The Iran-Contra Affair (also called the Iran-Contra Matter and Iran-gate) was one of the largest political scandals in the United States during the 1980s. [1] The affair is still shrouded with secrecy and it is very hard to discover the facts. It involved several members of the Reagan Administration who in 1986 helped sell arms to Iran, an avowed enemy, and used the proceeds to fund the Contras, an anti-communist guerrilla organization in Nicaragua. [2]
The affair connected two quite disparate matters; on the one hand was arms sales to Iran, and on the other funding of Contra militants in Nicaragua. Direct funding had been made illegal through the Boland Amendment. The affair emerged when a Lebanese newspaper reported that the U.S. sold arms to Iran in exchange for the release of hostages by Hezbollah. Emails sent by Oliver North to John Poindexter support this.[5] However, the then Israeli ambassador to the U.S. claims that the reason was to establish links with elements of the military in Iran.
The scandal was compounded when on November 21, Oliver North and his secretary Fawn Hall shredded pertinent documents. US Attorney General Edwin Meese admitted on November 25 that profits from weapons sales to Iran were made available to assist the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. On the same day, John Poindexter resigned, and Oliver North was fired.[22] Poindexter was replaced by Frank Carlucci on December 2, 1986
On November 25, 1986, President Reagan, faced with mounting pressure from Congressional Democrats and the media, announced the creation of a Special Review Board looking into the matter and the next day assigned former Senator John Tower, former Secretary of State Edmund Muskie, and former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft to serve as members; this Presidential Commission would take effect on December 1 and became known as the Tower Commission. Oliver North and John Poindexter were indicted on multiple charges on March 16, 1988.[26] North, indicted on 12 counts, was found guilty by a jury of three minor counts. In 1990, Poindexter was convicted on several felony counts of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and altering and destroying documents pertinent to the investigation.
Reagan expressed regret regarding the situation at a nationally televised White House press conference on March 4, 1987.
VR
2006-12-15 14:33:12
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answer #1
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answered by sarayu 7
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During the Reagan administration there was a law which forbade the giving of arms or money to the anti-Sandanista contra rebels in Nicuragua. Members of the White House administration sold weapons to Iran and sent the money to the contras.
2006-12-15 14:31:39
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answer #2
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answered by jcboyle 5
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The USA was secretly running arms to Iran in exchange for money to send to terrorists (the Contras) who were fighting the government of Nicaragua
2006-12-15 17:59:32
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answer #3
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answered by brainstorm 7
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the large massive difference right that is that Reagan replaced into not totally attentive to what replaced into taking position interior the Iran Contra affair. at the same time as he reported "i do not remember" the overall consensus is that he extremely did not remember. He would were interior the first degrees of his alzheimer's disease. on the different hand, Clinton deliberately lied . To anybody. The courts, his spouse, and the yankee human beings. In April, 1999, about 2 months after being acquitted with the help of the Senate, Clinton replaced into stated with the help of Federal District decide Susan Webber Wright for civil contempt of court docket for his "willful failure" to obey her repeated orders to testify actually interior the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit. For this citation, Clinton replaced into assessed a $ninety,000 fantastic, and the count number replaced into said the Arkansas very best court docket to work out if disciplinary action will be ideal[7]. with regards to Clinton's January 17, 1998 deposition the position he replaced into positioned lower than oath, the decide wrote: "basically positioned, the president's deposition testimony with regards to no matter if he had ever been on my own with Ms. (Monica) Lewinsky replaced into deliberately fake and his statements with regards to no matter if he had ever engaged in sexual kin members with Ms. Lewinsky likewise were deliberately fake . . ." [8] In January 2001, on the day beforehand leaving workplace, Clinton agreed to a 5 3 hundred and sixty 5 days suspension of his Arkansas regulation license as element of an settlement with the autonomous tips that could end the study. in accordance to this suspension, Clinton replaced into also immediately suspended from the U. S. very best court docket bar, from which he chosen to renounce [9].
2016-11-30 20:14:41
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answer #4
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answered by laranjeira 4
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