1. The Enemy of my Enemy is
still my Enemy
Benjamin Einhorn

2. 1
Towards the end of November 1986, newspapers around the world, following a leak from
a Lebanese newspaper, started running outlandish stories of American involvement in shipping
and selling of arms and munitions to Iran. These under the table dealing were done in order to
secure the release of American hostages held by the Lebanese militia group, Hezbollah. It was
later revealed that the U.S. government was secretly using the sum of these funds, earned from
these illegal arms sales, to help fund internal strife within the country president Regan once
referred to as “Murder Inc.”.1 These funds were then used to bankroll the Nicaraguan contras in
their fight against the Leftist Sandinistas. On November 25th 1986, Ronald Reagan announced to
the world media that these stories were in fact true; The U.S. government was selling weapons to
Iran and was in fact funding the rightist rebels in Nicaragua, despite Regan’s initial claim that he
was completely un-aware of any such transactions2. This story was the biggest scandal to hit the
White House since Nixon’s Watergate, and it would quickly become known as Regan’s very
own version of the aforementioned scandal3 . American involvement in “Guns for Hostages”
with Iran in the 1980’s, left the American government and Regan’s administration politically
scarred and has contributed to the drastic rise of Iran as a major sponsor of international
terrorism in the world today.
Between 1982 and 1986 congress passed a series of amendments. These amendments
called the “Boland Amendments” were aimed at severely limiting U.S. government aid and
support to the Nicaraguan Contras, who were waging a war to topple the leftist Sandinista
government. In all, congress passed a total of five amendments, all in response to new and
“clever” ways certain government officials were trying to pass on military, financial and

3. 2
logistical aid to the Contras without breaking the law4. President Regan was a firm believer in
the domino theory that was prevalent in the 1950’s and 1960’s. This theory stated that when a
nation falls to communism, surrounding countries will also fall to communism as well, spreading
to neighboring countries, and their neighbors and so on, just like falling dominos. The
Sandinistas, who were put into power, with support from President Jimmy Carter, in Nicaragua,
were socialists. They lost their support from the U.S. government when it was discovered that the
Sandinista government had planned to overthrow the governments of El Salvador and Honduras
in order to install their own puppet socialist governments5. This revelation brought to life all of
Regan’s fears and along with it the real probability of a domino effect in Central America. The
idea of the entire South American continent falling to communism or socialism terrified Regan to
the core. The thought scared him because in his mind it would only be a matter of time before
communism spread to Central America, followed by the United States of America. While the
Sandinistas were portrayed as socialist enemies of the American way of life, the Contras, on the
other hand, were portrayed by the U.S. government as right of center democratic freedom
fighters trying to save their country from the grips of evil socialist dictators6.
The Contras were a rebel band described as “freedom fighters” by Regan and the U.S.
government. The funds that were made by the illegal sales of arms and munitions were partially
used to support these rebels, against the communist regime that the U.S. had actually helped put
in place7. These so called “Freedom fighters” were reported to have committed inhumane crimes
and mass murder against their own people in this bid for supremacy in Nicaragua. This was all
overlooked because of the continued support of those who opposed communism throughout the
globe. The Sandinistas and the Contras war for national supremacy, and the betrayal felt by the
U.S. administration at the hands of the Sandinistas, led to one of the biggest presidential debacles

4. 3
since Watergate. Members of the government, both publicly and those who were presumed to be
involved in the Iranian-Contra scandal, not only broke federal law but also bald faced lied about
their own involvement to the American people and the world. Iran openly calls for the
Destruction of both Israel and America while selling weapons to known terrorist groups, a fact
that is still ignored today. This terrorist state came into existence partly because of the actions of
the U.S. and Israel during the inception of the new Iran.
In 1979, there was a major political upheaval in the Middle East that shocked the world;
the Islamic revolution under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini took place in Iran. Despite all
warnings and opportunities to stop the revolution, both the western backed government of the
Sha and the U.S. government ignored all warnings and were blindsided when the revolution
finally happened. This revolution, that overthrew the western backed Sha, was at its inception
extremist. Khomeini sought after tearing down the old western backed government and replace it
with one based on strict adherence to Islamic law8. This new government shook the very
foundations of the Middle Eastern balance of power. In one swift move the U.S. lost one of its
most reliable allies in the mid-east and Israel lost one of the only Arab countries considered
“friendly”. The U.S. government lost a powerful Middle Eastern ally and gained a terrifying new
enemy. This new Islamic government was incredibly hostile to the U.S. and even its own people.
After Khomeini took power a series of public executions of the Shas’ men and security forces
took place on a massive and public scale9. This new government was extremely hostile towards
the U.S. and the western way of life in general, and made no qualms about letting the world
know. This hostility was so imbedded and absorbed by the people in this new government that it
even went so far as to take over the U.S. embassy in Teheran in 1979 and take American
hostages.

