They would both see the cover up as a necessary way to preserve the political and economical structure inside and outside america and a necessary way to maintain, in their opinion. Inside the irancontra cover up by robert parry washington in crucial ways, watergate, the signature scandal of the 1970s, and irancontra, the signature scandal of the. This documentary video looks inside the iran contra affair. What was worst watergate or the iran contra answers. A photograph shows president reagan and soviet leader mikhail gorbachev in red square during reagans visit to moscow in 1988. But if fiers is correct, topranking cia officials not only knew about the operation and did nothing to stop it. It began in 1985, when president ronald reagans administration supplied weapons to irana. That clash continues under the presidency of george w. Mar 06, 2020 irancontra focuses on the period from fall 1983, when congress first put limits on official u. The us did not want to start a war and did not know how to react. The unmaking of the president, 1984 1988 mayer, jane, mcmanus, doyle on. Cover up behind the irancontra affair is a thorough investigation into information suppressed during the irancontra hearings in 1987 where it was found that senior officials in the united states government secretly facilitated the sale of arms to iran. Mohammad reza pahlavi us response us impact it created a surge of patriotism. His body will not be returned to the us until december 1991.
Lessons of the irancontra affair yale law school legal. Officials at the highest level had been detected organizing international terrorism i. Many nationalist and neoconservatives would see the entire iran contra affair not as a cover up but a good use of political power, an end that justifies the means. The film takes an obvious conspiracy theory approach, which, although sometimes entertaining, sometime relies too much on documents and information that arent actually seen.
Caso irancontra, popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the irancontra scandal, or simply irancontra, was a political scandal in the united states that occurred during the second term of the reagan administration. Americans during the time of the iran contra affair felt as though their right to know about government affairs was violated. Behind the irancontra affair 1988 examines reagans alleged deal with iran that delayed the release of american hostages until after his inauguration. Twenty years later, the iran contra affair continues to resonate on many levels, especially as washington gears up for a new season of political inquiry with the pending inauguration of the 110th congress and the seeming inevitability of hearings into a range of bush administration policies. A season of inquiry 1985 describing church committee investigations. President reagan exonerated in irangate scandal the tower commission finds that the president had not been told enough about the affair to cover it up michael. I worked for the jackson campaign in 1988, when this documentary was shown in only one small theater in the large us. An investigative piece discussing the activities that occurred during iran contra.
Under the boland amendment, further funding of the contras by the. The committees formally concluded business at the end of february 1988. Government operations were publicly exposed, potentially implicating reagan administration officials in illegal activities. What is the difference between the irancontra affair and the. The iran contra affair demonstrated the true nature of democracy in the united states. Mar 27, 2014 the iran contra affair, also referred to as irangate, contragate or the iran contra scandal, was a political scandal in the united states that came to light in november 1986. Ann wroe is a british historian, whose impressive knowledge of the european middle ages might seem an odd preparation for a book about the most sordid episode of duplicity and opportunism in modern american history, the iran contra affair engineered under the back side of the aegis of ronald reagan.
Cover up behind the irancontra affair is a thorough investigation into information suppressed during the iran contra hearings in 1987 where it was found that senior officials in the united states government secretly facilitated the sale of arms to iran. Mcfarlane sought reagans approval, in spite of the embargo against selling arms to iran. November 16, 1991 by david johnston poindexter wins iran contra case in appeals court. President reagan and national security adviser robert mcfarlane. Iran contra affair scandal that erupted after the reagan administration sold weapons to iran in hopes of freeing american hostages in lebanon. The iran contra affair was a political scandal in the united states which came to light in november 1986, during the reagan administration, in which senior us figures agreed to facilitate the sale. In 1985, while iran and iraq were at war, iran made a secret request to buy weapons from the united states. The 1988 film is updated with information from recent court cases and events.
Mar 15, 2017 the senates final report on irancontra showed extent to which the investigation had been stonewalled. The iran contra affair involved a secret foreign policy operation directed by white house officials in the national security council nsc under president ronald reagan. What is the difference between the irancontra affair and the iran hostage crisis. She is best remembered for her leading role as samantha stephens on the television series bewitched. Lance dehavensmith has suggested that the operation arose from bill casey s october surprise conspiracy. The reagan revolution was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before in american government. Mar 07, 2011 iran s a sovereign government, its not my place to judge them. Just click the edit page button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the trivia submission guide. I have approximately 12 of these films only three people ever seen them.
Some sources cite the date of his capture as march 16, not march 3. Covered are the allegations of secret governments, drugs, cia involvement, assassinations and even a plan to suspend the constitution. The irancontra affair was a clandestine action not approved of by the united states congress. Irancontra affair legal definition of irancontra affair. Life and war in nicaragua by stephen kinzer, which. Reveals the arms for hostages deal and also the activities of a shadow government made up of u. Learn about the irancontra affair under president reagan who secretly supported an anticommunist group in nicaragua and funneled. Cover up behind the iran contra affair 1988 was released on. Behind the irancontra affair 1988 cast and crew examines reagans alleged deal with iran that delayed the release of american hostages until after his inauguration. Professionally, she lent her voice as narrator to two political documentaries critical of us foreign policy, cover up.
