1 00:00:09,966 --> 00:00:12,969 Previously on "Fiasco"... 2 00:00:13,100 --> 00:00:16,668 when a new hostage crisis takes hold in Lebanon, 3 00:00:16,799 --> 00:00:19,845 Ronald Reagan is determined to avoid the same mistakes 4 00:00:19,976 --> 00:00:22,457 made by his predecessor, Jimmy Carter. 5 00:00:23,632 --> 00:00:26,635 But as the crisis deepens, Reagan becomes consumed 6 00:00:26,765 --> 00:00:29,333 with bringing his countrymen home. 7 00:00:29,464 --> 00:00:32,554 Then National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane 8 00:00:32,684 --> 00:00:36,340 presents a risky proposal to sell weapons to Iran 9 00:00:36,471 --> 00:00:38,473 in exchange for the release of hostages. 10 00:00:39,561 --> 00:00:42,042 Reagan eagerly signs off. 11 00:00:51,834 --> 00:00:54,315 So far, we have been following the strands 12 00:00:54,445 --> 00:00:57,535 of the Iran-Contra saga separately, 13 00:00:57,666 --> 00:01:00,451 tracing each one from conception to execution, 14 00:01:00,582 --> 00:01:02,627 as they wove, one by one, 15 00:01:02,758 --> 00:01:04,586 through the mind of Oliver North 16 00:01:04,716 --> 00:01:07,415 and the universe of room 392. 17 00:01:07,545 --> 00:01:08,677 -The contras. - Kidnapped in Beirut. 18 00:01:08,807 --> 00:01:10,026 Ayatollah Khomeini. 19 00:01:10,157 --> 00:01:10,940 But this is the moment 20 00:01:11,071 --> 00:01:12,637 when the strands come together 21 00:01:12,768 --> 00:01:14,683 to form the surreal plot 22 00:01:14,813 --> 00:01:17,642 we have come to know as the Iran-Contra scandal. 23 00:01:17,773 --> 00:01:20,036 Iran was exporting its revolution 24 00:01:20,167 --> 00:01:22,865 to wage war against Western interests 25 00:01:22,995 --> 00:01:24,867 and conservative Arab interests. 26 00:01:24,997 --> 00:01:26,521 Father Jenco from Illinois 27 00:01:26,651 --> 00:01:28,131 is the fifth American to disappear 28 00:01:28,262 --> 00:01:29,959 from the streets of West Beirut in the last ten months. 29 00:01:30,090 --> 00:01:32,657 We had hostages that had been taken, in Lebanon. 30 00:01:32,788 --> 00:01:35,704 Our responsibility is to try to get those hostages back home. 31 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:38,663 CIA officers have directed 32 00:01:38,794 --> 00:01:40,926 and funded the war against Nicaragua. 33 00:01:41,057 --> 00:01:44,016 CIA employees executing the more damaging attacks. 34 00:01:44,147 --> 00:01:46,671 But Congress passed an amendment 35 00:01:46,802 --> 00:01:49,631 which said you can't spend any money to support the Contras. 36 00:01:50,936 --> 00:01:53,287 They were gonna die on a limb. 37 00:01:53,417 --> 00:01:54,853 Hell of a mess. 38 00:01:54,984 --> 00:01:56,333 How did Ronald Reagan's 39 00:01:56,464 --> 00:01:58,074 ambitions in Central America 40 00:01:58,205 --> 00:02:01,512 become fused with his priorities in the Middle East? 41 00:02:01,643 --> 00:02:04,341 How did the money, the personnel, the logistics, 42 00:02:04,472 --> 00:02:07,518 and the policy all get tangled together? 43 00:02:07,649 --> 00:02:09,390 There was a major screwup. 44 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:11,087 I mean, you can just imagine today, 45 00:02:11,218 --> 00:02:14,569 if the White House was caught selling arms to Iran, 46 00:02:14,699 --> 00:02:16,571 - there would be outrage. 47 00:02:16,701 --> 00:02:20,792 But then, to take the money from a Middle East operation 48 00:02:20,923 --> 00:02:22,751 and give it to a group that's involved 49 00:02:22,881 --> 00:02:25,536 in a civil war, it becomes diabolical. 50 00:02:32,064 --> 00:02:34,197 From the beginning, there was one person 51 00:02:34,328 --> 00:02:36,895 who could have predicted that Reagan would fall prey 52 00:02:37,026 --> 00:02:38,810 to an out-of-control hostage crisis. 