22. THE SOVIET PACKAGE UNTIED
The President experienced a political earthquake in early November
1986 after a Lebanese newspaper exposed illegal dealings between
American administration officials and the Iranian government. The
press soon discovered that Colonel Oliver North, a National Security
Council staff official, had organized the secret sale of weapons to Iran
despite the trade embargo that had been in place since 1979. As their
part of the deal, the authorities in Tehran agreed to use their influence
to obtain the release of US citizens who were being held hostage in
Lebanon. North transferred the profits to the Contra rebels fighting
Daniel Ortega’s Sandinista government in Nicaragua. The American
administration sought the overthrow of Ortega as a revolutionary
who threatened its influence throughout Central America, and North
assumed that he was acting in line with what the President wanted.
North’s Iranian scheme circumvented the need to apply to the
American Senate for funds to intervene in the Nicaraguan civil war.
Reporters soon uncovered a trail of illegal arms transactions, and it
became clear that a serious constitutional infringement had occur-
red. North, moreover, had liaised with Poindexter, who resigned as
National Security Adviser on 24 November 1986. Their joint disgrace
intensified discussion in the media. The White House was in turmoil.
There was speculation that there was evidence implicating the Presi-
dent in the affair. Reagan saw the need to change the personnel around
him and replaced Don Regan with Howard Baker as his chief of staff.
Questions arose about whether the President had the right environ-
ment for the calm conduct of foreign policy. Reagan emphasized that
he remained in charge and had not gone soft on communism. Speak-
ing to White House senior staff on 26 November 1986, he said: ‘And
you know, after using those words before audiences across the country,
I just can’t help thinking that, for this administration, peace through
strength is more than a policy. It’s a promise – a promise we’ve made
to the people – and a promise we intend to keep.’ He declared it as