Summary
The case
In November 1986, President Reagan told the nation, “We did not — repeat — did not trade weapons or anything else for hostages, nor will we.” Four months later, he said the facts told him otherwise.
Part 2 goes inside the Iran arms sales: the hostages in Beirut, the Israeli-brokered TOW and HAWK shipments, the January 1986 Finding, the markups that filled Swiss accounts, McFarlane's secret trip to Tehran, and the leak that exposed it all.
We lay out the administration's case and the critics' case.
504TOWs shipped via Israel, Aug–Sept 1985Walsh
$10,000What Iran paid per TOW in 1986 (about $29,400 today)Walsh Ch. 8; BLS CPI-U
$30.3MReceived by the Enterprise in 1986; $12.2M went back to the U.S.Walsh Ch. 8
Where this comes from
From the episode's sources.md (primary documents).
- Walsh, Final Report of the Independent Counsel, Part I, “Underlying Facts”
- Walsh Report, Ch. 8, “The Enterprise and Its Finances”
- Walsh Report, Executive Summary
- Reagan, Address to the Nation on the Iran Arms and Contra Aid Controversy, Nov. 13, 1986
- Reagan, Address to the Nation on the Iran Arms and Contra Aid Controversy, Mar. 4, 1987
- National Security Archive, The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages (CUUR0000SA0)
- U.S. Department of State, State Sponsors of Terrorism
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