What Was The Iran-Contra Affair
- In spite of the president’s public promise to never bargain with terrorists, Reagan decided to trade US missiles for seven hostages and $30 million.
- Despite the Boland Amendment, Reagan secretly funded a right-wing rebel group fighting the Nicaraguan communist government.
- Unlike Richard Nixon and his involvement in the Watergate scandal, Reagan ended his second term in office as a popular president.
The Iran-Contra Affair of the 1980s was an American political scandal in which President Ronald Reagan and the National Security Council were secretly involved in activities that either violated the law or went against their publicly stated promises. Also referred to as Irangate, it shocked the nation and threatened to dismantle Reagan’s presidency.
In response to the scandal, the Tower Commission cited the Roman poet Juvenal: “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”
Or in English: “Who will watch the watchmen?”
With the people’s faith in the American government on the line, this question had never been more pertinent or necessary.
Nicaragua And The Contras
Ronald Reagan sat in the Oval Office from 1981 to 1989, but he presided over a country with a split Congress: the 1980 Senate elections resulted in a Republican majority, while the House elections resulted in a Democratic majority. Working for a divided government, Reagan found it difficult to pursue his agenda of battling the spread of global communism by assisting insurgencies around the world. The situation was exacerbated when the Democrats passed the Boland Amendment which prevented him from getting involved with the Contras in Nicaragua.
The Contras were a right-wing rebel group battling the local communist government. Reagan believed that the continued existence of the Nicaraguan leftist government could spark revolution throughout South America which would ultimately pose a huge threat to the security of the United States. Furthermore, Reagan truly believed in the Contras, going so far as comparing them to the Founding Fathers despite the fact they were primarily funded through the cocaine trade.
Determined to destabilize the communist government, Reagan instructed Robert McFarlane, the National Security Advisor, to find a covert way to assist the Contras, regardless of the consequences.
The Hostage Crisis
On September 22, 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, sparking a long eight-year war. Meanwhile, in Lebanon, terrorists who were sympathetic toward Iran’s plight were holding seven Americans hostage, a mix of diplomats and private contractors. Upon hearing about the situation, Reagan grew determined to bring his countrymen home.
In 1985, McFarlane confided in the president that Iran had offered a deal: weapons in exchange for the hostages. In addition to the seven Americans, the United States would also receive funds that could secretly be funneled to the Contras in Nicaragua.
In spite of the current trade embargo on Iran and the president’s public promise to never bargain with terrorists or to aid Iran in its war against Iraq, Reagan decided to push ahead with the deal.
The Ensuing Scandal
Reagan’s backdoor deals came to light in November 1986 when a Lebanese newspaper first reported the trade. 1,500 US missiles had been sold to Iran for $30 million, but only three of the seven hostages had been released. The American people were rightfully upset. Bombarded by the press, Reagan initially denied everything before retracting his statement a week later.
To make matters worse for the president, the subsequent investigation uncovered that $18 million of the $30 million was missing. Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North soon confessed that he had sent the money to the Contras in Nicaragua who used the funds to purchase weapons, a clear breach of the Boland Amendment.
In the end, fourteen people were charged, including McFarlane who was fined $20,000 and North who lost his job. Thomas Clines, a private contractor, was the only individual complicit in the affair to serve jail time. Reagan was never charged as there was no specific evidence linking him to the scandal.
Despite the anger and the general feeling of betrayal, the controversy was soon forgotten. Unlike Richard Nixon and his involvement in the Watergate scandal, Reagan ended his second term in office as a popular president. In fact, he left the White House with the highest approval rating of any American president since Franklin Roosevelt. For reasons unknown, the scandal never really cemented itself as part of his legacy.
