Posted on 06/12/2004 6:53:45 AM PDT by Marcus Alonzo Hanna
News Release from the Soviet Union's ITAR-TASS News Agency in May 1987:
SENATOR KERRY ON THE FAILURE OF THE REAGAN DOCTRINE
WASHINGTON, MAY 5
THE IRANGATE IS A PROOF NOT ONLY OF ABUSE OF POWER BY A FEW OFFICIALS OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION IN THE USA BUT ALSO OF THE FAILURE OF THE WHOLE "REAGAN DOCTRINE", SENATOR JOHN KERRY WRITES IN TODAY'S WASHINGTON POST.
THIS DOCTRINE, HE POINTS OUT, IS BASED ON A CORE ASSUMPTION OF SUPPORTING THE SO-CALLED ANTICOMMUNIST FORCES AS LONG AS THEY WILL COUNTEROPPOSE COMMUNISM. UNDER THE DOCTRINE, COVERT OPERATIONS PRESENT THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY OF ACHIEVING THIS GOAL. THE ARMS SALES TO IRAN AND THE DIVERSION OF PART OF THE PROCEEDS TO CONTRAS WERE CARRIED OUT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REAGAN DOCTRINE AND PROVED ANEW ITS INCONSISTENCY BECAUSE IT IS BASED ON A FLAGRANT VIOLATION OF LAW, KERRY CONCLUDES.
Yeah. There's one for the ages.
Ronald Reagan is hated by the left because he robbed them of the assurance that communism could work. The left also envisioned a shining city on a hill, but that city was Moscow.
LOL. This is great. Kerry's foot cannot be extracted from his mouth.
Its time for American to wake up on this guy. He has been commended/honored by communists how many times now? He is on the wrong side, lets not be fooled.
You are right, Thane. I have a sense that the "progressives" still believe that communisim is fine and that the USSR just didn't do it right, but that they can make it work. Just look at how great Castro is doing.
This news will only EMBOLDEN and STRENGTHEN effingkerry's supporters. Dims have always been 'commie' lovers. They want the power, they KNOW what is best for us, they are the educated, brilliant elite, and believe in equality of outcome, with some (themselves) MORE equal than others.
"I had my left foot in my mouth . . . before I had my right foot in it."
A real ringing endorsement of Candidate Kerry.
Kerry has always been on the communist side. Why did he protest the war against his fellow communist? Why did he go to South America and support the communist. It was not because he did not like them.
LOL, that is so, so ummm Kerryesque.
This sounds familiar. Could it be that the best TASS people all work for American newsmedia now?
Needless to say, Kerry is not running on his record. I have not actually listened to any of his speeches, but from the printed record it would seem that he has basically deepsixed his senate record and only talks about it when he attacks the Bush "attack machine" for misrepresenting it.
And needless to say the press is not stepping in to correct Kerry's lies.
Elliott Abrams -- Pleaded guilty October 7, 1991, to two misdemeanor charges of withholding information from Congress about secret government efforts to support the Nicaraguan contra rebels during a ban on such aid. U.S. District Chief Judge Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr., sentenced Abrams November 15, 1991, to two years probation and 100 hours community service. Abrams was pardoned December 24, 1992.
Carl R. Channell -- Pleaded guilty April 29, 1987, to one felony count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. U.S. District Judge Stanley S. Harris sentenced Channell on July 7, 1989, to two years probation.
Thomas G. Clines -- Indicted February 22, 1990, on four felony counts of underreporting his earnings to the IRS in the 1985 and 1986 tax years; and falsely stating on his 1985 and 1986 tax returns that he had no foreign financial accounts. On September 18, 1990, Clines was found guilty of all charges. U.S. District Judge Norman P. Ramsey in Baltimore, Md., on December 13, 1990, sentenced Clines to 16 months in prison and $40,000 in fines. He was ordered to pay the cost of the prosecution. The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., on February 27, 1992, upheld the convictions. Clines served his prison sentence.
Alan D. Fiers, Jr. -- Pleaded guilty July 9, 1991, to two misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress about secret efforts to aid the Nicaraguan contras. U.S. District Chief Judge Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr., sentenced Fiers January 31, 1992, to one year probation and 100 hours community service. Fiers was pardoned December 24, 1992.
Clair E. George -- Indicted September 6, 1991, on 10 counts of perjury, false statements and obstruction in connection with congressional and Grand Jury investigations. George's trial on nine counts ended in a mistrial on August 26, 1992. Following a second trial on seven counts, George was found guilty December 9, 1992, of two felony charges of false statements and perjury before Congress. The maximum penalty for each count was five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth set sentencing for February 18, 1993. George was pardoned on December 24, 1992, before sentencing occurred.
