Iran-Contra : Reagan's scandal and the unchecked abuse of presidential power

509 Pages·2014·5.51 MB·English

by  Byrne

Praise for Malcolm Byrne’s Iran-Contra
“At last, the Reagan administration’s Iran-Contra affair has a comprehensive history worthy of the scandal
which, if the system had worked, should have landed many senior White House officials in the slammer.
Byrne has told this complex story in brilliant fashion, from the motives of the President’s men, to the follies
as the unconstitutional plot was carried out, to the inability of Congress to do the right thing and, finally, to
the futility of the independent inquiry whose work ended in a whimper.”
—Seymour M. Hersh, author of Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib
“A remarkable book about a remarkable scandal that shook American politics more than a quarter-century
ago. Byrne’s riveting account is not only good history and an exciting tale of espionage and White House
intrigue; it is a warning about the excesses of secrecy and partisanship in American foreign policy.”
—Bruce Riedel, author of The Search for Al Qaeda: Its Leadership, Ideology, and Future
“A thrilling account of secrecy, connivance, and manipulation in the dark corridors of power in Washington
and Tehran. The cast of characters—Casey, Rafsanjani, North, Ghorbanifar, and others—remind one of
Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre in The Maltese Falcon. By digging into the history of the Iran-Contra
affair, Malcolm Byrne shows us how much unchecked powers can damage the security of our nations. A
truly fascinating book.”
—Maziar Bahari, author of Then They Came for Me
“Reopens the vitally important argument over Ronald Reagan’s presidency—particularly, as Byrne asserts
with his use of many newly available documents, that Reagan was not passive, but ‘the driving force’
behind that unconstitutional and embarrassing scheme.”
—Walter LaFeber, author of America, Russia, and the Cold War, 1945–2006
“The Iran-Contra affair transformed U.S. foreign policy in the Persian Gulf. Moreover, it was not a rogue
affair by a few misguided members of the National Security Council. As Byrne demonstrates in this
meticulously documented reconstruction, it was a presidential initiative with President Reagan engaged at
every stage. All other accounts of this tragic episode in American foreign policy must be measured against
this authoritative narrative.”
—Gary Sick, Columbia University, Member of the National Security Council staff during the presidencies
of Ford, Carter and Reagan
“The definitive account of a Washington scandal that was as bizarre as it was important. Byrne has
reconstructed events and decisions that led a handful of bureaucrats in the Reagan administration to tie
America’s fate to jungle fighters in Nicaragua, radical mullahs in Iran, and ambitious geo-strategists in
Israel. This book not only traces their twisted paths, but provides as good an answer as we are likely to get
to the question, ‘What could they possibly have been thinking?’”
—Stephen Kinzer, author of The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War
“An impressive, compelling, and revelatory work. Byrne meticulously lays out the evidence that puts
President Reagan at the heart of the decisionmaking process that led to the scandal and its attempted
coverup. Scholars will appreciate this work’s rigor and sophistication; readers of all kinds will be shocked
by Byrne’s well-told tale of intrigue, covert operations, and an American foreign policy debacle that
reverberated around the world.
—David Farber, author of Taken Hostage: The Iran Hostage Crisis and America’s First Encounter with
Radical Islam
“Byrne reaches behind redactions to reveal the most serious usurpation of power imaginable, where
officials put political and policy interests ahead of legal and constitutional restraints. His book is a parable
for the security scandals of today and should be read by experts and concerned citizens alike.”
—John Prados, author of The Family Jewels, the CIA, Secrecy, and Presidential Power
“In this outstanding and meticulously researched book, Malcolm Byrne knits together two disastrous
foreign policy initiatives of Ronald Reagan’s second term. The decision to support the Nicaraguan Contras
and to sell arms to Iran to secure the release of U.S. hostages in the Middle East violated U.S. law and every
public assurance given to Congress and the U.S. public. These episodes shared an underlying current of
ideological zealotry that almost sank the Reagan presidency. As Byrne points out, the failure of the Iran-
Contra scandal to lead to greater accountability cleared a path for continuing excesses in the name of
national security.”
—Cynthia J. Arnson, Director, Latin American Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for
Scholars
“This provocative book should be read as the definitive volume on the Iran-Contra scandal and its impact
on the United States, the Middle East and Central America.”
—Farideh Farhi, author of States and Urban-Based Revolutions: Iran and Nicaragua
Iran-Contra
Iran-Contra
Reagan’s Scandal and
the Unchecked Abuse of
Presidential Power
Malcolm Byrne
Foreword by
Bruce Riedel
University Press of Kansas
© 2014 by the University Press of Kansas
All rights reserved
Published by the University Press of Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas 66045), which was organized by the
Kansas Board of Regents and is operated and funded by Emporia State University, Fort Hays State
University, Kansas State University, Pittsburg State University, the University of Kansas, and Wichita State
University
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Byrne, Malcolm.
Iran-Contra : Reagan’s scandal and the unchecked abuse of presidential power / Malcolm Byrne ; foreword
by Bruce Riedel.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7006-1991-7 (hardback : acid-free paper)
ISBN 978-0-7006-2036-4 (ebook)
1. Iran-Contra Affair, 1985–1990. 2. Reagan, Ronald. 3. Scandals—United States—History—20th century.
4. Power (Social sciences)—United States—History—20th century. 5. Executive power—United States—