5. 4
When the U.S. embassy was forcibly taken in 1979 all remaining staff members were
taken hostage by “students” of the new Islamic Republic of Iran. Just hours after 63 American
staffers were taken as hostages, President Jimmy Carter was on the phone with representatives
from the new Islamic Republic trying to negotiate the release of the hostages. President Carter
failed time and time again in his efforts to secure the release of the hostages through diplomacy;
he then failed to release them through use of elite American military forces with the disastrous
“Operation eagle Claw” which saw the death of all every Green Beret sent on the mission. The
Islamic Republic of Iran released all the embassy hostages’ after holding them for over 1 year
only hours after Regan took office. Releasing the prisoners to Regan so quickly after Carter was
defeated gave us a slight insight into the inner workings and mindset of the new Iran. The Iranian
government released the hostages to the newly elected Regan and not to Carter solely because
they could. This was a show of their fortitude and resolve even in the face of military and
economic action from a global superpower. It was also a way to show that the new Iranian
government was willing to have diplomatic relations with the U.S., just on their own terms10.
Soon after the Shiite Islamic Revolution in Iran, the neighboring country of mainly Sunni
country of Iraq led by Saddam Hussein decided that it was the perfect time to expand his
territory and power. Because of the mass chaos and overall state of disarray within the state of
the Iranian military and government, Iraqi forces were able to advance initially almost
completely unopposed into Iranian territory. The start of the Iran-Iraq war showed just how ill-
equipped and out matched the Iranian military was in comparison to the western armed and
trained Iraqi army11. The prospect of an ultra-powerful Iraq gaining dominance over the entire
Middle East was something the U.S., but especially the tiny Jewish nation of Israel, could not
live with. The Iranian regime had plenty of soldiers and willing fighters but they had no way to

6. 5
supply or even equip their troops. It was decidef at the highest levels that Israel would attempt to
supply the Iranian forces. Israel made this “deal with the devil” with the hopes of enabling the
continuation of the long and bloody war being fought between Iran and Iraq. One Israeli official
is quoted as saying: “I do not remember even one discussion about the ethics of the matter, all
that interested us was to sell, sell, sell more and more Israeli Weapons and let them kill each
other with them”12. This mentality of “the enemy of my enemy is still my enemy” helped keep
two of Israel’s biggest enemies distracted from their vocal goal of the destruction of Israel for
almost a decade. This dire need for Iranian re-supply coupled with Regan’s obsession with
freeing the hostages taken by Hezbollah would become the “stuff of legends” as the saying goes,
but it would also become the single event that would define Regan’s presidency and those within
his inner circle for years to come.
Starting in early 1982, being a citizen of a country deemed “western” by the Arab world
became very dangerous throughout the Middle East, but even more so inside the nation of
Lebanon. The Lebanese terrorist group known as Hezbollah and its splinter militias started
kidnapping foreign citizens regularly. On June 20th 1982 the militia group known as Hezbollah
kidnapped their first western foreign citizen; an American named David S. Dodge. This
kidnapping started a trend, in order to get a political message across or to secure release of
members or family held around the world on terrorism charges13. The mastermind behind the
outbreak of Hezbollah kidnappings was a man named Imad Moughniyeh; Moughniyeh was the
“master terrorist” of Hezbollah until his death in 2008. He helped organize and carry out multiple
airline hijackings, kidnappings, bombings and shooting attacks, both on western targets and
Israeli. Hezbollah was and is a known proxy of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, so when these
people, both American’s and Europeans, were taken hostage in Lebanon. The only logical