53 00:02:40,769 --> 00:02:42,379 It was his national security advisor, 54 00:02:42,510 --> 00:02:44,381 Robert "Bud" McFarlane. 55 00:02:44,512 --> 00:02:46,035 He saw the risk clearly 56 00:02:46,166 --> 00:02:49,473 during his first week in office back in 1983... 57 00:02:51,997 --> 00:02:54,522 The count of American dead in today's terrorist attack 58 00:02:54,652 --> 00:02:58,265 on the U.S. Marine compound in Beirut stands at 135. 59 00:02:58,395 --> 00:03:01,572 ...as the situation in Lebanon went from dangerous to deadly. 60 00:03:03,922 --> 00:03:05,794 I didn't know what hit us. 61 00:03:05,924 --> 00:03:07,839 You hear about 1,000 people, it seemed like, screaming, 62 00:03:07,970 --> 00:03:10,668 "Help me. God help me." 63 00:03:10,799 --> 00:03:12,322 Reagan was just shattered by it. 64 00:03:13,715 --> 00:03:15,499 At the earliest opportunity, 65 00:03:15,630 --> 00:03:17,849 he wanted to go to Camp Lejeune 66 00:03:17,980 --> 00:03:22,245 and be consoling and whatever he could do, and he did. 67 00:03:22,376 --> 00:03:26,075 If this country is to remain a force for good in the world, 68 00:03:26,206 --> 00:03:30,862 we'll face times like these, times of sadness and loss. 69 00:03:30,993 --> 00:03:34,083 Your fellow citizens know and appreciate 70 00:03:34,214 --> 00:03:38,043 that Marines and their families are carrying a heavy burden. 71 00:03:42,178 --> 00:03:45,137 I watched him, 72 00:03:45,268 --> 00:03:47,444 and I became quite emotional too. 73 00:03:47,575 --> 00:03:49,446 He was both embittered 74 00:03:49,577 --> 00:03:53,015 and sorrowful for the survivors 75 00:03:53,145 --> 00:03:55,800 and the parents who were there. 76 00:03:57,628 --> 00:03:59,108 It was clear that Reagan 77 00:03:59,239 --> 00:04:01,502 cared deeply about his fellow countrymen abroad. 78 00:04:02,851 --> 00:04:04,722 But for Bud McFarlane, 79 00:04:04,853 --> 00:04:06,768 the President's grief provoked a troubling thought. 80 00:04:09,292 --> 00:04:11,120 That investment personally 81 00:04:11,251 --> 00:04:13,731 of the time and effort to go and be there. 82 00:04:13,862 --> 00:04:16,473 You couldn't deny this is vivid evidence 83 00:04:16,604 --> 00:04:19,998 of how an enemy would see a vulnerability. 84 00:04:20,956 --> 00:04:23,045 And it was in this vulnerability 85 00:04:23,175 --> 00:04:26,788 that Iran, once again, saw an opportunity. 86 00:04:26,918 --> 00:04:28,920 They could capitalize on it by coaxing Reagan 87 00:04:29,051 --> 00:04:30,705 into risking everything 88 00:04:30,835 --> 00:04:32,707 for the rescue of seven hostages. 89 00:04:35,623 --> 00:04:37,973 I am Leon Neyfakh. 90 00:04:38,103 --> 00:04:41,846 This is " 91 00:04:41,977 --> 00:04:43,805 the Story of Iran-Contra." 92 00:05:01,344 --> 00:05:04,304 When Reagan came into office, I was at the State Department, 93 00:05:04,434 --> 00:05:07,002 and he wanted me to be his interlocutor 94 00:05:07,132 --> 00:05:09,657 between the heads of state throughout the Middle East. 95 00:05:11,876 --> 00:05:14,183 His secretary of state, he asked me, 96 00:05:14,314 --> 00:05:16,751 "What do you think is the most important issue 97 00:05:16,881 --> 00:05:19,188 that we must study hard?" And I said, 98 00:05:19,319 --> 00:05:22,147 "Well, the wild card in the mix here is really Iran." 99 00:05:27,196 --> 00:05:29,720 We've had a revolutionary figure emerge 100 00:05:29,851 --> 00:05:31,505 as the leader of Iran. 101 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:40,122 At the geopolitical center 102 00:05:40,252 --> 00:05:42,820 of the energy world on the planet, 103 00:05:42,951 --> 00:05:45,170 this is a terribly important country, 104 00:05:45,301 --> 00:05:48,391 and it is bound to be a target for the Soviet Union. 