Oliver North: Arms Dealer, Terrorist Supporter, American Favorite

I recently received a somewhat widespread forwarded email claiming to be a transcript of an exchange between Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and then-senator Al Gore as part of the Iran-Contra investigation. In the exchange, North claims that Osama bin Laden is the "most evil person alive," and Gore responds derisively, mispronouncing bin Laden's name and dismissing North's claim. This story of North warning of the danger of bin Laden has been shown by Snopes.com to be a fabrication (more here), however the message got me thinking about the mysterious popularity of North among right-wing writers and Republican supporters.

Since North appeared as a central player in the Iran-Contra scandal investigation in 1987, he has been a household name and, amazingly, a very sympathetic figure, with many Americans overlooking the terrible criminal acts that brought him to fame. Whether it was the means of questioning or the widespread perception that North had been set up as the "fall guy" for more powerful interests, North has become, in the words of one writer "America's favorite traitor".

Upon the resignation of Robert McFarlane from his position as National Security Advisor to President Reagan, Admiral John Poindexter took over and North, a military aide on the National Security Council, rose to prominence. While McFarlane had been involved in the Iran-Contra scandal, specifically in arranging arms-for-hostages deals with Iran through Israel, North brought with him new ideas for the expansion of the illegal operations. North proposed that the U.S. sell arms directly to Iran, rather than through Israel, and that the profits from these sales (due to high markups on the weapons) should be diverted to fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. This funding of the Contras was in direct violation of the 1982 Boland Amendment (and its extension in 1984), which prohibited any funding of Nicaraguan rebel groups by the United States.

Under North's command, an illegal, secret program was set up in which arms (mostly TOW anti-tank missiles) were sold to the fanatical Khomenei regime in Iran (which was responsible for the kidnapping of dozens of U.S. citizens) and large amounts of money were directed to the Contra terrorist death squads in Nicaragua (who were responsible for countless civilian killings). Furthermore, the Contra rebels were heavily involved in the trafficking of narcotics between South America and the U.S., and the program under North repeatedly came into contact with -- and did nothing about -- these drug trafficking rings. There are questions as to the extent of involvement in drug trafficking that resulted from the Contra funding program, but at the very least it is clear that North associated with known drug lords and failed to report critical information to the DEA regarding drug trafficking. According to former Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) head John Lawn, North once even leaked an undercover DEA operation -- endangering the lives of agents -- in order to gain political support for a Congressional vote on aid to the Contras. It was also discovered that North was hiding $15,000 in his closet, had received a $200,000 in a Swiss bank account, and received a $13,800 home security system as part of the illegal programs, suggesting that his motives in establishing the program were less patriotic than he portrayed them.

In the years since the 1987 investigation of the Iran-Contra affair, numerous details have come to light further revealing North's involvement in illegal arms dealing, terrorist funding of the Contras, and drug trafficking, contradicting a number of North's claims. Many of these original documents are available at the National Security Archive, which has an in-depth discussion of his involvement (link here). A more general overview of North's involvement can be found here. Given the criminality of North's actions, as well as his admission of guilt in many cases, it remains a mystery why so many Americans see him as some sort of hero. Whether it is because of ignorance of his actions, or because of an emotional attachment of some sort, this widespread willful blindness to North's high crimes reveals how many people are willing to defend the indefensible when "their government" is the perpetrator. Possibly more dangerous than the threat of such illegal government actions is the possibility that Americans have refused to learn from the experience, making future -- and possibly more egregious -- transgressions all the more likely.