Coverup behind the iran contra affair charliekerper. Iran contra affair legal definition of iran contra affair. Behind the irancontra affair 1988 cast and crew examines reagans alleged deal with iran that delayed the release of american hostages until after his inauguration. The irancontra affair, also referred to as irangate, contragate or the irancontra scandal, was a political scandal in the united states that. In what became known as the irancontra affair, funds from arms sales to iran. Apr 06, 2020 irancontra focuses on the period from fall 1983, when congress first put limits on official u. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events.
Behind the irancontra affair dvd coverup exposes several of the most disturbing chapters in the history of u. Cover up behind the iran contra affair trailer youtube. Irancontra summary executive summary in october and november 1986, two secret u. The film takes an obvious conspiracy theory approach, which, although sometimes entertaining, sometime relies too much on documents and information that arent actually seen. In 1987, amid the iran contra inquiry, investigators found that the scandal fit within a larger republican scheme for manipulating. The irancontra affair of 19841987 was not one, but two separate covert foreign policy issues concerning two different problems, in two separate countries, that were dealt in two very different ways. It began in 1985, when president ronald reagans administration supplied weapons to irana. This documentary video looks inside the irancontra affair.
The united states was the largest seller of arms to iran under mohammad. That clash continues under the presidency of george w. During his campaign for the white house, reagan had promised to assist. Cover up behind the irancontra affair is a thorough investigation into information suppressed during the irancontra hearings in 1987 where it was found that senior officials in the united states government secretly facilitated the sale of arms to iran.
North, oliver oliver north testifying at the iran contra. President reagan and national security adviser robert mcfarlane. Fourteen people were charged with either operational or coverup crimes. Get premium, high resolution news photos at getty images. Behind the iran contra affair 1988 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Iran contra affair larry gilman in october and november of 1986, it was discovered that for several years, agents of the united states government had been running an illegal operation to sell weapons to iran and funnel the profits to the contras, a military organization dedicated to overthrowing the leftist government of nicaragua. Behind the iran contra affair, 1988, directed by barbara trent, with david macmichael, eden pastora gomez, elizabeth montgomery, at turner classic movies. These operations were the provision of assistance to the military activities of the. Behind the iran contra affair posted october 1, 1988 if this countrys electorate cared more about truth and honesty, this 1988 film, which was released just before the election, would have gotten more media attention than the bushdukakis debates. Although some of coverups most effective film comes from the irancontra hearings. What is the difference between the irancontra affair and. Behind the irancontra affair 1988 examines reagans alleged deal with iran that delayed the release of american hostages until after his inauguration.
This controversial film starts from the premise that the iran contra congressional hearings operated on the principle of damagecontrol so that the stories behind the story, and a multitude of skeletons in the closet, were never to be revealed, such as the reaganbush deal with the khomeini regime to delay the. See the article in its original context from august 26, 1988. Jun 24, 2001 the irancontra affair has been characterized by u. Many nationalist and neoconservatives would see the entire iran contra affair not as a cover up but a good use of political power, an end that justifies the means. Reagan makes his address to the nation on the investigation of the iran arms and contra aid controversy. What is the difference between the irancontra affair and the iran hostage crisis. Examines reagans alleged deal with iran that delayed the release of american hostages until after his inauguration.
Congress or violated the stated public policy of the government. Behind the irancontra affair, 1988, directed by barbara trent, with david macmichael, eden pastora gomez, elizabeth montgomery, at turner classic movies. Behind the iran contra affair 1988 what you saw in the iran contra hearings was the exposure of the beginnings of a national security state which believes it has the right to override the constitution of the united states in the name of national security. Winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. Nov 24, 2006 twenty years later, the iran contra affair continues to resonate on many levels, especially as washington gears up for a new season of political inquiry with the pending inauguration of the 110th congress and the seeming inevitability of hearings into a range of bush administration policies.
What are quality books about the irancontra affair. The iran contra affair involved a secret foreign policy operation directed by white house officials in the national security council nsc under president ronald reagan. Poindexter resigned, and north was fired, but irancontra was far from over. Behind the irancontra affair loses force as the movie. Attorney general edwin meese iii requests that an independent counsel be appointed to investigate the iran contra affairs. Caso irancontra, popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the irancontra scandal, or simply irancontra, was a political scandal in the united states that occurred during the second term of the reagan administration.
American made is an iran contra movie that gets high on its own supply the new movie is one that director doug liman has been making for 15 years and tom cruise has been making for almost 35. See the article in its original context from march 17, 1988, section d, page 26. Irancontra affair legal definition of irancontra affair. The irancontra affair popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the irancontra scandal. Behind the irancontra affair posted october 21, 1988 if this countrys electorate cared more about honesty and truth, this film would be getting more attention in the media than the bushdukakis debates. The film reveals a shadow government of former cia operatives, drug smugglers, top us military personnel and others, revealing evidence of. Behind the iran contra affair is the third featurelength documentary produced by the empowerment project.