History—20th century. 6. Political corruption—United States—History—20th century. 7. United States—
Politics and government—1981–1989. I. Title.
E876.B97 2014
320.97309048—dc23
2014014486
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data is available.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication is recycled and contains 30 percent postconsumer waste. It is acid free
and meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1992.
For Leila
Contents
Foreword by Bruce Riedel
Preface: Settings for the Scandal
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1.Raising the Contras
2.Coping with Iran
3.Taking over the Covert War
4.TOW Missiles to Tehran
5.Quid Pro Quos
6.HAWKS
7.Tightening the Reins on the Contras
8.A Neat Idea
9.Air Contra
10.Road to Tehran
11.Meltdown
12.Blowback
13.The Early CoverUp
14.Congress Steps In
15.The Independent Counsel
Conclusion
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
Foreword
This is a remarkable book about a remarkable scandal that shook U.S. politics a
quarter century ago. The Iran-Contra scandal gravely damaged U.S. national
security interests in the late 1980s, but it has been largely forgotten by most U.S.
citizens. The intrigues of President Ronald Reagan’s spymaster, William Casey,
and two of Reagan’s national security advisors, Robert McFarlane and John
Poindexter, were investigated by a presidential commission, the Congress, and
an independent counsel, each of which apportioned blame. A few individuals,
most notably Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, were indicted for,
convicted of, or pled guilty to misconduct and lying to cover up the scandal.
President George H. W. Bush pardoned several of them in the closing days of his
administration. Casey died before he could be summoned to testify. Reagan’s
role in the affair was downplayed, even excused because of his poor health, and
gradually forgotten. In time Reagan became an iconic figure, credited by many
as one of the great presidents of the twentieth century.
This book is based on years of meticulous research in declassified documents,
diaries of senior officials including then Vice President Bush, and interviews. It
explores and explains in more depth and texture than ever before the two
intelligence operations that created the scandal. Malcolm Byrne has exposed the
myths that have endured for decades about the scandal, and he has helped
readers understand exactly why Reagan was willing to break the law and sell
arms to a deadly enemy of the United States, Iran, just a few years after it held
dozens of U.S. diplomats hostage.
This book demonstrates that rather than being on the margin of the
intelligence operations in Central America and the Middle East that led to Iran-
Contra, Reagan was at their center. He drove the policy process toward a secret
opening with Iran because he was obsessed with freeing U.S. hostages taken by
Iran’s allies in Lebanon. Reagan’s decisions, not some rogue operation run by
Oliver North, led to the United States selling arms to Iran in return for promises,
never entirely fulfilled, to free the hostages. Vice President Bush was also deeply
involved in the policy process and kept fully informed on the efforts to free the
hostages.
I was a CIA officer serving in the Middle East in the 1980s. The CIA officers
killed by Iran’s terrorists in Beirut, including Bob Ames and seven of his
colleagues, were my friends. The CIA chief in Beirut, William Buckley, who
was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered, was also a friend. I still remember the
terrible days when Ames was killed and Buckley was taken hostage.
The United States was at war with Iran and its ally, Hezbollah, in the 1980s, at
least in a clandestine war. In that war, the idea of trading arms for hostages with
your enemy was bizarre from the start. Within the government, the entire project
was kept carefully compartmentalized in large part to avoid expert scrutiny,
inside the government and outside, of the tortured assumptions underlying the
policy. Then it was implemented over the objections of the secretary of state and
secretary of defense. Implementation was often done in a “keystone kops,”
amateurish fashion. Bank accounts were misrecorded, deadlines ignored, and red
lines blurred. Byrne’s riveting account reveals all the ugly details along with
those responsible.
Casey and Reagan believed they had a valuable Iranian partner in a man who
failed catastrophically every lie detector test he was administered. Casey’s senior
advisors all told him the Iranian was a liar; he ignored their judgment and went
ahead recklessly. Iran-Contra is a case study in how not to do foreign
intelligence operations.
It is also a case study in how not to investigate scandal in the White House.
The independent commission headed by Sen. John Tower went out of its way to
excuse Reagan from responsibility and to put the blame on an out-of-control
National Security Council staff. The congressional investigation produced a
more accurate report but also avoided the issue of whether the president’s
conduct warranted impeachment. The independent counsel took years to bring
cases to trial. The redeeming virtue of the investigations, however, was they
brought to light the mountains of documents and diaries this book uses to tell the
story.
Behind the scenes Reagan had a crucial and enthusiastic partner in Israel.
Israeli leaders, including Shimon Peres, desperately wanted to restore the cozy
relationship Israel had with Iran before the shah was toppled, when the two
states were aligned in a secret entente. Peres and his colleagues refused to
believe the ayatollahs would not sooner or later come back to partnering with
Israel, even though their professional intelligence officers told them this was a
fantasy. Instead Israel became Iran’s critical arms supplier in the Iran-Iraq War
and enticed the United States into joining it in the madness. U.S. diplomats and
spies were told to turn a blind eye to Israeli arms shipments to Iran even before
Reagan got into his own arms deals.