Rice appoints Iran-Contra figure Abrams to head NSC's Mideast section

Was he convicted of witholding information? Yes. The attempt of congress to rein in a black funded program was the wrong way of doing things, a political ploy no less. If congress had kept its powers and guarded them jealously, we would not have an out of balance govt. With the Supreme court more important, the Executive next, then the legislative.

If we had a Democrat president, and the congress compelled one of his employees to testify, you would be on the other side of this argument. Remember Clinton?

You addressed none of my points or questions. Please tell me what the Boland Amendment was, and why it was constitutional.

Also, please explain how a politically-appointed executive branch employee has Congress as his "superiors".

I would add that technically, because Abrams was pardoned, it's as though he was never convicted of those misdemeanors anyway.

I'll look forward to your substantive response to my points.

The Boland amendment prohibited military and para-military aid to the Contra-rebels in Nicaragua. It was not struck down by any court I know of, so it was constitutional. As far as my interpretation of the constitution, congress is within its rights to fund or defund any war-making activities, including full scale war.

There are three branches of govt in our country, they are seperately charged with balancing each other, and calling upon these powers to be informed is implicitly necessary to that job. Lying to a branch of this govt is morally wrong, and was ruled illegal in a court of law. A political payoff is not proof of innocence(look at Clintons record in this regard).

Obviously, you allow politics to color your views of right and wrong, I don't.

How do you see the congress responsibility, re the declaration and funding of wars? Can the executive branch wage war without approval of congress? How long can he do this? Can congress stop a war or action engaged in by the use of executive power, by defunding said action? If not, then doesn't the power to make war rest solely in the executive branch, making congress an advisor at best??

Good points. There are also unsolved questions about the Iran-Contra affair, and it is unsettling that some of the names that come up in it - the Saudi banking fraternity - turn up again with Bin Laden and Al-Qaida. The amounts of money were huge, the cover-ups and lies extensive, and the intelligence deals very murky. A lot of people involved in the drugs/Contra end of things fell over and died during the Clinton years.

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