What is the difference between the irancontra affair and. Cover up behind the iran contra affair trailer youtube. Elizabeth victoria montgomery april 15, 1933 may 18, 1995 was an american film, stage, and television actress whose career spanned five decades. One had to do with weapons and trading or sales and the other had to do with about 2030 persons being held hostage for a very long time. Twenty years later, the irancontra affair continues to resonate on many levels, especially as washington gears up for a new season of political inquiry with the pending inauguration of the 110th congress and the seeming inevitability of hearings into a range of bush administration policies. Behind the iran contra affair 1988 what you saw in the iran contra hearings was the exposure of the beginnings of a national security state which believes it has the right to override the constitution of the united states in the name of national security. Buckleys captivity, and that of at least five other american hostages, will be cited as one of the precipitating factors in the irancontra arms deals. The iran contra affair, like the ciaorganized invasion of the bay of pigs in cuba in 1961, struck a global blow to american credibility. Jun 24, 2001 the irancontra affair has been characterized by u. Irancontra summary executive summary in october and november 1986, two secret u. Reproduces on microfiche over 20,000 pages of documentation, much of it highlyclassified, pertaining to the iran contra affair,1983 1988.
It looks like we dont have any trivia for this title yet. I hope though that they consider human rights similar to the internationally recognized human rights that were developed back in the 40s. The iran contra scandal, as this video illustrates in the beginning, is probably one of the most ignored events of the 1980s. The irancontra affair and the iranian hostage crisis by. Walsh on march 19, at age 102, is an appropriate occasion to recall some of the extraordinary outcomes of his investigation into the most significant political scandal of the 1980s. Inside the iran contra cover up by robert parry washington in crucial ways, watergate, the signature scandal of the 1970s, and iran contra, the signature scandal of the. Reagan makes his address to the nation on the investigation of the iran arms and contra aid controversy. The plan was for israel to ship weapons to iran, for the united states to resupply. The ultimate responsibility for the events in the irancontra affair must. Materials were identified, obtained, assembled, and indexed by the national security archive, a washington, d. The irancontra affair is discussed and presented showing the overall global impact of such covert actions. But i hope ive offered a good background to the events leading up to iran contra. Discuss whatever else may be said of ronald reagan, he quickly showed that the reports of the death of the presidency were greatly exaggerated, no president has used the office of the executive in a more regal, imperial and ordained manner than ronald reagan. Many nationalist and neoconservatives would see the entire irancontra affair not as a cover up but a good use of political power, an end that justifies the means.
Coverup was the first film to reveal the october surprise hostage deal the reaganbush campaigndeal with iran to delay the release of the 52 american hostages until after the 1980 election, and is the only film which presents a comprehensive overview of the most important stories suppressed during the iran contra hearings. Attorney general edwin meese iii requests that an independent counsel be appointed to investigate the iran contra affairs. These operations were the provision of assistance to the military activities of the. The irancontra affair popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the irancontra scandal. The irancontra affair popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the iran contra scandal. Select committee on secret military assistance to iran and the nicaraguan opposition. Reproduces on microfiche over 20,000 pages of documentation, much of it highlyclassified, pertaining to the irancontra affair,1983 1988. Behind the iran contra affair 1988 and the academy awardwinning the. Theyre government people, im an average american citizenwhos really stubborn. The iran contra conspiracy and cover up walsh, lawrence e. The senates final report on irancontra showed extent to.
On imdb tv, you can catch hollywood hits and popular tv series at no cost. Nov 25, 2011 president ronald reagan shortly after the irancontra scandal engulfed his administration in november 1986. Memorable quotes and exchanges from movies, tv series and more. It is the only film that puts the entire iran contra affair into a meaningful political and historical context. An account of the first arms sale to iran and the reaganbush campaigns secret deal to torpedo jimmy carter in 1980. Many citizens believed that there was in imbalance of power in the government and to america, president reagan had too much power. What we saw in the iran contra hearings, was the exposure of the beginnings of a national security state which believes it has the right to override the constitution of the united states in the name of security. The irancontra affair, the latest in a line of disturhing american foreign. Behind the iran contra affair is the third featurelength documentary produced by the empowerment project. This documentary was covered up, unreported by mainstream media. Institutionally, congress tur congressmen timidly pursued t tigations even when it became c to coverup.
The united states was the largest seller of arms to iran under mohammad reza pahlavi. Covered are the allegations of secret governments, drugs, cia involvement, assassinations and even. The iran contra affair was an illegal, international arms deal involving drug trafficking and defying us congress to supply weapons to the nicaraguan contras. Discusses the shadow government of former cia operatives, drug smugglers, top u.
Poindexter, the former national security adviser, who was the highestranking reagan administration official to be found guilty of criminal acts in the iran contra affair. Caso iran contra, popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the iran contra scandal, or simply iran contra, was a political scandal in the united states that occurred during the second term of the reagan administration. Knowledge of drug trafficking and the contras the national security archive obtained the handwritten notebooks of oliver north, the national security council aide who helped run the contra war and other reagan administration covert operations, through a freedom of information act lawsuit filed in 1989. White house intern and alleges an attempted cover up. Apdennis cook the irancontra scandal, 25 years later. Iran contra documents show that its chief architects were the late cia director william casey and a veteran of the cias clandestine overseas media operations, walter raymond, jr.
Mar 26, 2014 washington, dc, march 26, 2014 the passing away of irancontra independent counsel lawrence e. The irancontra affair stirred up profound political passions. And i hope that someone more scholarly than myself can go into more detail. What we saw in the irancontra hearings, was the exposure of the beginnings of a national security state which believes it has the right to override the constitution of the united states in the name of security. The rex84 plan has a remarkable resemblance to the current round up of socalled unlawful combatants. A a sworn enemy a in hopes of securing the release of american hostages held in lebanon by hezbollah terrorists loyal to the ayatollah khomeini, irans leader. This documentary video looks inside the irancontra affair.
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