105 00:05:50,437 --> 00:05:53,353 Iran was, in many ways, thought by Americans, 106 00:05:53,483 --> 00:05:56,094 including those in the Reagan administration, 107 00:05:56,225 --> 00:05:59,968 to be a new kind of face of anti-American evil. 108 00:06:02,362 --> 00:06:05,800 The American Embassy in Tehran ceased operations 109 00:06:05,930 --> 00:06:07,628 in November 1979 110 00:06:07,758 --> 00:06:09,978 when it was taken over by militants, 111 00:06:10,108 --> 00:06:12,154 and it has never opened since. 112 00:06:12,284 --> 00:06:15,810 Inescapably, this story always comes back 113 00:06:15,940 --> 00:06:19,161 to that year of revolution: 1979. 114 00:06:19,291 --> 00:06:22,730 In early 1979, the Shah gave up, 115 00:06:22,860 --> 00:06:24,079 and he left the country. 116 00:06:24,209 --> 00:06:25,863 He never came back to Iran again, 117 00:06:25,994 --> 00:06:27,256 and everything connected 118 00:06:27,387 --> 00:06:29,867 with his regime soon completely collapsed. 119 00:06:29,998 --> 00:06:33,871 The Iranian people are united, and they believe, 120 00:06:34,002 --> 00:06:38,223 and all of them are behind Khomeini's leadership. 121 00:06:38,354 --> 00:06:41,662 Khomeini and his forces really gain the upper hand 122 00:06:41,792 --> 00:06:45,361 and begin establishing the institutions 123 00:06:45,492 --> 00:06:48,016 that we see today, 40 years later, 124 00:06:48,146 --> 00:06:50,714 in the Islamic Republic of Iran. 125 00:06:50,845 --> 00:06:54,196 He was the one who understood and made real 126 00:06:54,326 --> 00:06:58,156 how to combine Islam and politics. 127 00:07:01,159 --> 00:07:03,074 Around the time the U.S. hostages taken 128 00:07:03,205 --> 00:07:06,077 during the Carter administration returned home, 129 00:07:06,208 --> 00:07:09,951 Ayatollah Khomeini consolidated his power over Iran 130 00:07:10,081 --> 00:07:12,780 and hardened his stance towards the United States. 131 00:07:12,910 --> 00:07:13,998 This was the first group of Americans 132 00:07:14,129 --> 00:07:16,087 to leave the country 133 00:07:16,218 --> 00:07:17,915 since the U.S. embassy said it could no longer guarantee 134 00:07:18,046 --> 00:07:20,918 the safety of U.S. citizens in Iran. 135 00:07:21,049 --> 00:07:22,572 Pan American Airlines brought a plane in 136 00:07:22,703 --> 00:07:24,139 to take its people out 137 00:07:24,269 --> 00:07:25,619 and opened the flight to a few other companies 138 00:07:25,749 --> 00:07:27,229 and about 20 newsmen 139 00:07:27,359 --> 00:07:28,622 who decided it was time to get out. 140 00:07:31,189 --> 00:07:32,408 So how did we get 141 00:07:32,539 --> 00:07:34,454 from being literally shut out of Iran 142 00:07:34,584 --> 00:07:37,065 by our archenemy, Ayatollah Khomeini, 143 00:07:37,195 --> 00:07:39,328 to selling his government deadly weapons 144 00:07:39,459 --> 00:07:41,765 just six years later? 145 00:07:41,896 --> 00:07:45,116 To understand that, we need to look next door 146 00:07:45,247 --> 00:07:47,205 to the region's other reigning despot. 147 00:07:49,033 --> 00:07:50,339 He likes to be called Saddam, 148 00:07:50,470 --> 00:07:52,863 but some Arabs have other names for him. 149 00:07:52,994 --> 00:07:55,039 The Butcher of Baghdad is one. 150 00:07:55,170 --> 00:07:57,564 Remember him? Saddam Hussein. 151 00:07:57,694 --> 00:08:01,045 A character from a completely different American fiasco. 152 00:08:01,176 --> 00:08:04,092 Well, he plays a role here too. 153 00:08:04,222 --> 00:08:06,137 Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti, 154 00:08:06,268 --> 00:08:08,400 president in name for the past 14 months, 155 00:08:08,531 --> 00:08:11,491 but Iraq's strongman for the past decade, 156 00:08:11,621 --> 00:08:13,971 variously attired in Arab headdress 157 00:08:14,102 --> 00:08:16,452 or in the uniform of a field marshal 158 00:08:16,583 --> 00:08:17,714 although he was never a soldier. 