7. 6
diplomatic avenue to free them was through Iran, who both funded and supplied the Lebanese
terrorist organization.
Imad Moughniyeh was the man who was the heart and brain behind Hezbollah. It is said
that until his death no action ever took place by Hezbollah without his permission, He was
considered more powerful and feared than Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah. Actions that
would include the kidnapping of Americans and other foreign citizens in Lebanon, Attacks on
U.S. targets and even the release of hostages by request of Iran. When U.S. forces and the other
international peacekeepers pulled out of Lebanon in 1984, it reinforced Moughniyehs belief that
whatever his goal, he could accomplish it through the use of terrorism. With the U.S. and
international pullout from Lebanon he now had proof in his mind to support this, even when it
came to a global superpower such as the U.S.. When Iran began receiving shipments of arms and
munitions from the U.S. and Israel, it signaled once again to Moughniyeh that their tactics were
working and that Hezbollah could again continue with whatever terrorist activities it saw fit
without any real consequences. Moughniyeh was the hidden mastermind behind countless
bombings, abductions and hijackings from the early 80’s until his death at the hands of Israeli
agents in Damascus in 200814.
The Iran-Contra scandal that held the media and the world’s attention for so long was
truly nothing more than a complicated game of International self-interest played out on the world
stage. Israel wanted to sell weapons to Iran in order to facilitate the continuation of the Iran-Iraq
war, Israel needed U.S. weapons to sell to Iran, the U.S. Wanted to open better relations with
Iran and free Hostages taken by The Iranian proxy group in Lebanon, Hezbollah. There were
also factions within the U.S. government who saw these illegal sales as a way to get around the
congressional ban on supporting the Contras in Nicaragua, by diverting portions of the funds

8. 7
made through the illegal arms sales to illegally fund the Contras. But there was one more
element in this equation, Iran. How could the Iranian government who so loudly called for the
outright destruction of Israel and the west knowingly buy Israeli and U.S. weapons? The primal
instinct of self and national preservation would seem to have overpowered Khomeini’s blatant
and vocal hatred of the Israel and Western nations. The U.S. desperately wanted to regain a
foothold in Iran after they had so abruptly been booted out, and many within the government saw
these Arms sales to Iran as one face of a two headed coin. One side allows the government to
make money while simultaneously opening relations with the nation of Iran. The other side was
that with these sales and bettering relations it was hoped that Iran in a show of good faith would
instruct Hezbollah to release a few hostages still held in Lebanon. At the end of June 1985,
President Ronald Regan said to the national media: “The United states gives terrorists no rewards
and no guarantees. We make no concessions; we make no deals”15. This statement would, like
many others Regan made at this point in his presidency soon come back to bite him.
When the American people demanded a person to name responsible for lying to the
country and illegally supporting a terrorist regime the name the world was given was Lt. Col.
Oliver North. Oliver North was a decorated marine who had countless battle commendations and
was wounded serving his country and his fellow soldiers several times. Lt. Col. North was the
man placed in charge of running both the operation to sell arms to Iran, and also in charge of
secretly funneling the funds to the contras16. Regan claimed to have no knowledge of what was
transpiring right under his administrations nose, even though it would come to show later that
government documents showed he had at least some knowledge, if not total understanding of
what was going on between Iran and the Contras17 In the end Regan gave many different and
often conflicting views of both his knowledge of what was going on, and also his level of

9. 8
involvement. From outright denying involvement and any knowledge to the commission he set
up to investigate the matter to reportedly claiming that he “Was definitely involved in the
decisions about supporting the freedom fighters; it was my idea to begin with” in a meeting with
several newspapers and television reporters18. To this day, there has never been any actually
physical proof presented that directly linked Regan to the sale of arms to Iran or the funneling of
the funds received to the Nicaraguan Contras.
Terrorists and extremist groups around the world learned from Moughniyeh the right
method of exploiting the fact that the Western powers could not and would not go to extreme
lengths and risk international incident in order to bring them down. This freedom allowed
terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East, and the world, to operate on smaller scales
freely without risk of international repercussions. This willingness to work with terrorist
organizations and their sponsoring nations is what gave rise to the biggest and most complex
terror network in the world today, Iran. Author Ronen Bergman said it best when describing
Iran:
Iran has never launched a full invasion against its neighbors as Saddam did against both
Iran and Kuwait. Instead it has been skillful in conducting its military adventures so as to
avoid the wrath of the west. For the past 20 years Iran has masterfully used Hezbollah as
a proxy, maintaining a veneer of deniability19
Even today Iran is supporting world terror, from training and arming insurgent fighters in
Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen to stoking the fires of unrest within the Shiite communities
in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The U.S. government has harsh words for this terrorist regime but
that is about all. Members of Iran’s feared and well trained Revolutionary Guard corps have been

