a "secret" CIA report which was delivered to the Saudi Arabian government with the
suggestion that it be leaked to Iraq. The real US estimate was that a war with Iraq would
strengthen Khomeini against reformers who looked to President Bani-Sadr, and that the
war emergency would assist in the imposition of a "new dark ages" regime in Iran. An
added benefit was that Iran and Iraq as warring states would be forced vastly to increase
their oil production, forcing down the oil price on the world market and thus providing
the bankrupt US dollar with an important subsidy in terms of the dollar's ability to
command basic commodities in the real world. Bani-Sadr spoke in this connection of "an
oil crisis in reverse" as a result of the Iran-Iraq war.
President Bani-Sadr, who was later deposed in a coup d'etat by Khomeini, Rafsanjani,
and Beheshti, has recalled that during this period Khomeini decided to bet on Reagan-
Bush. "So what if Reagan wins," said Khomeini. "Nothing will really change since he
and Carter are both enemies of Islam." [fn 39]
This was the time of the Reagan-Carter presidential debates, and Casey's operation had
also yielded booty in this regard. Bush ally and then Congressman David Stockman
boasted in Indiana in late October that he had used a "pilfered copy" of Carter's personal
briefing book to coach Reagan prior to a debate.
Many sources agree that a conclusive series of meetings between Reagan-Bush and the
Khomeini forces took place in Paris during the October 15-20 period, and there is little
doubt that William Casey was present for these meetings. According to the account
furnished by Richard Brenneke, there was a meeting at the Hotel Raphael in Paris at
about noon on October 19, attended by George Bush, William Casey, Don Gregg,
Manucher Gorbanifar and two unnamed Iranian officials. Brenneke says that there was a
second meeting the same afternoon, with the same cast of characters, minus George
Bush. Then there was a third meeting at the Hotel Florida the next day, October 20, this
time attended by Casey, Gregg, Hashemi, Manucher Gorbanifar, Major Robert Benes of
the French intelligence services, and one or two other persons.
According to Bani-Sadr, his reports show that the meetings took polace, and were
attended by Reagan-Bush representatives, Iranians loyal to Behesthi and Rafsanjani, and
arms merchants like Cyrus Hashemi, Manucher Ghorbanifar, and Albert Hakim. Bani-
Sadr's first reports from military officials in Iran specified that "Bush had met with a
representative of Beheshti." Bani-Sadr later elaborated that his sources in Iran "inform me
that Bush was in the discussions in Paris...that his name had been on the document. I have
it in writing." [fn 40]
According to Gary Sick's collation of fifteen sources claiming knowledge of the Paris
meeting, the Iranian side agreed not to release the hostages before the November 4 US
election, and the Reagan-Bush side promised to deliver spare parts for military equipment
through Israel.
Heinrich Rupp, a pilot who often worked for Casey, says that he flew a BAC-1-11 private
jet from Washington National Airport via Gander, Newfoundland, to Le Bourget airport