Iran-Contra: A Scandal Essay, Research Paper

The Iran-Contra scandal was one of the worst examples of how politics work in the “civilized world.” As the scheme unfolded, people were taken hostage in Lebannon, people were killed, lies were told, laws were broken, weapons were traded, and America was disgraced. The entire ordeal rotated around the effort to obtain the release of hostages in Lebannon. Iran wanted missiles. The US and Israel worked out a laundering scheme to have Israel give Iran missiles, and then for the US to resupply Israel. The Contra aspect of the scandal came about when the US used the profits from the trading of weapons to fund the Contras in Nicaragua, also illegal. Reagan should have been notified of all the actions being taken. However, the president never knew what was going on with the hostage negotiations. Several people in the NSC were involved in spearheading the operation, but Oliver North is the most famous of them. North was also the official “fall guy” for the US operation. As soon as the story broke to the public, many documents were shredded, and more laws were broken. Despite the destruction of evidence, several key players were still convicted because of the conspiracy. North was the first person to be convicted in relation to the scandal. Check out these resources to find out more: