Now think about the Iran-Contra Affair. In this case, don’t think about
Loch Johnson’s policy analysis (his perspective is too legislative for this case) but rather, read through some of
the sections of the Walsh Report, and assess the operational integrity, the quality of planning and execution
and the overall effectiveness of operations in the Iran-Contra Affair. Some of the things to consider would be
North’s decision to use Manucher Ghorbanifar as his go-between with Iran; North’s decision to use Amiram Nir
as his go-between with Israel; North and Secord’s choice of Eden Pastora as the commander of the Southern
Front; DCI Casey’s authorization of the operation to mine the Nicaraguan harbor at Managua; Hezbollah’s
relationship with the United States; the lack of anyone with formal training in banking and finance, so that North
and his staff ran all the covert financial aspects of the operation; and the dependence upon Saudi Arabia to
fund the Contras.
Question(s):
Now, after considering the operational elements of Iran-Contra, assess whether any aspects of this operation
could ever fulfill the policy interests of the U.S.
- What did we stand to gain if the operation had been a success.
- What did we actually gain? What did we lose?
- What could have been done instead of following this disastrous course of action?