Word: contra
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Your cover story conveyed the spirit of that most unusual week in which Lieut. Colonel Oliver North appeared at the Iran-contra hearings ((NATION, July 20)). Along with many others, I was converted to North's side by the end of the first day. I realize I may be overlooking the issues, but for me it was a relief to cheer for this charismatic all-American Marine in his struggle against a fickle, vacillating, unpredictable Congress...
...issue is not North's sincerity; it is whether the President or his staff deliberately set out to circumvent U.S. laws. The Congress we elected voted to cut off funds to the contra rebellion. No amount of sincerity justifies breaking...
...understand why people criticize the Congressmen who made impassioned statements during the Iran-contra hearings. Would Edmund Burke or James Madison have sat meekly by in similar circumstances? Only in the course of investigations into a Watergate or an Iranscam do Americans have the opportunity to hear their lawmakers expound their political philosophies...
...have on only one occasion asked my congressional representatives to vote in a particular way, and that was on the issue of aid to the contras. When aid was indeed denied, I had the exhilarating sense that I had effectively contributed to our democratic system. My faith in this process has been shaken by the revelations of the Iran-contra affair. Despite the sincerity and eloquence of Lieut. Colonel Oliver North, I agree with Indiana Representative Lee Hamilton's assessment that our own democratic principles have been subverted in the effort to secure a democracy in Nicaragua...
...original Kuwaiti request, which came late last year, was considered and endorsed by the State Department and the Pentagon. Following a National Security Planning Group meeting in early March, President Reagan approved the plan. But many involved say that top officials were too distracted by the Iran-contra controversy to examine its implications fully. Ironically, the scandal provided an impetus to the reflagging proposal. Moderate Arab states reacted angrily last fall to news that the U.S. had secretly dealt with Iran. Kuwait then requested Soviet protection for its tankers. Administration officials concede that granting assistance to Kuwait...