Morehead State University - Raconteur Yearbook (Morehead, KY)

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the Contras; and Albert Hakim, the Iran- ian born business partner of Secord who helped keep the books on the entire deal. The scandal seemed to involve ev- eryone from millionaires to secre- taries.Oliver Northis secretary, Fawn Hall, admitted that she helped North remove, falsify, and shred key docu- ments even after an investigation had been launched. The chain of events began in the sum- mer of 1985 when Ghorbanifar in- formed two Israeli businessmen that certain moderates in Iran would be will- ing to use their influence in Lebanon for the release of American hostages in ex- change for arms. In addition to this, Mc- Farlane saw this as an opportunity to reopen friendly relations with a faction in Iran who could possibly be the Ayatol- lah Khomeiniis successors. The moderates are a group of Iranian olficials who are battling with other fac- tions for the position of successor to the Ayatollah. They are referred to as mod- erates because their political views are less fanatical than the present regime. The moderates are pragmatists who want to open relations with the West and who are willing to compromise in order to end the Iran-Iraq war. From September of 1985 until Octo- ber of 1986, seven shipments of ma- chine parts, TWW missiles and HAWK missiles were delivered to Iran. At first, ,6 the weapons were shipped from Israel,s x stockpile with the US. resupplying Is- rael. Later, the US. began sending its own weapons to Iran through Israel. The weapons were sold at three or four times supposed to be in a contra-controlled Swiss bank account. Calero did add that they received some services that they did not pay for but they do not know who provided these services or the mag- nitude of them. A significant portion of the missing profits were given to subsidize the pro- Western Iranian politicians so that they could have an advantage in gaining con- trol of the Iranian government when the Ayatollah Khomeini is succeeded. Some of this money was placed into a CIA account that supports Angolian fighters, or perhaps it was lost, as was a 10 million dollar contribution from the Sultan of Brunei. The money may also have been used in the secret training and weapons their book value. After expenses were ; , subtracted and middlemen skimmed their fees, profits were deposited in Swiss accounts listed as Lake Resources, Secordis business acc0unts. During this time three hostages were released. Reverend Benjamin Weir was released September 14, 1985. Father Lawrence Jenco was released July of 1986. David Jacobsen was released November of 1986. The profits from the sales were origi- nally to be used to help aid the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. But according to Adolfo Calero, one of the three leaders of the United Nicaragua Opposition, the Contras never saw any money that was for certain Iranian officials to assasinate factional rivals, and possibly to aid in the assasination of the Ayatollah. During the investigations, it was dis- covered that several of the key figures used some of the profits for personal reasons. Secord used $350,000 to buy a Porsche, a Piper airplane, and a months stay at a health resort. North had a $200,000 death benefit contract and was made the beneficiary of another $2 million fund. It was also discovered that North was given $90,000 from Calero for itthe furthering of freedomis cause , instead North used it for his personal expenses. The biggest question of the scandal was, what President Ronald Reagan knew. The President has admitted to knowing about the arms shipments. In fact, it was discovered that in January of 1986 he secretly signed an executive order lifting the Iranian arms embargo. But the President did deny having any knowledge of the diversion of profits to the Contras. One of the major concerns of the pub- lic has been exactly what laws were bro- ken by these actions. The three main violations were an oversight of laws which require the administration to re- port covert activities to Congress; in- fringement of Congressional prohibi- tions on aid to the Contras; and going against the Arms Export Control Act which prohibits the sale or transfer of US. arms to countries which support terrorism. Other possible violations of the law include: perjury; obstruction of justice, and defrauding the US. govern- ment. In March of 1988, McFarlane pleaded guilty to four counts of illegally with- holding information from Congress dur- ing its investigation. McFarlane has yet to be sentenced. The maximum penalty would be four years in prison and up to $400,000 in fines. ' North, Poindexter, Secord, and his business partner, Albert Hakim, were V indicted by a federal grand jury on , charges of conspiring to divert Iranian ' arms sales profits to the Nicaraguan Contra rebels. They are all awaiting trial. North maintains that he broke no laws and that those involved saw themselves as nyoung men and women who have taken up the cause of democracy against a government that is cruelly oppres- sivefi Since it has been suggested that these men are taking the blame for President Reagan, it is doubtful that the public will ever know if Reagan was a figurehead who could not control his advisers or if he was a man who placed himself above the law. It is also doubtful whether the public will ever know the entire truth about the Iran-Contra scandal. 6 - By: Christie Sheppard lran-Contra Affair

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Events 170 mmom M8138E I I What really happened? Marine Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, was a key official in the plan to finance anti-government rebels in Nicaragua with money from arms sales to Iran. In testimony before the Iran-Contra hearings in Washington, North became somewhat of a celebrity. AP PHOTO It has been referred to as Irangate, the Iran-Contra Affair, and Iranamok, but no matter what it is called, it still means the same thing. This event marks the most serious and far-reaching scandal to hit the United States government since the Watergate affair of the early 19703. The story which first surfaced in November of 1986 after the Lebanese magazine Al Shima leaked the story, has become increasingly more complex as the months have gone by. As more de- tails became known, it became less clear who was responsible for what. The Sen- ate and House Committees which held public hearings Iune-August of 1987 on the scandal were hindered by these facts: many documents were destroyed before they could be examined; key wit- nesses provided contradictory testi- mony; Central Intelligence Agency tCIA1 Director William Casey died be- fore he could be interrogated about CIA involvement; Israeli witnesses were pro- hibited from testifying by their govern- ment, and several witnesses exhibited selective memories, including Rear Ad- miral John Poindexter, former National Security Adviser, who used variations of 111 cannot rememberi, 184 times during his testimony. The key figures in this scandal were Robert McFarlane, who served as the National Security Adviser until his resig- nation in 1985; Rear Admiral John Poin- dexter, who succeeded McFarland and served until his resignation in 1986; Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, a na- tional security council member, who was fired by President Reagan in 1986; retired Maj or General Richard Secord, a businessman who helped in the negotia- tions with the Iranians and who con- trolled the money in the Swiss bank ac- counts. Another key person was Manucher Chorbanifar, an Iranian arms merchant who served as the main inter- mediary between the United States, Is- rael, and the moderates in Iran. Other figures who played a role in the scandal include: Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi millionaire, who apparently was the key middleman in the US. weapons transfer to Iran; Donald Gregg, a former CIA agent, who set up operations at 110- pango airfield in El Salvador which served as the staging center for flights to

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Stocks, Talks, and Lies Events 172 Stock market crashes! American troops sent to Nicaragua! U.S. retaliates in the Persian Gulf! These and many other stories made headlines here and abroad this year. Numerous events oc- curred in Kentucky and around the globe that affected our world. United States- Soviet Summit One of the most significant happenings was the United States-Soviet summit that was held in Washington, D.C., between President Ronald Rea- gan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The three-day summit, which began Dec. 7, started with a meeting between the two leaders with only translators and a notetaker present. Their discussion was mainly about human rights. After the meeting, Reagan and Gorbachev signed the Treaty, both Russian and English versions, which banned short and medium-range nuclear missiles, this resulted in the destruction of 2600 warheads. After signing the treaty, President Reagan and Gorbachev resumed their talks with their top advi- sors present. This time the discussion centered around regional conflicts, such as the war in Afghanistan. Almost no progress was made in this area. Later that day, Gorbachev met at the Soviet President Reagan talks with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev during arrival ceremonies at the White House. The two superpower leaders held a three- day summit meeting in December and signed a nuclear arms control agreement. AP PHOTO