The irancontra scandal, as this video illustrates in the beginning, is probably one of the most ignored events of the 1980s. They would both see the cover up as a necessary way to preserve the political and economical structure inside and outside america and a necessary way to maintain, in their opinion. But if fiers is correct, topranking cia officials not only knew about the operation and did nothing to stop it. Sep 28, 2017 american made is an irancontra movie that gets high on its own supply the new movie is one that director doug liman has been making for 15 years and tom cruise has been making for almost 35. Mar 27, 2014 the iran contra affair, also referred to as irangate, contragate or the iran contra scandal, was a political scandal in the united states that came to light in november 1986. At the same time, reagan was looking for a way to circumvent congress and. The irancontra affair american experience official site pbs. Officials at the highest level had been detected organizing international terrorism i. Materials in the collection cover divisive debates within the reagan administration over terrorism and hostage rescue operations and provide a detailed road map to enable researchers to reconstruct key covert policy decisions related to. American made is an irancontra movie that gets high on. President reagan exonerated in irangate scandal the tower commission finds that the president had not been told enough about the affair to cover it up michael.
The iran contra affair, like the ciaorganized invasion of the bay of pigs in cuba in 1961, struck a global blow to american credibility. A a sworn enemy a in hopes of securing the release of american hostages held in lebanon by hezbollah terrorists loyal to the ayatollah khomeini, irans leader. Barbara trent is a producer and director, known for the panama deception 1992, cover up. Iran contra affair 1983 1988 the iran contra affair began as an internal u. The irancontra affair 20 years on the national security archive. For more complete collections of primary documents, see peter kornbluh. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival.
Behind the iran contra affair 1988 all filmography. Kris kristofferson and wife lisa meyers attend the screening of cover up behind the iran contra affair on june 24, 1988 at the directors guild theater in hollywood, california. The irancontra affair, also referred to as irangate, contragate or the iran contra scandal, was a political scandal in the united states that. The irancontra affair involved a secret foreign policy operation directed by white house officials in the national security council nsc under president ronald reagan. In 1984, the boland amendment passed, which said that the cia and department of defense could not give militaristic aid specifically in nicaragua. Behind the iran contra affair if this countrys electorate cared more about truth and honesty, this 1988 film, which was released just before the. What we saw in the irancontra hearings, was the exposure of the beginnings of a national security state which believes it has the right to override the constitution of the united states in the name of security. The shadow government of assassins, arms dealers, drug smugglers, former cia operatives and top us military personnel who were running foreign policy unaccountable to the public, revealing the reaganbush administrations plan. Inside the irancontra cover up by robert parry washington in crucial ways, watergate, the signature scandal of the 1970s, and irancontra, the signature scandal of the. Mcfarlane sought reagans approval, in spite of the embargo against selling arms to iran. Under the socalled reagan doctrine, the cia trained and assisted this and other. Knowledge of drug trafficking and the contras the national security archive obtained the handwritten notebooks of oliver north, the national security council aide who helped run the contra war and other reagan administration covert operations, through a freedom of information act lawsuit filed in 1989. Inside the iran contra cover up by robert parry washington in crucial ways, watergate, the signature scandal of the 1970s, and iran contra, the signature scandal of the. Covered are the allegations of secret governments, drugs, cia involvement, assassinations and even a plan to suspend the constitution.
This documentary video looks inside the iran contra affair. What we saw in the iran contra hearings, was the exposure of the beginnings of a national security state which believes it has the right to override the constitution of the united states in the name of security. Home films videos features schedule shop about the series staff. Behind the irancontra affair loses force as the movie makers run out of evidence that a shadowy rightwing group has been conducting american foreign policy and threatening constitutional rights, and settle for surmise, speculation and the tricks of film making to bolster their case. The irancontra affair popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the iran contra scandal. Senate and house committees are set up to investigate the affair. This documentary of the iran contra affair consolidates the evidence and conspiracy theories of the incident after the week congressional hearings proved inadequate, acting merely as damage control and failing to show any sincere effort to get to the real truth of the matter. Screening of cover up behind the irancontra affair. Imdbs dave karger and alicia malone share their picks. It is the only film that puts the entire iran contra affair into a meaningful political and historical context. Many nationalist and neoconservatives would see the entire irancontra affair not as a cover up but a good use of political power, an end that justifies the means. It presents a tale of politics, drugs, hostages, weapons, assassinations, covert operations and the ultimate plan to. Government operations were publicly exposed, potentially implicating reagan administration officials in illegal activities. In 1985, while iran and iraq were at war, iran made a secret request to buy weapons from the united states.
Coverup was the first film to reveal the october surprise hostage deal the reaganbush campaigndeal with iran to delay the release of the 52 american hostages until after the 1980 election, and is the only film which presents a comprehensive overview of the most important stories suppressed during the iran contra hearings. One had to do with weapons and trading or sales and the other had to do with about 2030 persons being held hostage for a very long time. This is a digitized version of an article from the timess print archive, before the start of online publication. The irancontra affair was a clandestine action not approved of by the united states congress. Fawn hall was born on september 4, 1959 in annandale, virginia, usa.