Word: contras
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...probably inevitable. Four years ago, Senate select committees on Iran-contra granted North limited immunity from prosecution in return for hearing his side of the story. That gave North a large opening: though he was subsequently found guilty of obstructing Congress and mutilating government documents, his attorneys convinced an appeals-court judge that the case should be reviewed "line by line" to ensure that none of the witnesses in his trial had been influenced by the nationally televised hearings. Two weeks ago, North's old boss, former National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane, stunned prosecutors by admitting that he had indeed...
...either prosecute North all over again or let the matter drop. Walsh chose to write North off and concentrate on prosecuting Clair George, the CIA's former chief of covert operations, who was indicted three weeks ago for lying or obstruction during a series of investigations into the Iran-contra affair. Pronouncing himself "totally exonerated," North declared, "I've had my last hearing...
Many legal experts predicted this outcome four years ago when lawmakers granted North immunity on the ground that the public had a right to know the Iran-contra story. Today even some of those who supported that decision have their doubts about its wisdom. "I think the lesson is that the Congress, when they grant immunity now, must be very cautious," said Democratic Congressman Lee Hamilton of Indiana, "because doing so probably defeats any criminal prosecution...
...think Robert Gates is telling the truth when he says he does not remember many of the details of the Iran-contra affair...
...decade-long civil war between the U.S.-backed contra rebels and the Sandinistas is supposed to be over. It has been 18 months since a coalition led by President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro ousted the Sandinista National Liberation Front in free elections, and 14 months since about 27,500 contras voluntarily surrendered their weapons. But harassment by the army and police, which remain under Sandinista control, has driven about 1,000 so-called recontras to rearm, threatening a recrudescence...