Word: iran-contra
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
DIED. THEODORE DRAPER, 93, irascible historian known for his masterly plumbing of official documents and talent at translating them into lively works that explored the abuse of power in U.S. politics; in Princeton, N.J. Among his best-known books: A Very Thin Line, a definitive study of the Iran-contra scandal...
...successful ones in modern times have gone about it in different ways, depending on the forces that were arrayed against them. Dwight Eisenhower, confronting a hostile Congress, made his mark with his veto pen. Ronald Reagan rid his White House of the aides whose incompetence and duplicity had produced Iran-contra, and engaged the Soviet foe he had once called an "evil empire." After Bill Clinton got past impeachment, he did what he could by Executive Order and picked his shots with Republicans on Capitol Hill--for instance, demanding more education spending in must-pass bills...
...that the aide whose aim was to spin the war might have tried to spin the prosecutor. "Lying was a remarkable act of stupidity on Libby's part," says Richard Nixon's former White House counsel John Dean. "He's old enough to know better. He watched Watergate and Iran-contra. To try to pull the leg of the grand jury was really quite remarkable...
...ROBERT A. CARO Lyndon Johnson biographer This President can get his Administration back on track only with a very deep type of political and governmental courage: the courage to admit that his most fundamental policies have failed and must be radically changed. With a scandal like Iran-contra, you can fire a man. That won't be enough here. The wounds are too deep. When a large part of the problem is a war, you really have to change the most fundamental policies. Iraq is wrecking George Bush's presidency. People said about Vietnam, You can't just...
...ROBERT DALLEK History professor, Boston University Bush is in a situation where you have the whiff of Vietnam and the smell of Watergate, and there are few examples of Presidents who got into trouble this deep and worked out of it. Reagan ran into a firestorm over Iran-contra, and he was rescued by his relationship with Gorbachev and dealing with the Soviet Union. For Bush, the Iraq war is a burden he won't be able to shake until he can end the conflict. All the rhetoric about democracy, the Iraqi constitution--I think the public is skeptical since...