159 00:08:17,845 --> 00:08:19,107 But his favorite image: 160 00:08:19,237 --> 00:08:21,979 the cuddly father figure. 161 00:08:22,110 --> 00:08:23,981 Before he was a menace to Kuwait, 162 00:08:24,112 --> 00:08:27,071 Saddam waged one of the longest and bloodiest wars 163 00:08:27,202 --> 00:08:28,899 in modern Middle Eastern history. 164 00:08:29,813 --> 00:08:31,293 It was against his neighbor, 165 00:08:31,423 --> 00:08:33,600 the radical Muslim cleric 166 00:08:33,730 --> 00:08:36,777 solidifying his power in Iran and posing a new challenge 167 00:08:36,907 --> 00:08:40,084 to Saddam's aggressively secular dictatorship. 168 00:08:40,215 --> 00:08:43,131 Saddam Hussein was a Sunni leader 169 00:08:43,261 --> 00:08:47,004 who was running a majority Shiite country, 170 00:08:47,135 --> 00:08:49,877 and he kept the Shiite community in check. 171 00:08:50,007 --> 00:08:53,141 And Khomeini had a theocracy. 172 00:08:57,624 --> 00:09:01,018 He had visions of having a government 173 00:09:01,149 --> 00:09:04,152 based on religious power, 174 00:09:04,282 --> 00:09:07,895 maybe emulated in other parts of the Arab world. 175 00:09:08,025 --> 00:09:10,158 They were exact opposites. 176 00:09:12,464 --> 00:09:15,903 The Arab Gulf countries were extremely nervous 177 00:09:16,033 --> 00:09:19,994 about the kind of regime that emerged in Iran. 178 00:09:20,124 --> 00:09:22,170 And there's this traditional rivalry 179 00:09:22,300 --> 00:09:24,781 between Sunnis and Shia, 180 00:09:24,912 --> 00:09:26,783 and they felt threatened. 181 00:09:26,914 --> 00:09:29,438 What Saddam feared was that 182 00:09:29,569 --> 00:09:31,962 the ethnicity of the Shia 183 00:09:32,093 --> 00:09:35,923 and their loyalty to the Shia Imams 184 00:09:36,053 --> 00:09:40,144 would trump their faith in the government of Iraq, 185 00:09:40,275 --> 00:09:42,059 which was primarily Sunni 186 00:09:42,190 --> 00:09:44,453 and which did very little to help the Shia majority. 187 00:09:44,584 --> 00:09:47,499 So the ability of Khomeini 188 00:09:47,630 --> 00:09:50,590 to threaten Saddam was quite profound. 189 00:09:52,069 --> 00:09:53,593 In 1980, 190 00:09:53,723 --> 00:09:56,421 in the wake of Iran's chaotic revolution, 191 00:09:56,552 --> 00:09:59,120 Saddam Hussein saw an opportunity. 192 00:09:59,250 --> 00:10:01,905 Saddam and his aides want to establish Iraq, 193 00:10:02,036 --> 00:10:04,125 not Iran, as the major power in the area 194 00:10:04,255 --> 00:10:07,302 and elevate Saddam as the leader of all Arabs. 195 00:10:07,432 --> 00:10:10,784 And so Saddam did what dictators often do. 196 00:10:10,914 --> 00:10:12,046 He attacked. 197 00:10:14,657 --> 00:10:17,268 Basking in their nationalist identity, 198 00:10:17,399 --> 00:10:19,183 Iranians flocked to the frontlines 199 00:10:19,314 --> 00:10:21,533 to defend their country. 200 00:10:21,664 --> 00:10:24,188 The men and boys who have responded wear headbands 201 00:10:24,319 --> 00:10:27,278 that say simply, "Yes to Khomeini." 202 00:10:27,409 --> 00:10:29,454 It means they have promised their lives to the revolution. 203 00:10:29,585 --> 00:10:31,108 Women willingly offered up 204 00:10:31,239 --> 00:10:35,156 their husbands and sons and even themselves. 205 00:10:35,286 --> 00:10:37,506 But manpower was not enough. 206 00:10:37,637 --> 00:10:39,377 This was modern warfare, 207 00:10:39,508 --> 00:10:41,379 and weapons and technology 208 00:10:41,510 --> 00:10:43,686 were going to determine the victor. 209 00:10:43,817 --> 00:10:46,123 Iranian resistance crumbled in the early days 210 00:10:46,254 --> 00:10:48,038 to the advancing Iraqis. 