Iran Contra Scandal Research Paper

Throughout the course of history, the United States has remained consistent with its national interest by taking many different actions in foreign policy. There have been both immediate and long term results of these actions. Foreign policy is the United States policy that defines how we deal with other countries economically and politically. It is made by congress, the president, and the people. Some of the motivations for United States foreign policy are national security, economics, and idealism. The United States entry into World War I in 1917 and the escalation of the Vietnam War in 1964 and the both had great impact on the United States.

The Iran Contra affair is historically defined as the “Reagan administration scandal that involved the sale of arms to Iran in exchange for its efforts to secure the release of hostages in Lebanon and the redirection of the proceeds of those sales to the Nicaraguan Contras.” As the Nicaraguan counterrevolutionaries, known as the Contras, began their efforts to retaliate against the Socialist Sandinista Regime, American government forces stepped in to support the Contra cause in a hope to support the world-wide elimination of Communism. To understand the entire history of the scandal, many individuals, groups, policies, and deals must be researched and put together to tell the complete history of the Iran Contra affair.

Congressional members are influenced by their subjective experiences as well as their intellectual and psychological dispositions in dealing with the variability of global politics. Foreign policies, such as declarations of war, are conceived with the intent to defend congressional interests to protect the powers of Congress. Senators and Representatives frequently determine their stance on an issue by determining how it would impact their appointment to higher office, chances for reelection, and improving their influence and legacy. Once Members of Congress have established their interests, the United States Constitution provides the framework of how Congressional interests are conveyed into laws. The lawmaking process, however, may be a tedious

The purpose of foreign policies is to help protect a country's national interests, economic prosperity, national security, and ideological goals. These goals can be achieved through peaceful cooperations between other nations, or through war, aggression, and exploitation. However, even with the division in power and struggle over foreign policy, I believe the president is the most dominant force in foreign policymaking, not the Congress. The president is the dominant force because the president has the power to personally deal with foreign countries while Congress asserts itself into foreign policy by being able to check on the president’s foreign policymaking decisions and decide whether it is acceptable or not; and I believe Congress should have this important role to check on the president’s foreign policy because of the potential reckless decisions the executive branch can make.

The Iran-Contra Scandal was a shocking and nefarious governmental affair which occurred during the executive administration of President Ronald Reagan. The affairs involved many people in the United States government and their dealings with other nations, and the congressional hearings which were held to expose the secrets and find the truth behind the scandal to determine who was involved and who would be deemed guilty of atrocious crimes (Vile).

During the Iran-Contra affair the public, as well as congress, were left in the dark about a deal was made with the enemy country of Iran to sell weapons to them to aid in their war with Iraq. Once sold the Profit were given to the Contras in Nicaragua. I will be arguing that advertising dollars, using the military as a source, and flak were used to skew the public’s perception of how the affair took place.

Question: Did President Ronald Reagan know about the decision by White House aide Oliver North and National Security Advisor John Poindexter to divert profits from sales to Iran to buy weapons for rebels? Why did President Ronald Reagan change his opinions about his knowledge of his role in the Iran Contra Scandal?

According to Biography (2016), “Oliver North was the deputy director of the National Security Council appointed by President Ronald Regan.” He was involved in the Iran Contra Scandal through supplying military firearms to Iran in exchange for the United States Hostages that were being held in captivity, and the secret operations to financial fund the contras. He was indicted on the charges of illegal gratuity and destruction of documents, but he was granted immunity.

The Iran Hostage Crisis was a discretionary standoff between Iran and the United States. In 1979, a group of Iranian students went to the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 American hostages. Fifty-two hostages were held for 444 days, from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981. The reputation of Iran's leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, started to become awful as the Hostage Crisis kept going. Ayatollah Khomeini was the Iranian Shia Muslim religious leader and politician and he made several demands that needed to be met before the hostages were released. The Iran Hostage Crisis caused the United States to cut ties with Iran and was an exemplary demonstration of America’s resolve to ensure the safe return of our citizens.

“Congress is not a good position to contend efficiently with the President in the formation of US foreign policy. Congress is more oriented towards domestic than foreign affairs. All the 535 Members of the Congress have much more narrowly construed electoral basis and correspondingly restricted constituency interest. Whereas the President has a nationwide constituency, the outlook responsibility within Congress are fragmented. Unlike the executive division, where policy debates take place, the President, use the right of final option, constitution debates are publicly eliminating, with the final choices made to continue and nays, and with the decisions making diffuse” (Ali & Sabir, p. 155).

The discovery of a burglary that occurred in the early morning of June 17, 1972 in the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel in Washington, D.C., unleashed a series of arrests and investigations that are known as the Watergate scandal. This incident led to the arrest of five men, Bernard Barker, Virgilio Gonzalez, Eugenio Martínez, James W. McCord Jr., and Frank Sturgis who were inside the office attempting to wiretap phones and steal secret documents. When these men, which were dressed in business attire and wore latex gloves, were taken into custody they had in their possession cameras, film, tools to break in, and three pen-size tear gas guns.

As Senator Arthur Vandenberg famously stated in 1947, “we must stop partisan politics at the water’s edge.” Vandenberg’s declaration suggests that domestic policy differences should not affect how the United States conducts itself abroad. This notion is especially relevant in understanding the discrepancies – or lack thereof – between foreign and domestic policy in the modern United States. Since its founding, the United States has prided itself on its exceptionalism, with many of its leaders endorsing a “foreign policy driven more by domestic values than by the vagaries of international politics.” In recent decades, however, this principle has been tested. Since the end of World War II, the United States has emerged as an international

In my opinion what president Reagan did was shady. Our President lied to everyone, he supported a bad group, and he had Oliver North sell weapons to Israel is a terrorist state supported Islamic militate. to get the american hostages in Lebanon from 1982 1986. congress and the president lied to people and said they were not doing that. it was dangerous able to sell weapons through fake private company Iran used the money from the missals to found wars I central america. big cover up happens people realize there lying national security staff destroyed documents and emails. president and his adviser committed perjury . top advisers lied top keep him safe. the legal staff on a special investigating community found enough events. he was never asked to leave office to embarrassing.

The Iran-contra affair was a shocking incident nonetheless, two covert operations that took place under the Ronald Reagan administration. It was a secret operation that involved an agreement to provide funds or assets to the Nicaraguan contra fighter to aid them to overthrow their Marxist government. However, it was money gained from Iran weapons deals. The affair took place around the year 1980s and had two initiatives. First, was the agreement to help Contras that were at war with the Sandinista Government of Nicaragua. Secondly, was the use of placating moderators within Iran government to make deals with us to extend the hold of American hostages and influence foreign policy. This conspiracy would alter the general public

As with all policy making, many people and organizations have a hand in setting United States foreign policy. The main goals of foreign policy is to use diplomacy — or talking, meeting, and creating agreements — to solve international issues. They try to keep problems from developing into conflicts that require military settlements.