The Mammoth Book of Cover-Ups

«And what is this general object? THE HAPPINESS OF THE HUMAN RACE. Is it not distressing to a generous mind, after contemplating what human nature is capable of, to see how little we enjoy? When we look at this goodly world, and see that every man may be happy, but that the happiness of one depends on the conduct of another; when we see the wicked so powerful, and the good so weak; and that it is in vain to strive, singly and alone, against the general current of vice and oppression; the wish naturally arises in the mind, that it were possible to form a durable combination of the most worthy persons, who should work together in removing the obstacles to human happiness, become terrible to the wicked, and give their aid to all the good without distinction, and should by the most powerful means, first fetter, and by fettering, lessen vice; means which at the same time should promote virtue, by rendering the inclination to rectitude, hitherto too feeble, more powerful and engaging. Would not such an association be a blessing to the world? […]»

Such is the aim, and such are the hopes of the Order of the Illuminated […]

Iran — Contra Scandal

Like Watergate, the Iran—Contra scandal — «Irangate» — was unambiguously true. A president didn’t fall, but he wobbled alarmingly. Worse for succeeding administrations, the lid on the can of worms that is US foreign policy in extremis was opened … and it was an unforgettable sight.

The beginnings of Irangate lie in the 1979 Islamic revolution, which overthrew the pro-Western Shah of Iran. Supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime invaded the US Embassy in Tehran and held staff hostage for a year. The inability of US President Jimmy Carter to secure the hostages’ release cost him a second term. (By the «October Surprise» conspiracy theory, candidate Ronald Reagan did a deal with Tehran that they would delay the hostages’ freedom until the presidential election campaign was done so he could win.) The anti-American militancy of the Khomeini regime, together with its sponsorship of Islamic terrorist outfits like Hezbollah, led Washington DC to implement Operation Staunch: an arms embargo against Iran.

Once in power, the new Republican administration of Ronald Reagan found it had its own personal hostage crisis. In Lebanon, CIA station chief William Buckley was seized by Hezbollah. A moderate wing of Khomeini’s regime suggested to Israel that, if the US sent Iran a shipment of arms, it would secure Buckley’s release. On 18 July 1985 Reagan, his chief of staff Donald Regan and National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane discussed the Iran deal, and two weeks later, over the opposition of some government advisers, it was agreed to send Iran a shipment of BGM-71 100 TOW (Tube launched, Optically tracked, Wire guided) missiles.

No hostages were released. The Iranian moderates asked for 400 more TOW missiles, at which Hezbollah released not Buckley but another hostage, Reverend Benjamin Weir. A further 3,500 missiles were sent to Iran. McFarlane and a National Security Council staff officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Oliver D. North, went to Iran secretly to press the US case — in clear contravention of the Reagan mantra that «America will never make concessions to terrorists» — but Hezbollah still failed to release Buckley. At this point the Lebanese newspaper Ash-Shiraa published a report on the arms deals between the US and Iran, which Iran confirmed. The Iranian side of the Iran—Contra scandal was well and truly public. In a damage-limitation exercise, Reagan set up a commission of inquiry under John Tower on 26 November 1986. A Republican, Tower was criticized for going softly, softly on the scandal (which was arguably the intention in appointing him), but his commission did find incriminating Iran-deal emails on Oliver D. North’s computer. The investigators also found evidence of another covert US operation with North at its nexus: the Contra part of the scandal.