211 00:10:48,169 --> 00:10:51,302 The first major territorial gain came last Wednesday 212 00:10:51,433 --> 00:10:53,827 when Iraq claimed the capture of the town of Qasr-e Shirin 213 00:10:53,957 --> 00:10:55,480 in the north. 214 00:10:55,611 --> 00:10:57,744 Now the Islamic revolution has been replaced 215 00:10:57,874 --> 00:11:02,009 by the ruthless Arab socialism of President Saddam Hussein. 216 00:11:02,139 --> 00:11:05,621 We are just coming here to force them to recognize that 217 00:11:05,752 --> 00:11:09,146 and to be reasonable enough to see that they cannot do 218 00:11:09,277 --> 00:11:12,106 and they cannot have it their way all the time. 219 00:11:12,236 --> 00:11:13,977 To most Americans, 220 00:11:14,108 --> 00:11:17,067 the basic lesson of the Iranian hostage crisis 221 00:11:17,198 --> 00:11:20,897 was that the Iranian Islamic Regime 222 00:11:21,028 --> 00:11:22,899 of Ayatollah Khomeini 223 00:11:23,030 --> 00:11:26,207 was dangerous and irrational, 224 00:11:26,337 --> 00:11:29,558 impossible to deal with, inscrutable. 225 00:11:29,689 --> 00:11:34,171 And so when Iraq invaded Iran, 226 00:11:34,302 --> 00:11:37,784 the United States leaned on the side of Iraq. 227 00:11:38,785 --> 00:11:40,438 In fact, America went further 228 00:11:40,569 --> 00:11:43,267 than just siding with Iraq. 229 00:11:43,398 --> 00:11:45,182 It struck up a tentative partnership 230 00:11:45,313 --> 00:11:46,444 with Saddam Hussein, 231 00:11:46,575 --> 00:11:48,533 and by 1983, 232 00:11:48,664 --> 00:11:51,188 America was supplying Iraq with arms. 233 00:11:51,319 --> 00:11:54,322 Saddam was enjoying the support of the West, 234 00:11:54,452 --> 00:11:55,627 of the United States. 235 00:11:55,758 --> 00:11:57,934 He was buying weaponry from them, 236 00:11:58,065 --> 00:11:59,936 and he could do no wrong. 237 00:12:00,067 --> 00:12:02,547 It was a convenient alliance. 238 00:12:02,678 --> 00:12:05,028 The alliance was founded on one thing. 239 00:12:05,159 --> 00:12:07,291 Iraq was sitting on a lot of oil. 240 00:12:07,422 --> 00:12:09,250 They had reserves. 241 00:12:09,380 --> 00:12:11,165 So vast are their reserves, that Iraqis say 242 00:12:11,295 --> 00:12:12,949 that the last two barrels of oil 243 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:14,559 in the world will be theirs. 244 00:12:14,690 --> 00:12:17,519 The U.S. didn't have alternatives at the time 245 00:12:17,649 --> 00:12:20,391 to Saudi oil or Arab oil. 246 00:12:20,522 --> 00:12:24,352 And oil prices were a matter of national interest 247 00:12:24,482 --> 00:12:28,704 and very important to the economy of the U.S. 248 00:12:28,835 --> 00:12:33,143 Iran felt that its back was against the wall. 249 00:12:33,274 --> 00:12:37,539 The Iraqi Air Force was superior. 250 00:12:37,669 --> 00:12:40,368 They didn't have the right kind of missiles 251 00:12:40,498 --> 00:12:42,326 to defend themselves. 252 00:12:45,155 --> 00:12:47,331 And a lot of young Iranian soldiers 253 00:12:47,462 --> 00:12:49,377 died in the war. 254 00:12:49,507 --> 00:12:51,945 Millions died. Many were taken prisoner. 255 00:13:06,611 --> 00:13:09,614 By the summer of 1985, the bloody war 256 00:13:09,745 --> 00:13:13,444 between Iran and Iraq had been raging for five years. 257 00:13:14,489 --> 00:13:16,360 The Iranians seem to have no intention at all 258 00:13:16,491 --> 00:13:20,582 of agreeing to a ceasefire, let alone peace negotiations. 259 00:13:20,712 --> 00:13:23,585 The war will drag on, continuing instability 260 00:13:23,715 --> 00:13:25,021 at the very heart of the oil world. 261 00:13:25,152 --> 00:13:26,414 And many are wondering 262 00:13:26,544 --> 00:13:29,112 how long Iran can stay in this fight 263 00:13:29,243 --> 00:13:31,811 without American military assistance. 