Albert Hakim -- Pleaded guilty November 21, 1989, to a misdemeanor of supplementing the salary of Oliver L. North. Lake Resources Inc., in which Hakim was the principal shareholder, pleaded guilty to a corporate felony of theft of government property in diverting Iran arms sales proceeds to the Nicaraguan contras and other activities. Hakim was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell on February 1, 1990, to two years probation and a $5,000 fine; Lake Resources was ordered dissolved.
Robert C. McFarlane -- Pleaded guilty March 11, 1988, to four misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress. U.S. District Chief Judge Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr., sentenced McFarlane on March 3, 1989, to two years probation, $20,000 in fines and 200 hours community service. McFarlane was pardoned December 24, 1992.
Richard R. Miller -- Pleaded guilty May 6, 1987, to one felony count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. U.S. District Judge Stanley S. Harris sentenced Miller on July 6, 1989, to two years probation and 120 hours of community service.
Oliver L. North -- Indicted March 16, 1988, on 16 felony counts. After standing trial on 12, North was convicted May 4, 1989 of three charges: accepting an illegal gratuity, aiding and abetting in the obstruction of a congressional inquiry, and destruction of documents. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell on July 5, 1989, to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service. A three-judge appeals panel on July 20, 1990, vacated North's conviction for further proceedings to determine whether his immunized testimony influenced witnesses in the trial. The Supreme Court declined to review the case. Judge Gesell dismissed the case September 16, 1991, after hearings on the immunity issue, on the motion of Independent Counsel.
John M. Poindexter -- Indicted March 16, 1988, on seven felony charges. After standing trial on five charges, Poindexter was found guilty April 7, 1990, on all counts: conspiracy (obstruction of inquiries and proceedings, false statements, falsification, destruction and removal of documents); two counts of obstruction of Congress and two counts of false statements. U.S. District Judge Harold H. Greene sentenced Poindexter June 11, 1990, to six months in prison on each count, to be served concurrently. A three-judge appeals panel on November 15, 1991, reversed the convictions on the ground that Poindexter's immunized testimony may have influenced the trial testimony of witnesses. The Supreme Court on December 7, 1992, declined to review the case. In 1993, the indictment was dismissed on the motion of Independent Counsel.
Richard V. Secord -- Indicted March 16, 1988 on six felony charges. On May 11, 1989, a second indictment was issued charging nine counts of impeding and obstructing the Select Iran/contra Committees. Secord was scheduled to stand trial on 12 charges. He pleaded guilty November 8, 1989, to one felony count of false statements to Congress. Secord was sentenced by U.S. District Chief Judge Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr., on January 24, 1990, to two years probation.
Pre-trial Pardons
Duane R. Clarridge -- Indicted November 26, 1991, on seven counts of perjury and false statements about a secret shipment of U.S. HAWK missiles to Iran. The maximum penalty for each count was five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. U.S. District Judge Harold H. Greene set a March 15, 1993, trial date. Clarridge was pardoned December 24, 1992.
Caspar W. Weinberger -- Indicted June 16, 1992, on five counts of obstruction, perjury and false statements in connection with congressional and Independent Counsel investigations of Iran/ contra. On September 29, the obstruction count was dismissed. On October 30, a second indictment was issued, charging one false statement count. The second indictment was dismissed December 11, leaving four counts remaining. The maximum penalty for each count was five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan set a January 5, 1993, trial date. Weinberger was pardoned December 24, 1992.
Dismissal
Joseph F. Fernandez -- Indicted June 20, 1988 on five counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstructing the inquiry of the Tower Commission and making false statements to government agencies. The case was dismissed in the District of Columbia for venue reasons on the motion of Independent Counsel. A four-count indictment was issued in the Eastern District of Virginia on April 24, 1989. U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton dismissed the four-count case November 24, 1989, after Attorney General Richard Thornburgh blocked the disclosure of classified information ruled relevant to the defense. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Va., on September 6, 1990, upheld Judge Hilton's rulings under the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA). On October 12, 1990, the Attorney General filed a final declaration that he would not disclose the classified information.
A past that defines Kerry - Communist -
I am coming to the conclusion that people really don't understand who Kerry is. Yes, there are those who are voting for him simply because they hate Bush, but when I meet an MBA who thinks Kerry would be better for the economy, it is amazing.
By the way, one of the best openings for someone like that is to bring up Kyoto.
I am sure you recall the atmosphere at the time of the Iran/Contra affair. The left, in the media and in Congress, were determined to besmirch and undermine Ronald Reagan and those show trials and Congressional hearings were one of the ways they were doing it. The Boland Amendment had been passed which forbade our aiding the anti-Communists in Central America. Jim Wright, Speaker of the House, was constantly protecting the Communists from Reagan.
Nothing has changed. The media and the leftist Democrats are constantly bashing America and trying to hamstring any efforts to fight our enemies and trying to defeat George Bush. That is really what the Iran/Contra hullaballoo was all about.
You took my line....
I was going to say that....
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