EDITORIAL
Contragate: The Issues Behind the Scandal
by Bill Snyder
& Sonja Ungemach
The emotional intensity of recent testimony
by Lt. Col. Oliver North and others has blur
red the greater issue behind the Iran-Contra
scandal—the secret and unlimited use of govern
mental power.
In 1979, U.S. and world opinion had turned
against the corrupt and totalitarian regime of
Anastasio Somoza. The Congress voted to cut
off aid, and the bill was signed into law by Pres.
Carter. But arms and support continued to flow
to Somoza. In spite of this secret military sup
port, the dictatorial government of Somoza fell
to the popular uprising of the Sandinistas. The
new Nicaraguan government was accepted by
the U.S. and the world. Somoza’s generals in
exile, however, continued to receive covert aid
and encouragement to oust the Sandinistas.
That Somoza’s former military leaders, the
Contras, were now being called “freedom
fighters” was the first lie to the American peo
ple. The lies continued. It was in the national
security interest of the U.S. to “interdict the
flow of arms” (from the Sandinistas) to the
rebels in El Salvador, though no evidence of any
arms flow was found. Then the President wanted
to “apply pressure,” to make the Sandinistas live
up to their promises. That’s when we (the U.S.
government) mined the harbors of Nicaragua,
and the CIA prepared and disseminated “assas
sination manuals.” Next it was to prevent the
establishment of a Soviet military base—$100
million was needed to prevent a “major dis
ruption” in Latin America. Finally, the Presi
dent proclaimed, “I, too, am a Contra!”
In spite of the lies, 73 percent of Americans
opposed aid to the Contras in early 1984. In
March, Congress expressly cut off all aid with
the passage of the Boland Amendment. The
President signed the bill into law, and again the
military aid did not stop.
Congressional hearings on the Contragate
scandal have shown that repeated assurances by
State Department officials, the CIA, and
members of the President’s National Security
Council did not reflect reality. Quite the con
trary; the proceedings have uncovered a secret
network of arms dealers, paramilitary zealots
and National Security and intelligence officials
within the government that persisted in arming
and supporting the Contras.
The Secret Team
These revelations have only scratched the sur
face, however, according to Christie Institute
attorney Daniel Sheehan.
The Christie Institute, a Washington, D.C.
interfaith center for law and public policy, has
been investigating the “Secret Team” behind the
Iran-Contra scandal since spring of 1984. Their
investigations have culminated in a chilling saga
of 25 years of illegal, covert operations by a
group of former and current CIA and military
officials, assassins, drug lords, arms dealers and
mercenaries. The names of several of these men
have surfaced in connection with the Contra
gate hearings: Air Force Maj. Gen. Richard
Secord, international arms dealer Albert Hakim,
Army Maj. Gen. John K. Singlaub, Lt. Col.
Oliver North, CIA operative John Hull, and
others.
The Christie investigation traces the Secret
Team back to the anti-Castro efforts of the late
’50s, under then Vice Pres. Richard Nixon, in
cluding a secret “shooter squad” with plans to
assassinate Fidel and Raoul Castro, Che
Guevara, and others. Several members of this
L
From the Christie Institute’s brochure on
the Secret Team investigation: Hull’s ranch
was the transfer point.
squad, many years later, were among the burg
lars arrested in the Watergate Complex. There
are even plausible links to the assassination of
Pres. Kennedy.
During the Vietnam War, the Team developed
a partnership with opium traffickers to finance
illegal, covert operations in Laos, Cambodia and
Thailand. Then they moved to Iran to help the
Shah, establishing contacts with Middle Eastern
arms dealers. Then they moved on to Nicaragua
to aid Somoza and finally the Contras.
Based on its voluminous findings, the Institute
(which, incidentally, handled the Karen Silk
wood, Three Mile Island, and various sanctuary
movement cases) has filed a suit against 29 de
fendants (including Secord, Hakim, Singlaub
and Hull) alleging violations of federal organ
ized crime laws. They expect that the ultimate
result of this suit will be the impeachment of
some of our highest elected officials, including
the President of the United States.
Preserving Democracy
On the eve of stepping down as President,
Dwight D. Eisenhower warned of the threat to
our democracy from the growing political power
of the military-industrial complex: “We must
guard against the acquisition of unwarranted in
fluence. . . . The potential for the disastrous
rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination
endanger our liberties or democratic process.”
The unlimited exercise of governmental power
was similarly feared by Supreme Court Justice
Louis Brandeis. To paraphrase his warning
displayed in the halls of Congress: “The greatest
threat to liberty is the insidious encroachment
by men of zeal—well meaning, but without un
derstanding.”
To move forward with the business of the na
tion, it is necessary that we not only understand
the issues behind the scandal but act to curtail
the abuse of power.
To learn more about the Christie’s Secret
Team investigation, write to The Christie Insti
tute, 1324 North Capitol St., NW, Washington,
D.C. 20002, or phone (202) 797-8106. You may
request information in several formats: a writ
ten affidavit summarizing the investigation, a
video tape, or a two-hour audio cassette tape.
There are also brochures and speaker’s bureau
packets available.
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