Word: contra
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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McFarlane's successor as National Security Adviser "failed grievously" to consider the gravity of the diversion of money to the contras. Poindexter did not show an awareness of the operation's scope or importance, focusing instead on narrow details like who should be on the list of people who would have access to information. On occasion he misled top Administration officials about details of the arms sales and the contra diversion. Poindexter "apparently failed to appreciate or ignored the serious legal and political risks presented" by the contra-support operation, said the commission. It added that, on the evidence available...
Squabbles between two presidential advisers are common, but they rarely reach melodramatic heights. In recent months, however, a battle between Ronald Reagan's two closest counselors has been airing regularly, like a soap-opera accompaniment to news of the Iran-contra scandal. As the sniping between First Lady Nancy Reagan and White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan escalated, it only added to the image of a presidency adrift. "What is happening at the White House?" asked New Mexico Democrat William Richardson on the House floor last week. "Who is in charge? A constituent of mine asked...
...bound in soothing blue and bore the Presidential Seal. Its language was restrained, dignified, sometimes even gentle. But its message was scalding. Rarely has a presidential commission so sharply criticized its creator. The 288-page report of the President's Special Review Board on the Iran-contra affair describes an incredibly inattentive Ronald Reagan, a hear-no-evil Secretary of State George Shultz and Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, a devious former CIA Director William Casey, and a Chief of Staff Don Regan whose proclaimed mastery of spin control failed miserably when faced with a matter of substance. And while these...
Appointed in early December to examine the structure of the NSC, the panel turned into an aggressive inquisition on the Iran-contra affair. Former Texas Senator John Tower, former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft and former Maine Senator and Secretary of State Edmund Muskie reached their conclusions with resounding unanimity after taking testimony from some 80 witnesses and reviewing thousands of documents, including a treasure trove of NSC computer messages notable for, among other things, their frequent misspellings...
...warehouses, ships, boats, houses and a 6,520-ft. airstrip in northern Costa Rica. The price tag: $4.5 million. North even seems to have engaged in near blackmail when officials in Costa Rica threatened to close this airstrip. After consulting with Elliott Abrams, the top State Department official on contra policy, and Lewis Tambs, U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica, North reported that he called Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez to threaten that the U.S. would cut off $80 million in aid if this happened. Costa Rica closed the field anyway; the aid continued...