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Mud,
The matter was the diversion of money from the missile sales to the Iranians to the Freedom Fighters in Nicaragua.
At that point in time the Tip O'Neal led liberals won out & voted no further authorization to fund the Freedom Fighters.
Although clever, and done with patriotic intent, the $18 million 'profit' from the Iranians diverted to the Contras was illegal. North & Poindexter surely had to know that if they were discovered by the Left it would be 'open-season' on President Reagan.
And as it turned out, it was. They put President Reagan thru undue embarrassment, and they usurped his command, as President Reagan knew nothing of the money diversion.

Admittedly Mud, my admiration for President Reagan may be blindsiding me here. I have no qualms with what North, Poindexter, & Secord did regarding the aid to the Contras. But damn it, they should have told the Old Man what they had in mind first!

"The matter was the diversion of money from the missile sales to the Iranians to the Freedom Fighters in Nicaragua. At that point in time the Tip O'Neal led liberals won out & voted no further authorization to fund the Freedom Fighters. Although clever, and done with patriotic intent, the $18 million 'profit' from the Iranians diverted to the Contras was illegal. North & Poindexter surely had to know that if they were discovered by the Left it would be 'open-season' on President Reagan."

Yes, but some risks are worth taking, and assisting Forces of Good from allowing the Collectivist Forces of Evil to set up a beach-head in Central America was, IMHO, an altruistic and purely-Good goal. Now, if Reagan had been aware of the particulars, would not have the "open-season" on the Greatest POTUS of our Lifetime been significantly worse?!

"They put President Reagan thru undue embarrassment, and they usurped his command, as President Reagan knew nothing of the money diversion."

Like I said, I'm not the ultimate expert on this issue, as I routinely ignored the Leftist Medyuh's coverage of this as I recognized it as the hatchet-job it was, but was Reagan publicly-outraged by their "insubordination" or would he have recognized that the aid to the Contras ultimately salvaged a key geopolitical goal of the Administration?

"My admiration for President Reagan may be blindsiding me here. I have no qualms with what North, Poindexter, & Secord did regarding the aid to the Contras. But damn it, they should have told the Old Man what they had in mind first!"

IMHO, North, etal. could not have told Reagan what they were going to do and still gone ahead and done it. My question is whether this was something Ronaldus Maximus knew as well.

In any event, yer disapproval of Ollie as a GOP candidate for VA Senator is duly noted.

FReegards...MUD