On April 13, 1989, the Kerry Committee Report
was released by Senator John Kerry, revealing that a
major source of funding for the Contras came from
Latin American cocaine traffickers in exchange for
protection from law-enforcement activity. The same
planes that flew shipments of arms from the United
States to Nicaragua were used to import cocaine and
other drugs into the country on their return flights.
The drug connection became a major source of con-
troversy, especially in the context of the Reagan ad-
Just Say No campaign
Impact The Iran-Contra scandal fascinated the
public for a time, but, unlike the Watergate scandal,
it was soon forgotten. President Reagan’s approval
rating plunged to 46 percent in 1986 as a result of
the affair; however, it rose to 63 percent by 1989, a
level only exceeded by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Rea-
gan acquired the nickname “Teflon president,” be-
cause none of the charges tainting the rest of his ad-
ministration seemed to stick to him.
There was little in the way of public outcry when
President Bush later pardoned the major individuals
involved in Iran-Contra. By then, the affair was only a
vague memory, and it was associated with the per-
ceived realities of a Cold War era that had recently
come to an end. Bush was even able to appoint indi-
viduals implicated in the Iran-Contra affair to posi-
tions in his administration.
Indeed, from a broader perspective, the obses-
sion with events in Nicaragua reveals the extent to
which anticommunist ideology dominated U.S. po-
litical life. It was a fitting sequel to the invasion of
Grenada and an appropriate final chapter in the ex-
treme behavior caused by the Cold War. As a begin-
ning chapter in dealing with the threat of hostile
fundamentalist Islamic regimes, however, the sale of
missiles to Iran indicates a glaring lack of awareness.
While the missile deal did result in the freeing of
three U.S. citizens held captive by Hezbollah in Leb-
anon, three more hostages were immediately seized
to take their place.
Subsequent Events In 1992, Robert McFarlane had
been convicted of crimes related to the Iran-Contra
affair, and Caspar Weinberger had been indicted
and was awaiting trial. President Bush pardoned
them both, as well as four other officials involved in
the scandal. The independent prosecutor’s report,
issued in 1994, revealed that both President Reagan
and Vice President Bush had some knowledge of
what was going on in the Iran-Contra affair and had
a role in the cover-up.Further Reading
Draper, Theodore.A Ver y Thin Line: The Iran-Contra
Affair.New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992. Con-
tains keen analysis of the affair based on a thor-
ough examination of documentary sources. Bibli-
ography, footnotes, index, and sixteen pages of
pictures.
Walsh, Lawrence E.Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspir-
acy and Cover-Up.New York: W. W. Norton, 1998.
Detailed chronological account and analysis by
the special prosecutor in the Iran-Contra affair.
Includes index.
Webb, Gary.Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and
the Crack Cocaine Explosion. New York: Seven
Stories Press, 1998. Heavily researched but con-
troversial study of the CIA-drug connection by an
investigative reporter. Index and table of con-
tents.
Woodward, Bob.The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. One of the
top U.S. investigative journalists analyzes the na-
ture and scope of the Iran-Contra affair and other
covert activities. Index, bibliography, and foot-
notes.
Irwin HalfondSee also Cold War; Foreign policy of the United
States; Iranian hostage crisis; Latin America; Middle
East and North America; North, Oliver; Poindexter,
John; Reagan, Ronald; Reagan Doctrine; Scandals.Iranian hostage crisis
The Event Extremist Muslim students take
Americans hostage
Date November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981
Place U.S. embassy, Tehran, IranThe Iranian hostage crisis represented the United States’
first confrontation with Shiite fundamentalist extremists.
Taking place in a nation long considered to be one of Amer-
ica’s closest allies in the Middle East, the crisis revealed the
extent of anti-Americanism in the region. Failure to gain re-
lease of the hostages was a national humiliation, and it be-
came a major factor in the defeat of President Jimmy Carter
in his 1980 reelection bid.The Eighties in America Iranian hostage crisis 531