Word: contras
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Adolfo Calero, head of the 10,000-member Nicaraguan Democratic Force, the largest contra group, insists that his forces have received little if any of the funds and strongly denies any knowledge of Swiss bank accounts. A senior U.S. Administration official agrees. "There were no such large infusions of cash," he says. "The contras were constantly short of things. No question they were hurting...
...some Western diplomats in Central America say senior contra officials have been known to keep private bank accounts around the world. The accounts have been used, these sources say, to deposit funds from private supporters, most of them right-wing Americans, but including such diverse sources as the Saudi Arabian government and right-wing groups in Europe...
...entire flow of money from Iran to the contras may have been overseen by a loose but complicated network of arms dealers and other powerful men with ties to Government officials. By coordinating the moves among such a quasi-board of directors, someone like North could avoid the bureaucratic tangles and congressional oversight that might thwart secret operations. Aside from other players, the Saudis may have taken a major role, though they deny it. According to the New York Times, the Saudis and the U.S. began in 1983 to discuss supplying arms to the contras. Those involved included North, Secord...
...North such a wily renegade that he could in effect sting Khomeini and funnel millions to the contras without informing his superiors outside the NSC? "They knew what the guy was doing," says a North acquaintance. "How do you think a lieutenant colonel would pull off that kind of stuff?" Others are not so sure about that. "You think it's inconceivable that Ollie did all this on his own?" says a White House official with no great affection for the colonel. "Then you don't know Ollie North. He can fix you with those innocent blue eyes and tell...
Everyone's second favorite suffix, -scam, as in Abscam, has also had a heavy workout (Iranscam, or the rather infelicitous NSCam), as have various "connections" (the Contra Connection, the Swiss Connection, the Tehran Connection). More whimsical designations usually focus on the scandal's most intriguing character: Ollie's Follies, Oliver's Twist, Cuckoo Iran and Ollie, and even (for fans of '50s rock 'n' roll) the Buddy-Ollie Story. Reagan's foes have played the name game with partisan glee: Dutch's Clutch, Gippergate, Iranaround, Iranoutaluck . . . well, you get the idea...