President Reagan meets with Contra leaders in the Oval Office. Oliver North is at far right. When this photo was officially released North's image was cut out.Source: The National Security Archive Update, November 24, 2006
Republished with the permission of the National Security Archive
THE IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIR 20 YEARS ON
Documents Spotlight Role of Reagan, Top Aides
Pentagon Nominee Robert Gates Among ManyProminent Figures Involved in the Scandal
http://www.nsarchive.org
Washington, DC, November 24, 2006 - The National Security Archive today is posting some of the most important documents to come out of the Iran-Contra affair, which burst onto the public scene 20 years ago. President Ronald Reagan's press conference on November 25, 1986, explicitly linked for the first time the covert arms-for-hostages deals with Iran and the secret U.S. backing for the Nicaraguan Contras.
The scandal over covert arms deals with Iran and secret U.S. backing for the Nicaraguan Contras created huge problems for President Ronald Reagan because of his abandonment of long-standing U.S. policy against dealing with terrorists and the public perception that he had lied to cover up the story. Ultimately, the administration's tactic of focusing attention on the diversion of Iran arms funds to the Contras, which Reagan apparently was unaware of but which was only one of a number of related covert acts he authorized, arguably deflected public attention long enough to prevent his impeachment.
Among the documents being posted are records that relate to the actions (or inaction) of Robert M. Gates, the current nominee to replace Donald Rumsfeld as secretary of defense. Gates came under fire for deliberately looking the other way as the Iran and Contra programs went along, instead of attempting to put an end to them. Questions about his role derailed his nomination to head the CIA in 1987, although he ultimately was named DCI four years later, in 1991, under President George H.W. Bush.
The documents were made available today on the Archive's Web site:
