Power, Lost and Found: America At Century’s End 531The scandal began when Reagan asked new NSC director John Poindexter
and his then unknown assistant Lt. Colonel Oliver North to arrange the sale of
weapons to Iran, which was then involved in a war with Iraq. Outgoing NSC
director McFarlane had suggested to Reagan that the sale of arms to Iran
would not only improve relations between the two nations, but it might also
help bring home the hostages held in Lebanon. Reagan believed it was his
“duty to bring those Americans home.” The problem in doing so, however,
was that he would have to violate his own pledge never to negotiate with
terrorists and he would have to violate an embargo against Iran that had been
in place since the 1979 hostage crisis. Although the Secretary of State and
the Secretary of Defense opposed the arms-for- hostages program, the
President backed the plan and it moved forward. When the arms sales were
exposed, the Administration had already illegally shipped over 1500 missiles
to Iran, and the Iranian government had used its influence to bring about the
release of three hostages. Reagan’s willingness to purchase the freedom of
hostages with missiles seemed to encourage the terrorists in Lebanon to
FIGuRE 10-8 u.S. Army Rangers parachute into Grenada during Operation
urgent Fury