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The Iran-Contra Affair In The 1980's

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The 1980s are filled with many positive memories for americans. Great strides were made toward social freedom and equality in the 1960s and 70s and much of the progress rolled into the 1980s. However, not all was perfect in the 1980s as there was multiple controversial decisions made by politicians, most dealing with foreign affairs. Some of these affairs include Reagan’s strategic defense plan, US intervention in Nicaragua and the Iran-Contra affair. All three of these scenarios were somewhat controversial and many argue damage the reputation of President Reagan. Despite these disappointing low moments, Reagan still managed to end his presidency with one of the highest approval ratings. One low in particular was the iran-contra affair which damaged the reputation of the government after the affair became exposed in a Lebanese magazine. (1) The Iran-contra …show more content…

The most controversial parts of the affair include negations with terrorist, supplying arms to a terrorist group, followed by the diverting of money to a Reagan friendly Contras in Nicaragua. The United states had made a clear cut decision in which the government would never negotiate with terrorist. The idea is base on the principle in which negotiating with terrorists legitimizes the acts, thus proving such tactics are successful against the United States. (4) President Ronald Reagan was one of those presidents who stood by this decree and claimed to believe it for all its worth. So much so Reagan told America “We will not negotiate with terrorists” (3) Many americans choose to believe him, Reagan was consider one of the most honest men

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Reagan made a deal with Iran, to supply them with U.S. weapons, when the Iranians took some American hostages. The money that was made from this deal was sent directly to the contras in Nicaragua. Reagan supplied Iran with a few hundred anti-tank missiles. Israel also supplied Iran with some weapons, they mostly sent missiles that could be launched from the ground that could take out air crafts.

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1. Iran-Contra Affair The Iran-Contra Affair took place during the Reagan administration. During the Iraq and Iran war, Iran reached out to the United States and made a request for weapons. Reagan, who was frustrated at his inability to free hostages from Iran, made the deal with the backing of Robert McFarlane and CIA director, William Casey.

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Ronald Reagan would win the election of 1980 and one of his major campaign platforms was the promise to end the Iranian Hostage Crisis. The Ayatollah’s supporters were then elected to the Iranian parliament. This meant that there was no reason to hold the hostages, having the Ayatollah in power with his supports in parliament meant that they effectively controlled all aspects of Iranian society. Then Iraq and Iran would become involved in a war. Iranian assets which had been frozen in the United States, were now needed more than ever if they wished to have access to their foreign currencies, without which they risked losing the war and then their country.

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This can be proved because many people who were involved in the Iran-Contra scandal still held high places of power in the government. What’s even more disappointing is that Reagan became even more influential, and he left the office with the highest approval rating since President Roosevelt. To conclude, the Iran-Contra scandal left many untrustworthy people in power, stripping credibility away from the American

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