Word: contras
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...combat soldiers dispatched to Honduras last week first pitched their tents at Palmerola air base, more than 100 miles from the contra sanctuaries in Honduras that were the target of an incursion by Sandinista troops. The Sandinista assault, grandiloquently characterized by the Reagan Administration as an "invasion," had prompted Washington to respond with paratroopers and infantry. There was "no intention" of sending U.S. troops into combat, assured the White House. Officially, the soldiers were there for a "readiness exercise" intended to show U.S. support for the Honduran government -- a rather dubious claim, since the fighting took place in a remote...
...Sandinista offensive appeared hell-bent on crippling the contras. With U.S. funding for the rebels cut off since the end of February and peace talks between the contras and the Sandinistas scheduled to resume on March 21, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Saavedra saw his chance to wound his opponents badly before they got to the negotiating table. For weeks the U.S. had been monitoring a Sandinista buildup in the Bocay Valley in northern Nicaragua. But when the attacks began on March 10, they were even larger than expected. The Nicaraguan strategy was to destroy the contra bases along the Coco...
Throughout his 15-month investigation of the Iran-contra affair, Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh has been a figure of courtly stoicism. Amid the drama of last summer's congressional Iranscam hearings, the stern-faced 76-year-old prosecutor remained quietly in the background. Despite the court battle over the constitutionality of his appointment and the barbs of critics who said his probe was moving too slowly, he moved calmly ahead with his search for evidence. But when he appeared outside federal court in Washington last week, Walsh uncharacteristically allowed his thin lips to curl into a tight, satisfied smile. Finally...
...addition, Poindexter and North were accused of trying to cover up their illicit actions by destroying and removing documents and making false statements. North was charged with lying to Attorney General Edwin Meese about NSC involvement in the diversion of funds to the contras and writing misleading letters to Congress denying that the NSC was supporting the contras. Former National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane pleaded guilty two weeks ago to misdemeanor charges for signing the letters; he may testify against North. Poindexter was accused of a peculiarly high-tech cover-up: he purged his NSC computer files of all messages...
North, who told Congress last summer that he and Poindexter were Iran- contra's designated "fall guys," bore the brunt of the indictment. Piled onto the conspiracy and obstruction charges were accusations that the Marine lieutenant colonel had embezzled $4,300 worth of traveler's checks and received an illegal gratuity by accepting a $13,800 home-security system from Secord...