10. 9
caught red handed training insurgents in Iraq, IED’s with Iranian military marking have been
discovered on their way to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and the U.S. condemns the
findings but that is where it stops. There have even been Iranian soldiers and generals killed and
captured in Syria. The actions taken by the Regan Administration during the scandal to appease
and even befriend the new Iranian regime has led to the Iranians almost shockingly blunt attitude
towards the West and its allies.
The international repercussions of the “Arms for hostages” fiasco, initiated under the
Regan administration, are still being seen today more than twenty years after the fact. The fact
that the U.S. government was willing and even eager to negotiate with terrorists gave a sort of
green light to terrorists around the world. This green light said “kidnap American citizens and
you can get whatever you want out of the U.S. government”. This new mentality, given to
terrorist groups emboldened them to attack bigger targets and go after higher profile
kidnappings, this “green light” only added Hezbollah’s inflated ego. This ego and reputation,
they so highly coveted, was earned in blood when Hezbollah organized and carried out two
separate devastating suicide bombings on American targets in Lebanon. The first was the
destruction of the American embassy and with it the entire local CIA station20. The second was
the bombing of the marine barracks in 1983 which killed over 200 marines21. Both of these
attacks were planned meticulously by one man whose name was heard over and over whenever
Middle Eastern terrorism is spoken of. This man who was comparable in name recognition to
today’s Osama Bin Laden, but whose legacy of blood and terror runs even deeper than the now
deceased Al Qaeda leader, that man was Imad Moughniyeh.
The Iranian-contra scandal that engulfed so much of the world’s attention in the late
1980’s, has left a lasting impression on the world as we know it today. The fact that our nation’s

11. 10
politicians took so little responsibility and publicly attempted to pin the entire mess on the
shoulders of Marine Lt. Col North, shook the nation’s already waning faith in its government.
The idea that a president could do whatever he wanted, even if it’s illegal because he is the
president had already weekend the nation’s faith in the system. To have something like this on
such a large scale was devastating, even if Regan did get off incredibly lightly. The fact that the
rest of the world and our own nation was only starting to put the Nixon Watergate scandal
behind them, only to have a similar breach and abuse of Presidential and governmental power
was shocking.
The way that the U.S. was perceived on an international scale had yet again taken a hit;
this hit has left an everlasting mark on our International reputation and permanently marred
Regan’s political career. The Government officials involved in the Iranian-Contra scandal ranged
from former president George H.W. Bush to Robert Gates. Nearly all of the men who were
indicted for their involvement in the affair either had their sentences overturned like Oliver North
did or were received presidential pardons22. Oliver North’s charges were overturned because it is
said that some of the testimony used against him was given while he was under congressional
immunity23.The events of the Iranian-contra scandal and the way the U.S. government acted
towards a terrorist nation has forever changed the “Name of the game” on how the U.S. and the
world must deal with terrorism. In giving in and dealing with terrorists, even if it is just their
handlers, have emboldened terrorist groups and fanatical militias around the globe. The resulting
fall out of the Iranian-Contra scandal is still being seen today. The people of the United States
have an inherent mistrust of its government and that mistrust has spread to the governments and
peoples of nations all around the world. The exposure of Americas Illegal involvement in “Guns
for Hostages” with Iran has forever changed the sentiment of the way the world and the

12. 11
American people view the American government. The actions taken by Officials within the
Regan administration have contributed greatly to the rise of international terrorism and the
growth of the Iranian terror network.
Notes
1
William E. Pemberton, “Exit With Honor” (New York M. E. Sharpe, Inc 1997) 177.
2
Ronald Regan, “The Regan Diaries”(New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007)453.
3
Peter Kornbluh and Malcolm Byrne. “The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On”. November 24,
2006. http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB210/index.htm (accessed April 19,
2011).
4
Oliver North with William Novak. “Under Fire” (New York: HarperCollins publishers,
1991)236.
5 IBID., 218
6 IBID., 219
7 IBID., 9
8 Ronen Bergman, “The Secret War with Iran”( New York: Free Press, 2008) 21.
9 IBID,31

13. 12
10 Donald Walker, "Lecture." Denver, April 14, 2011.
11 Ronen, “The Secret War With Iran” 40.
12 IBID,. 43.
13 IBID,. 93.
14 IBID,. 379.
15
Pemberton, “Exit With Honor” 177.
16 Regan, “The Regan Diaries”453.
17
Kornbluh with Byrne “The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On”
18
North with Novak. “Under Fire”18.
19
Ronen, “The Secret War with Iran” Back cover.
20 IBID,.70
21
Robert Baer. See No Evil. (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2002,2003)274.
22
Kornbluh with Byrne “The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On”
23 IBID

14. 13
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http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB210/index.htm(accessedApril 4/19,2011).
novak,OliverNorthwithWilliam. UnderFire. New York:HarperCollinspublishers,1991.
Pemberton,WilliamE. ExitWith Honor. New York:M. E. Sharpe, Inc,1997.
Regan,Ronald. TheRegan Diaries. NewYork: HarperCollinsPublishers,2007.
Ronen,Bergman. TheSecret War with Iran. New York:Free Press,2008.
Walker,Donald."Lecture."Denver,April 14,2011.