Word: nicaragua
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...approve of U.S. support for the contras fighting against government troops in Nicaragua...
...second issue is Nicaragua. The Administration for years has failed to win popular or congressional approval for its policies in support of the contras. So the White House has done things of highly questionable legality in order to circumvent the Boland amendment...
...rock when it all came down." He had, indeed, been fired by President Reagan last Nov. 25, after Attorney General Edwin Meese revealed that the profits from U.S. weapons sold secretly to Iran had been used to send military supplies to the contras fighting the Sandinista government of Nicaragua. But North declared, "I never in my wildest dreams or nightmares envisioned that we would end up with criminal charges." Now faced with that dire possibility through the investigation of Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh, North made it clear that he had rebelled against his self-described role as the Administration...
...North's sweeping testimony left the firm impression that the late CIA director William Casey had masterminded the covert operations that were designed to achieve two of Reagan's most cherished policy goals: to win the release of U.S. hostages in Lebanon, and to keep the contras fighting in Nicaragua, even if Congress would not provide U.S. funds for that purpose. When Congress passed the Boland amendment in 1984, specifically banning all agencies "involved in intelligence activities" from providing military support to the Nicaraguan rebels, Casey simply shifted his previous contra support operation to the NSC staff on the dubious...
...ever loyal Marine would take the "hit" if any of the many secret operations were exposed, thus protecting higher officials -- especially the President. When the Iran-contra scam did unravel, the trail led quickly to North. A private U.S. aircraft carrying supplies to the contras was shot down over Nicaragua last Oct. 5, and the downed airmen were carrying telephone numbers that linked them with Robert Owen, North's personal courier to the contras. Two days later Casey learned that angry middlemen in the Iran arms sales were claiming they had lost millions and were threatening to expose the diversion...