George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography

The participants decided to seek support for the Contras from nations (third countries '') whichwere not directly involved in the Central American conflict. As a result of this initiative, George Bush's former business partners, the Sultan of Brunei, donated $10 million to the Contras. But after being deposited in secret Swiss bank accounts, the money was lost. ''@s6@s5
May 20, 1986:
George Bush met with Felix Rodriguez and El Salvador Air Force commander Gen. Juan RafaelBustillo at a large reception in Miami on Cuban independence day.@s6@s6
May 29, 1986:
George Bush, President Reagan, Donald Regan and John Poindexter met to hear from McFarlane
and North on their latest arms-for- hostages negotiations with Iranian officials and Amiram Nir in
Teheran, Iran. The two reported their arrangement with the Khomeini regime to establish a securecovert communications network between the two enemy '' governments.@s6@s7 July 10, 1986: Eugene Hasenfus, whose successful parachute landing would explode the Iran-Contra scandal into world headlines three months later, flew from Miami to El Salvador. He had just been hired to work for Southern Air Transport, '' a CIA front company for wIndochina War. Within a few days he was introduced to Max Gomez ''--the pseudonymhich Hasenfus worked previously in the of Felix Rodriguez--as one of the Cuban coordinators of the company. '' Rodriguez (`` Gomez '') took him
to the Ilopango air base security office where he and others hired with him were given identity
cards. He now began work as a cargo handler on flights carrying military supplies to Contra soldiers
inside Nicaragua.@s6@s8 July 29, 1986:
George Bush met in Jerusalem with Terrorism Task Force member Amiram Nir, the manager of
Israel's participation in the arms-for hostages schemes. Bush did not want this meeting known
about. The Vice President told his chief of staff, Craig Fuller, to send his notes of the meeting only
to Oliver North--not to President Reagan, or to anyone else.
Craig Fuller's memorandum said, in part:

1. SUMMARY. Mr. Nir indicated that he had briefed Prime Minister Peres and had been asked to
   brief the V[ice] P[resident] by his White House contacts. He described the details of the efforts
   from last year through thad been learned which was essentially that the radical group whe current period to gain the release of the U.S. hostages. He reviewed whatas the group that could deliver. He
   reviewed the issues to be considered--namely that there needed to be ad [sic] decision as to whether
   the items requested would be delivered in separate shipments or whether we would continue to
   press for the release of the hostages prior to delivering the items in an amount agreed to previously.


2. The VP's 25 minute meeting was arranged after Mr. Nir called Craig Fuller and requested the
   meeting and after it was discussed with the VP by Fuller and North....


3. Nir described some of the lessons learned: `We are dealing with the most radical elements....
   They can deliver ... that's for sure.... [W]e've learned they can deliver and the moderatescan't....@s6@s9
   July 30, 1986:
   The day after his Jerusalem summit with Amiram Nir, Vice President Bush conferred with Oliver
   North. This meeting with North was never acknowledged by Bush until the North diaries were
   released in May 1990. Early September, 1986:
   Retired Army Maj. Gen. John K. Singlaub sent a memo to Oliver North on the Contra resupply
   effort under Felix Rodriguez. Singlaub warned North that Rodriguez was boasting about having daily contact '' with George Bush's office. According to Singlaub, this could damage President
   Reagan and the Republican Party. ''@s7@s0