264 00:13:33,247 --> 00:13:35,684 To make matters more complicated, 265 00:13:35,815 --> 00:13:38,078 the White House feared that the Soviet Union 266 00:13:38,208 --> 00:13:40,428 was jockeying for influence in Iran 267 00:13:40,558 --> 00:13:41,821 or even planning to invade. 268 00:13:44,824 --> 00:13:48,175 Iran, I thought, really was threatened. 269 00:13:48,305 --> 00:13:49,829 They were a target. 270 00:13:49,959 --> 00:13:53,397 The Cold War was raging during this time, 271 00:13:53,528 --> 00:13:57,053 so it was crucial that we do whatever we could 272 00:13:57,184 --> 00:13:59,316 to prevent an expansion 273 00:13:59,447 --> 00:14:01,492 of Soviet influence in the Middle East. 274 00:14:07,803 --> 00:14:09,196 It was against the backdrop 275 00:14:09,326 --> 00:14:11,241 of the Iran-Iraq war 276 00:14:11,372 --> 00:14:14,288 that in the summer of 1985, an Iranian arms dealer 277 00:14:14,418 --> 00:14:16,594 by the name of Manucher Ghorbanifar 278 00:14:16,725 --> 00:14:19,336 was introduced to Bud McFarlane. 279 00:14:19,467 --> 00:14:21,599 Ghorbanifar claimed that there were moderate elements 280 00:14:21,730 --> 00:14:23,297 within Khomeini's cabinet 281 00:14:23,427 --> 00:14:26,126 who wanted to engage with the U.S. 282 00:14:26,256 --> 00:14:28,432 McFarlane was very concerned 283 00:14:28,563 --> 00:14:32,436 that America not miss an opportunity 284 00:14:32,567 --> 00:14:35,483 to restore some semblance of normalcy 285 00:14:35,613 --> 00:14:37,659 to our relationship with Iran. 286 00:14:37,789 --> 00:14:41,010 Or at least stop the radicalization 287 00:14:41,141 --> 00:14:42,664 and begin a process 288 00:14:42,794 --> 00:14:47,190 that would move them more towards a centrist policy 289 00:14:47,321 --> 00:14:49,105 and a restoration of the balance of power 290 00:14:49,236 --> 00:14:50,672 and the Middle East order. 291 00:14:50,802 --> 00:14:52,500 That was the long-term play. 292 00:14:52,630 --> 00:14:54,328 In the short term, 293 00:14:54,458 --> 00:14:56,591 Ghorbanifar was also promising to help Reagan 294 00:14:56,721 --> 00:14:58,158 out of his hostage crisis. 295 00:15:00,377 --> 00:15:02,379 Extremist Shiite militants in Lebanon, 296 00:15:02,510 --> 00:15:04,381 who referred to themselves as Hezbollah, 297 00:15:04,512 --> 00:15:06,688 had kidnapped seven Americans in Beirut. 298 00:15:06,818 --> 00:15:08,908 As far as the White House was concerned, 299 00:15:09,038 --> 00:15:11,954 Hezbollah answered to Ayatollah Khomeini. 300 00:15:12,085 --> 00:15:15,697 There is sufficient evidence that radical Shia terrorists 301 00:15:15,827 --> 00:15:18,439 are responsive to Iranian guidance 302 00:15:18,569 --> 00:15:20,658 for us to hold Tehran responsible. 303 00:15:20,789 --> 00:15:22,225 In the last three years, 304 00:15:22,356 --> 00:15:24,140 Khomeini's fundamentalist message 305 00:15:24,271 --> 00:15:25,663 has found many supporters 306 00:15:25,794 --> 00:15:28,275 among the Shiites of the Lebanon. 307 00:15:28,405 --> 00:15:31,234 Downtrodden for generations, many now believe 308 00:15:31,365 --> 00:15:33,976 in an Islamic revolution against foreign influence. 309 00:15:34,107 --> 00:15:37,327 Iranian leadership were using the Pasdaran 310 00:15:37,458 --> 00:15:41,375 to train people to become martyrs. 311 00:15:41,505 --> 00:15:44,291 We saw Shia unrest in Saudi Arabia. 312 00:15:44,421 --> 00:15:46,946 We saw Shia unrest in Yemen. 313 00:15:47,076 --> 00:15:49,818 Wherever there were Shiite communities, 314 00:15:49,949 --> 00:15:53,735 they were typically the impoverished communities, 315 00:15:53,865 --> 00:15:57,565 and they were looking to Iran for help. 316 00:15:58,131 --> 00:15:59,610 Hezbollah had learned 317 00:15:59,741 --> 00:16:01,264 from the Iranian hostage crisis 318 00:16:01,395 --> 00:16:03,179 how to put pressure on the United States. 