Contrary to Reason: Iran-Contra

One of the largest scandals in the CIA's and the federal government's history, Iran-Contra, also known as Irangate or Contragate after the infamous trend set by Nixon's Watergate, unfolded through public trials in messy indictments of top officials. Much like in the Watergate scandal, it was difficult for prosecutors to directly prove that President Reagan authorized arms sales to Iranian forces, and suspicion only grew when some of the prosecuted appeared to have been thrown under the bus to save Reagan's reputation, or accused Reagan directly, as John Dean did to Nixon. Although both Congress and a panel called the Tower Commission conducted investigations, there was no clear link to the Oval Office. 

Arms Sales

Due to the Boland Amendment of 1982-4 in the Defense Appropriation Act, the CIA was legally not allowed to provide arms to Nicaraguan rebels, meaning that continued aid to support the contras who were fighting the socialist government amounted to a subversion of the law by an internal federal agency. The missing money from arms sales to Iran, in exchange for hostages, was appropriated by a certain National Security Council, led by Robert McFarlane, John Poindexter, and Oliver North, and diverted to Nicaragua to contain a growing "communist" power. In total, around 30 million dollars worth of missiles were delivered to Iran in exchange for the freeing of American hostages from Lebanon and other Middle Eastern locations, but Congress only came up with 12 million, a gap that immediately aroused investigation and suspicion.

Trials

The accusation of aiding terrorists and enemies to the United States was a serious charge that not even the Teflon President could shy away from. Reagan was known to have supported the Contras' cause, and Poindexter did not implicate the president in the scandal but did say that he would have approved of the actions of the NSC. North specifically stated under trial that Reagan and Vice President Bush were aware of the situation in Nicaragua and did not take actions to stop it. Later when Bush became president, many of those charged with lying to Congress during the trials were pardoned, and North and a few others were not charged since they were promised immunity.

The Iran-Contra affair was an extremely confusing affair that pushed to the heart of Congress's powers, while also exposing the revelation that different government branches could and would come into dangerous conflict instead of working as a cohesive machine toward a typically "American" goal. The CIA's reputation and Reagan's reputation were damaged by the underhanded and illegal way the administration attempted to follow through on subverting democratically elected Communist governments, even after being specifically forbidden to do so.

Works Cited:

"Iran Contra Affair", Cold War Museum,

http://www.coldwar.org/articles/80s/IranContraAffair.asp

"Understanding the Iran-Contra Affairs," Brown University, https://www.brown.edu/Research/Understanding_the_Iran_Contra_Affair/

Larry Sabato, 1998, "Washingtonpost.com Special Report: Clinton Accused," Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/iran.htm

Peter Kornbluh, 11-24-2006, "The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On," National Security Archive, http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB210/