancontra affair. 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 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. Each of these terms iran contra affairs, covert operations, the national security council and its socalled staffneeds some explanation, because they are not what they may seem. 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. Many nationalist and neoconservatives would see the entire iran contra affair not as a cover up but a good use of political power, an end that justifies the means. Covered are the allegations of secret governments, drugs, cia involvement, assassinations and even a plan to suspend the constitution. Secret teams and covert operations in the reagan era by peter dale scott and judge for yourself. 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. 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. The united states was the largest seller of arms to iran under mohammad reza. Bolton was working as an assistant attorney general in the reagan administration during the irancontra affair.
Worldwide english title informal short title cover up. Sep 28, 2017 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 years and tom cruise has been making for almost 35. In 1987, amid the irancontra inquiry, investigators found that the scandal fit within a larger republican scheme for manipulating. Like the us, israel hopes to gain influence with iranian moderates who will presumably take power after the aged, ailing. Draper explains to us that the iranian revolution of 19781979 brought the. The irancontra affair popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the iran contra scandal. Mcfarlane sought reagans approval, in spite of the embargo against selling arms to iran. 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. The iran contra affairs were covert operations managed by a member of the national security council staff.
Understanding the irancontra affairs the irancontra. 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. Behind the irancontra affair, 1988, directed by barbara trent, with david macmichael, eden pastora gomez, elizabeth montgomery, at turner classic movies. American made is an irancontra movie that gets high on. Barry seal, a reallife, albeit minor, figure in the irancontra scandal, takes. Irancontra was one of the many clandestine operations under the guise of s. It presents a tale of politics, drugs, hostages, weapons, assassinations, covert operations and the ultimate plan to suspend the u. 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. If we ignore the october surprise for the moment, the irancontra affair began as a response to the lebanon hostage crisis, which wikipedia. Lawrence walshs contribution to history march 26, 2014 irancontra at 25. The film has won numerous awards and critical acclaim. But if fiers is correct, topranking cia officials not only knew about the operation and did nothing to stop it.
Twenty years later, the iran contra 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. Feb 27, 2014 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 2014 02. Investigating the irancontra affair made the following conclusion. Behind the iran contra affair is the third featurelength documentary produced by the empowerment project. Irancontra summary executive summary in october and november 1986, two secret u. The major elements of the irancontra story were well known long before the 1986 exposures, apart from one fact.
Behind the irancontra affair loses force as the movie makers run out of evidence that a shadowy rightwing group has been conducting american foreign policy and threatening. The film reveals a shadow government of former cia operatives, drug smugglers, top us military personnel and others, revealing evidence. American made is an irancontra movie that gets high on its. The major elements of the iran contra story were well known long before the 1986 exposures, apart from one fact. Trumps russia scandal is more like irancontra than watergate which isnt good news. 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 irancontra affair 1988 examines reagans alleged deal with iran that delayed the release of american hostages until after his inauguration. Behind the iran contra affair is the third featurelength documentary produced by the. Sep 08, 2006 the iran contra affair, 1986 noam chomsky chomskys brief account of the us selling arms to iran via israel in order to fund farright paramilitary contras in nicaragua. In 1985, while iran and iraq were at war, iran made a secret request to buy weapons from the united states. Irancontra affairpresident ronald reagan in 1985, during the second term of the reagan administration, the u.
That formulation, of course, is a function of watergate, where the coverup was considered far worse than the underlying crimes. Behind the iran contra affair 1988 this documentary of the iran contra affair consolidates the evidence and conspiracy theories of the incident after the week congressional hearings. 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. That clash continues under the presidency of george w. Bolton was working as an assistant attorney general in the reagan administration during the iran contra affair. 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. Examines reagans alleged deal with iran that delayed the release of american hostages until after his inauguration. Jun 07, 2014 if we ignore the october surprise for the moment, the irancontra affair began as a response to the lebanon hostage crisis, which wikipedia describes as the systematic kidnapping in lebanon of.
Trumps russia scandal is more like irancontra than. The film takes an obvious conspiracy theory approach, which, although sometimes entertaining, sometime relies too much on documents and information that arent actually seen. North, oliver oliver north testifying at the irancontra. The film reveals a shadow government of former cia operatives, drug smugglers, top us military personnel and others, revealing evidence of. Behind the irancontra affair dvd coverup exposes several of the most disturbing chapters in the history of u. Apr 06, 2020 the documents in this collection include every exhibit released by the official investigations of the iran contra affair, including the senate intelligence committee, the tower commission, the joint select congressional committees, and the independent counsel.
He concluded, the irancontra coverup, which has continued for more than six years, has now been completed with the pardon of caspar weinberger. 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. Behind the iran contra affair or read the iran contra connection. An investigative piece discussing the activities that occurred during iran contra. Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to the.
Understanding the irancontra affairs enduring issues. Prior to 1979s iranian revolution, iran and israel had been on civil terms, but this took a dramatic turn in the opposite direction following the revolution. The irancontra affairs were designed to provide the president with plausible deniability. For much of the film, hes covered with sweat, grime, blood or in. Behind the iran contra affair loses force as the movie makers run out of evidence that a shadowy rightwing group has been conducting american foreign policy and threatening. Worldwide english title alternative spelling cover up. David kasper is a producer and editor, known for the panama deception 1992, cover up. 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. This film has testimony from credible sources, and yet no newspaper or. The irancontra conspiracy and coverup, was a damning indictment of how the. In 1987, amid the iran contra inquiry, investigators found that the scandal fit within a larger republican scheme for manipulating. The irancontra affair was a clandestine action not approved of by the united states congress.
Mar 22, 2018 he resisted efforts to investigate the iran contra scandal. The triumph of conservatism 19801992 flashcards quizlet. The defendants were elliott abrams, a former assistant secretary of state for central. Third, these documents are uptodate many being only three years old at the time of publication, broadranging and virtually unutilized by either scholars or the news media. A third reason is that there was insufficient proof about what president reagan knew and when he knew it.
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. With elizabeth montgomery, jack brooks, barbara honegger, david macmichael. 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. 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. The iran contra scandal, as this video illustrates in the beginning, is probably one of the most ignored events of the 1980s. Irancontra affair legal definition of irancontra affair. To fully understand irancontra, you must know the history behind it. Special activities division under the command and control of the cias ncs. Behind the iran contra affair 1988 and destination nicaragua 1986. President reagan and national security adviser robert mcfarlane. 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. This documentary video looks inside the irancontra affair. 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 affair involved a secret foreign policy operation directed by white house officials in the national security council nsc under president ronald reagan.
Jun 24, 2001 the iran contra affair has been characterized by u. He resisted efforts to investigate the irancontra scandal. 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. Understanding the irancontra affairs the legal aftermath the. 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. Get the latest irancontra affair news, articles, videos and photos on the new york post. 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. North, oliver oliver north testifying at the iran contra. Worldwide english title informal short title coverup. This documentary video looks inside the iran contra affair. The irancontra scandal, as this video illustrates in the beginning, is probably one of the most ignored events of the 1980s. The irancontra affairs were covert operations managed by a member of the national security council staff. 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. Congress or violated the stated public policy of the government.
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