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N0KFQ > TODAY 05.10.12 20:42l 54 Lines 2521 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 29251_KB0WSA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Oct 5
Path: IZ3LSV<IK2XDE<ON4HU<CX2ACB<CX2SA<HG8LXL<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 121005/1929Z 29251@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.53
Oct 5, 1986:
Iran-Contra scandal unravels
Eugene Hasenfus is captured by troops of the Sandinista regime in
Nicaragua after the plane in which he is flying is shot down; two
others on the plane die in the crash. Under questioning, Hasenfus
confessed that he was shipping military supplies into Nicaragua
for use by the Contras, an anti-Sandinista force that had been
created and funded by the United States. Most dramatically, he
claimed that operation was really run by the U.S. Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The news of Hasenfus's revelations caused quite a stir in the
United States. Congress, reacting to complaints about corruption
and brutality against the Contras, had passed the Boland
Amendment in 1984, specifically forbidding the CIA or any other
U.S. agency from supporting the Contras. President Ronald Reagan,
who saw the Sandinista government in Nicaragua as a puppet of the
Soviet Union, had secured U.S. funding for the Contras in 1981
and signed off on the Boland Amendment reluctantly. If Hasenfus's
story was true, then the CIA and Reagan administration had broken
the law.
Despite denials from the president, Vice President George Bush,
and other Reagan officials that the CIA had nothing to do with
the flight, persistent investigations by journalists and Congress
began to unravel the so-called Iran-Contra scandal. The scandal
involved the secret sale of U.S. weapons to Iran (which was
supposed to help in the release of U.S. hostages in the Middle
East). Some of the proceeds from these sales were used to
covertly fund the Contra war in Nicaragua. A Congressional
investigation, begun in December 1986, revealed the scheme to the
public. Many figures from the Reagan administration were called
to testify. These included Marine Lieutenant Colonel Oliver
North, who was the action officer in charge of coordinating both
the arms sales and funneling of money to the Contras. His
testimony, in particular, demonstrated the cavalier attitude
taken by the Reagan administration toward the flaunting of
congressional resolutions and acts.
The resulting scandal rocked the Reagan administration and shook
the public's confidence in the U.S. government; 11 members of the
President's administration eventually were convicted of a variety
of charges related to the scandal. Hasenfus was tried and
sentenced to 30 years imprisonment by a Nicaraguan court, but was
released just a few weeks later.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
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