319 00:16:03,310 --> 00:16:04,528 ...for in this city, 320 00:16:04,659 --> 00:16:06,443 a live hostage is worth a lot of money. 321 00:16:11,144 --> 00:16:13,450 Ghorbanifar said that he could persuade 322 00:16:13,581 --> 00:16:15,409 the Iranian government to pressure Hezbollah 323 00:16:15,539 --> 00:16:17,541 into releasing the seven American hostages 324 00:16:17,672 --> 00:16:19,630 being held in Lebanon. 325 00:16:19,761 --> 00:16:22,590 It was this promise that would lead Bud McFarlane 326 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:24,287 to make a fateful decision. 327 00:16:26,246 --> 00:16:27,943 He instructed Oliver North 328 00:16:28,074 --> 00:16:30,380 to strike a deal with Ghorbanifar, 329 00:16:30,511 --> 00:16:32,643 whereby Iran would broker the release of the hostages. 330 00:16:34,297 --> 00:16:36,082 And in return, 331 00:16:36,212 --> 00:16:38,606 the Ayatollah would get the one thing he really needed. 332 00:16:41,087 --> 00:16:43,176 The Iranians needed weapons, 333 00:16:43,306 --> 00:16:45,265 and they knew that 334 00:16:45,395 --> 00:16:48,007 Saddam's supremacy in the skies 335 00:16:48,137 --> 00:16:51,227 and with missiles and all kinds of weaponry 336 00:16:51,358 --> 00:16:52,968 was because the West 337 00:16:53,099 --> 00:16:55,971 was supplying these weapons to them. 338 00:16:56,102 --> 00:16:57,668 There was one problem. 339 00:16:57,799 --> 00:16:59,670 The White House had placed an embargo 340 00:16:59,801 --> 00:17:01,803 on the sale of weapons to Iran. 341 00:17:01,933 --> 00:17:03,370 There were plenty of laws broken 342 00:17:03,500 --> 00:17:05,807 in the arms sales to Iran, 343 00:17:05,937 --> 00:17:09,767 but if a President and his advisors decide that 344 00:17:09,898 --> 00:17:12,640 "we're going to find a lawyer to write an interpretation 345 00:17:12,770 --> 00:17:15,295 that says that we're within the law," 346 00:17:16,078 --> 00:17:17,862 they may or may not get away with it 347 00:17:17,993 --> 00:17:19,473 in the long run, 348 00:17:19,603 --> 00:17:21,257 but they clearly have the power to do it 349 00:17:21,388 --> 00:17:22,998 in the short run. 350 00:17:23,129 --> 00:17:25,522 To keep the deal secret, 351 00:17:25,653 --> 00:17:29,222 the Israeli government agreed to act as a middleman. 352 00:17:29,352 --> 00:17:31,050 It went like this. 353 00:17:31,180 --> 00:17:33,487 The U.S. would sell the missiles to Israel, 354 00:17:33,617 --> 00:17:36,055 and Israel would then ship them to Iran. 355 00:17:36,185 --> 00:17:38,666 The plan was designed to avoid a direct sale 356 00:17:38,796 --> 00:17:40,537 to a country that the Reagan administration 357 00:17:40,668 --> 00:17:42,931 had designated a state sponsor of terrorism. 358 00:17:43,062 --> 00:17:45,629 The president had 359 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:47,805 made the decision unequivocally. 360 00:17:47,936 --> 00:17:50,112 He was profoundly focused 361 00:17:50,243 --> 00:17:53,811 on securing the release of the hostages in Lebanon. 362 00:17:56,597 --> 00:18:01,080 I reminded him again that, "Look, this may not work." 363 00:18:03,082 --> 00:18:06,563 And he said, "Well, Bud, we don't know until we try." 364 00:18:08,957 --> 00:18:11,742 On August 20, 1985, 365 00:18:11,873 --> 00:18:14,571 a plane carrying 96 American TOW missiles 366 00:18:14,702 --> 00:18:16,660 left Israel for Iran. 367 00:18:16,791 --> 00:18:18,314 Right away, 368 00:18:18,445 --> 00:18:20,403 after the President made the decision, 369 00:18:20,534 --> 00:18:23,493 I began to hear a different story. 370 00:18:25,713 --> 00:18:27,845 In a last-minute bait and switch, 371 00:18:27,976 --> 00:18:29,760 Ghorbanifar was saying that Iran 372 00:18:29,891 --> 00:18:32,589 wanted an additional 400 missiles. 