George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography

Shortly before that April 20 meeting, Rafael Quintero had asked me to impose upon mrelations with the Salvadoran military to obtain `end-user' certificates made out to Lake Resources,y good (^) which he told me was a Chilean company.... ''@s6@s0 The plan was to acquire false end-user certificates from his contacts in the Salvadoran armed forces for Blowpipe ground-to-air missiles supposedly being shipped into El Salvador. The missiles would then be illegally diverted to the Contras in Honduras and Nicaragua. Rodriguez continues, with self-puffery: The Salvadorans complied with my request, and in turn I supplied the certificates,
handing them over personally to Richard Secord at that April 20 meeting. ''@s6@s1 While
arranging the forgery for the munitions sale, Rodriguez was in touch with the George Bush staff
back in his home office. On April 16, four days before the Rodriguez-North missile meeting, Bush
national security adviser Donald Gregg asked his staff to put a meeting with Rodriguez on GeorgeBush's calendar. Gregg said the purpose of the White House meeting would be to brief the Vice President on the war in El Salvador and resupply of the Contras. '' The meeting was arranged for 11:30 A.M. on May 1.@s6@s2 Due its explicitly stated purpose-- clandestine weapons trafficking in an undeclared war against the rigid congressional prohibition--the planned meeting was to become one of the most notorious of the Iran-Contra scandal.April 30, 1986 (Wednesday): Felix Rodriguez met in Washington with Bush aide Col. Sam Watson. The following reminder message was sent to George Bush: Briefing Memorandum for the Vice PresidentEvent: Meeting with Felix Rodriguez Date: Thursday, May 1, 1986 Time: 11:30-11:45 a.m.--West Wing From: Don Gregg I. PURPOSE Felix Rodriguez, a counterinsurgency expert who is visiting from El Salvador, will provide a briefing on the status of the war in El Salvador and resupply of the Contras. III. [sic] PARTICIPANTS The Vice President Felix Rodriguez Craig Fuller Don GreggSam Watson IV. MEDIA COVERAGE Staff photographer. [i.e. internal-use photographs, no media coverage]@s6@s3 May 1, 1986: Vice President Bush and his staff met in the White House with Felix Rodriguez, Oliver North, financier Nicholas Brady, and the new U.S. ambassador to El Salvador, Edwin Corr. At this meeting it was decided that private citizen '' Felix Rodriguez would continue his work inCentral America.@s6@s4
May 16, 1986:
George Bush met with President Reagan, and with cabinet members and other officials in the full
National Security Planning Group. They discussed the urgent need to raise more money for the
Contras to continue the anti-Sandinista war.