CONTRAry Beliefs

Ronald Reagan served as the 40th President of the United States from 1981-1989.  Reagan was preceded by President Jimmy Carter, a man who the American public perceived as a narcissist, and Reagan was supposed to be the countries saving grace. As Reagan’s economic plans, later deemed ‘Reaganomics,’ seemed to be boosting the economy, other things were growing behind the scenes.  As Americans were being held hostage in Iran, the Reagan administration developed a plan to help free the seven hostages.  The true plan did not come to light until November 1986 though.

       The true story behind the Iran-Contra affair is an eyeopening event that allows one to see just how secret the government can be.  The Reagan administration decided to sell arms to Iran in exchange for the hostages, something that President Reagan later denied, even though the truth has come to fruition.  The government had multiple motives for selling arms to Iran.  The hostage situation was the ‘cover,’ even though it was top secret that this was going on anyway.  Once the government completed the transactions they funneled the funds through Swiss bank accounts. Why? This is perhaps the sneakiest part of the entire operation. The funds were hidden from congress so that the administration could fund a group in rebel group in Nicaragua called the Contras.  The United States was not supposed to be meddling in the foreign affairs of other countries, especially in the Middle East and Latin America because of the Cold War implications it could have caused with Russia.  But nonetheless the Contras  were funded by the Americans as well as given military aid. 

All of this came to the surface on October 5, 1986 when the Sandinistas (those who the Contras opposed) shot down a plane manned by Americans carrying supplies to the Contras[1].

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[1] Oliver Stone, and Peter Kuznick, The Untold History of the United States, (New York: Gallery Books, 2012), chapt.11