Word: contras
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COVER: Oliver North prepares for a star turn at the Iran- contra hearings...
Viet Nam shaped North in lasting ways, and the account of his nighttime assault on North Viet Nam reveals some of the same traits and patterns that have put this much decorated war hero at the heart of the Iran-contra affair. For North, the U.S. defeat abroad and the revulsion with the war at home were searing, bitter experiences. Never again would something like that happen -- if he could help it. He was a man of action, frustrated by red tape, timid bureaucrats and waffling politicians. If you needed to get something done, do it yourself...
...magnetic, often generous man has been his own best mythologizer, telling reporters and acquaintances stories about himself that bent the truth. Blissfully free of self-doubt, he could be a victim of self- delusion. At the National Security Council, he exaggerated his closeness to the President. In running the contra supply network and the arms-for-hostages swap, he seemed to shuttle between fantasy and reality, as he devised the most bizarre schemes to reach his goals. He spoke often of duty and what was right, yet he carelessly used money from the profits of the arms sales...
During 1984, after Congress cut off funds for the contras, North became obsessed with the men he referred to as freedom fighters. He kept a shoe box filled with pictures of contra leaders and talked about how he did not want to lose Nicaragua the way he saw the U.S. lose Viet Nam. North had been in the NSC longer than many of his superiors, and he began to believe in his own indispensability. "Being in the White House is heady," says a colleague. "You start carrying the cross by yourself, and if you don't do it, democracy falls...
...relishing the time at home with his three children and Max, the family's Labrador retriever. Like any suburban dad on a weekend, he can be seen cutting the grass and barbecuing in the backyard. During the day his wife Betsy keeps the kitchen television tuned to the Iran-contra hearings...