Iran-Contra

President Reagans motives:

President Reagans own motives and personal predispositions had contributed to the
Iran-Contra affair and it seriously damaged his Presidency.
He had the tendency to delegate to his subordinates the responsibility to implement
his goals, but in important issues of state and major policy this could be seen as an
abdication of his responsibility as President.
In the Iran part of the Iran-Contra affair, President Reagan let his personal concern
for the U.S. citizens taken hostage in Iran to override his own stated convictions and
the policy of the government that giving in to terrorists will only lead to more
terrorism.
On the Contra part of the Iran-Contra affair, President Reagans personal ideological
convictions were that the Sandinista government of Nicaragua was a threat to U.S.
national security interests and that the Contras should be supported by America, []
but his concerns set a tone in the White House that led his national security staff to
break the law in order to carry out what they were sure were his wishes.
What happened:
In 1984 and 1985, during the war between Iran and Iraq, seven U.S. citizens were
kidnapped in Lebanon by Shiite Muslims, closely connected to the leaders of Iran;
because Iran was in need for military equipment and spare parts to fix its weapons, a
deal was proposed: the release of the hostages in exchange for the U.S. supplying
spare airplane parts and missiles to Iran.
President Reagans concern for the hostages was reflected by National Security
Council (NSC) staff that made arrangements for the exchange, with Israel as an
intermediator.
One of the Presidents reasons for this decision was the intention to reestablish open
relations with moderates in Iran, but their existence was doubtful.
His decision was questioned because the United States had a firm policy not to
negotiate with terrorists.
The Reagan Administration had launched Operation Staunch, a diplomatic
campaign to stop U.S. allies in Europe from selling arms to Iran or Iraq.
Even if the Secretary of State George Shultz and Secretary of Defense Caspar
Weinberger argued against trading arms for hostages, the President was the one who
had the authority to set policy in the Executive Branch, but Weinberger sustained his
point of view and came with the argument that such a decision would violate the
Arms Export Control Act which prohibited the sale of U.S. arms to nations
designated sponsors of terrorism.

 The National Security Act specified that these actions were to be taken only if they
are important to national security and only after the President signs an official
finding; the President signed a finding on January 17, 1986 that authorized U.S.
direct arms sales to Iran, without notifying the Congress.
The Reagan Administrations actions turned out to be futile: a few of the hostages
were released, but three more hostages were captured; the courting of moderates in
Iran was not successful, either.
In the Contra dimension of the Iran-Contra affair, White House aides (particularly
National Security Advisor Poindexter and staff member Oliver North) undertook to
use the profits received from the sale of missiles to Iran to aid the Contras in
Nicaragua. The problem was that Congress had passed, and President Reagan had
signed a law prohibiting U.S. aid to the Contras, but the law had not been passed
without due deliberation in Congress.
Financial and operational aids were provided to the Contras by the Administration.
Despite the law, Reagan told National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane to keep the
Contras together, body and soul.
NSC staff member Oliver North proposed the idea of using the money received from
the sale of the arms to support the Contras, instead of sending them to U.S. Treasury,
so North and his associates set up secret bank accounts to handle the money.

The consequences:
The secret attempt to fund the Contras was in direct violation of public law and a
serious threat to the Constitution. The Presidents aides decided that what they could
not achieve through the public constitutional process they would accomplish through
secret means.
There is no question that President Reagan strongly supported aid to the Contras and
that he communicated this directly to his staff. Reagan, however, denied any
knowledge of the diversion of funds to the Contras, and there is no evidence that he
knew about it before it was discovered by Attorney General Edwin Meese.
In the end, there was no improved relationship with Iran, no lessening of its
commitments to terrorism, and no fewer American hostages.
Although the possibility of impeachment was discussed in both the Executive and the
Legislative Branches, it was not pursued by Congress; there was no evidence that
President Reagan knew about the diversion of funds to the Contras before it happened,
which would have been the most likely grounds for impeachment.

Bibliography:

 Triumphs and Tragedies of the Modern Presidency, Presidential Crises: Watergate,

Iran-Contra, and Impeachment, p.290-295
http://www.dictionary.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/

Glossary:

To implement: to fulfill; perform; carry out;

Policy: a course of action adopted and pursued by a government, ruler,political party;
Override: 1. use one's authority to reject or cancel (a decision, view, etc.)."the courts
will ultimately override any objections"

synonyms
disallow, overrule, countermand, veto, set aside, quash, overturn, overthrow; More
:
2.interrupt the action of (an automatic device), typically in order to take manual
control."you can override the cut-out by releasing the switch"

The Contras: The contras (some references use the capitalized form, "Contras") is a
label given to the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were
active from 1979 to the early 1990s in opposition to the left-wing, socialist Sandinista
Junta of National Reconstruction government in Nicaragua.
The White House: The White House is the official residence and principal workplace
of the President of the United States, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in
Washington, D.C. It has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams
in 1800.
Shiite Muslims: Shia (followers of Ali), is a branch of Islam which holds that the
Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor (Caliph).
Shia Islam primarily contrasts with Sunni Islam, whose adherents believe that
Muhammad did not appoint a successor. Instead they consider Abu Bakr (who was
appointed Caliph through a Shura, i.e. consensus) to be the correct Caliph.
Adherents of Shia Islam are called Shias or the Shi'a as a collective or Shi'i
individually. Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam: in 2009, Shia Muslims
constituted 1013% of the world's Muslim population. Twelver Shia is the largest
branch of Shia Islam. In 2012 it was estimated that perhaps 85 percent of Shias were
Twelvers.
National Security Council: The White House National Security Council (NSC) is the
principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national
security and foreign policy matters with senior national security advisors and Cabinet
officials and is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States.
Moderates: In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme,
partisan, nor radical.
Operation Staunch: was created in spring 1983 by the United States State
Department to stop the illicit flow of U.S. arms to Iran.
Secretary of State: The Secretary of State is a senior official of the federal
government of the United States of America heading the U.S. Department of State,
principally concerned with foreign policy and is considered to be the U.S.
government's equivalent of a Minister for Foreign Affairs.

The Secretary of State is appointed by the President of the United States and is
confirmed by the United States Senate. The Secretary of State, along with the
Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, and Attorney General are generally
regarded as the four most important Cabinet members because of the importance of
their respective departments. Secretary of State is a Level I position in the Executive
Schedule and thus earns the salary prescribed for that level.
Secretary of Defense: The Secretary of Defense (SecDef) is the leader and chief
executive officer of the Department of Defense, an Executive Department of the
Government of the United States of America. The Secretary of Defense's power over
the United States military is second only to that of the President. This position
corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in many other
countries. The Secretary of Defense is appointed by the President with the advice and
consent of the Senate, and is by custom a member of the Cabinet and by law a member
of the National Security Council.
Executive Branch: The executive branch of our Government is in charge of making
sure that the laws of the United States are obeyed. The President of the United States
is the head of the executive branch. The President gets help from the Vice President,
department heads (called Cabinet members), and heads of independent agencies.
Arms Export Control Act: The Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (Title II of Pub.L.
94329, 90 Stat. 729, enacted June 30, 1976, codified at 22 U.S.C. ch. 39) gives the
President of the United States the authority to control the import and export of defense
articles and defense services.
The National Security Act: The National Security Act of 1947 was a major
restructuring of the United States government's military and intelligence agencies
following World War II. The majority of the provisions of the Act took effect on
September 18, 1947, the day after the Senate confirmed James Forrestal as the first
Secretary of Defense.
Finding: 1. the action of finding someone or something. "a local doctor reported the
finding of numerous dead rats"
synonyms: discovery, location, locating, detection, detecting, uncovering, unearthing
2. information discovered as the result of an inquiry or investigation.
"the researchers' findings were published in Nature"

The Congress: The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal
government of the United States consisting of two chambers: the Senate and the House
of Representatives. The Congress meets in the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Both
senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in
the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Members are usually
affiliated to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party, and only rarely to a third
party or as independents. Congress has 535 voting members: 435 Representatives and
100 Senators.
National Security Advisor: The Assistant to the President for National Security
Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor or at times informally
termed the NSC advisor, is a senior aide in the Executive Office of the President,
based at the West Wing of the White House, who serves as the chief in-house advisor
to the President of the United States on national security issues.
Treasury: A government department related to finance and taxation.

Constitution: The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States
of America. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the
national frame of government.
Attorney General: The United States Attorney General (A.G.) is the head of the
United States Department of Justice per 28 U.S.C. 503, concerned with legal affairs
and is the chief law enforcement officer and chief lawyer of the United States
government. The attorney general serves as a member of the cabinet of the President
of the United States and is the only cabinet officer who does not have the title of
secretary.
The Attorney General is appointed by the President and takes office after confirmation
by the United States Senate. Confirmation is a two step process in the Senate, first
with the Judiciary Committee and then the majority of the full Senate. He or she
serves at the pleasure of the president and can be removed by the president at any
time; the attorney general is also subject to impeachment by the House of
Representatives and trial in the Senate for "treason, bribery, and other high crimes and
misdemeanors."
Impeachment: The Constitution defines impeachment at the federal level and limits
impeachment to "The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United
States" who may be impeached and removed only for "treason, bribery, or other high
crimes and misdemeanors".
Executive and the Legislative Branches: To ensure a separation of powers, the U.S.
Federal Government is made up of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial.
To ensure the government is effective and citizens' rights are protected, each branch
has its own powers and responsibilities, including working with the other branches.