373 00:18:33,416 --> 00:18:36,419 Even worse, he said that only one hostage 374 00:18:36,550 --> 00:18:39,727 instead of all seven would be freed in exchange. 375 00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:42,425 McFarlane was furious. 376 00:18:42,556 --> 00:18:43,992 You're being screwed here. 377 00:18:44,123 --> 00:18:46,081 That was my reaction to it. 378 00:18:46,212 --> 00:18:49,563 And I said, "Look, this is really unimpressive 379 00:18:49,693 --> 00:18:53,349 "on their part and foolish on ours 380 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:55,873 if we can't get this straightened out." 381 00:18:56,004 --> 00:18:58,789 Now ready to pull the plug on the whole deal, 382 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:01,227 McFarlane went back to the president. 383 00:19:02,315 --> 00:19:05,492 It was very clear that that priority, 384 00:19:05,622 --> 00:19:07,755 the safety of Americans, 385 00:19:07,885 --> 00:19:09,670 is what drove him in decision-making. 386 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,238 He was an optimist 387 00:19:12,368 --> 00:19:16,067 without thinking seriously about the downside risks here. 388 00:19:16,198 --> 00:19:18,461 And so, on September 15th, 389 00:19:18,592 --> 00:19:21,638 a second plane carrying 408 American missiles 390 00:19:21,769 --> 00:19:22,683 arrived in Iran. 391 00:19:26,556 --> 00:19:28,732 McFarlane had the terrible task of choosing 392 00:19:28,863 --> 00:19:31,170 which one hostage would walk free. 393 00:19:33,302 --> 00:19:36,479 While President Reagan was clearly touched 394 00:19:36,610 --> 00:19:39,700 and wanted to bring about freedom for the hostages, 395 00:19:39,830 --> 00:19:42,311 the one who he really cared about was Bill Buckley. 396 00:19:45,619 --> 00:19:48,839 Clearly that's the one I favored, 397 00:19:48,970 --> 00:19:52,669 just out of professional anguish. 398 00:19:53,801 --> 00:19:55,803 Of all the hostages, 399 00:19:55,933 --> 00:19:58,849 none hurt more than Buckley. 400 00:19:58,980 --> 00:20:00,895 He was our own man. 401 00:20:02,288 --> 00:20:06,509 He was someone who was doing public service 402 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:08,729 for the CIA in a very dangerous post. 403 00:20:11,122 --> 00:20:14,648 People were very worried about what was being done to him. 404 00:20:14,778 --> 00:20:17,694 The CIA reportedly spent a small fortune to try 405 00:20:17,825 --> 00:20:20,480 and find William Buckley. After he was kidnapped, 406 00:20:20,610 --> 00:20:22,612 Iranian gunmen took him to Tehran. 407 00:20:22,743 --> 00:20:25,224 He reportedly was tortured there till he gave up secrets 408 00:20:25,354 --> 00:20:27,487 and then sent back to his Lebanese captors 409 00:20:27,617 --> 00:20:28,618 and forced to write a confession. 410 00:20:29,967 --> 00:20:31,708 Earlier that year, 411 00:20:31,839 --> 00:20:34,233 Hezbollah had released a video of William Buckley. 412 00:20:46,984 --> 00:20:49,813 The video proved that Buckley was still alive, 413 00:20:49,944 --> 00:20:52,468 but only just. 414 00:20:52,599 --> 00:20:54,644 The situation was dire, 415 00:20:54,775 --> 00:20:57,473 both in terms of Buckley's obviously ailing health 416 00:20:57,604 --> 00:20:58,866 and the classified information 417 00:20:58,996 --> 00:21:00,781 he could be giving up under torture. 418 00:21:02,304 --> 00:21:05,612 But despite McFarland's pleas to release him first, 419 00:21:05,742 --> 00:21:07,570 he was told that Buckley was too sick to travel. 420 00:21:09,746 --> 00:21:11,400 McFarlane would have to pick someone else. 421 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:14,534 North said, 422 00:21:14,664 --> 00:21:17,928 "Well, there's this pastor." 423 00:21:18,581 --> 00:21:19,887 The pastor was Benjamin Weir. 424 00:21:21,889 --> 00:21:24,152 Do you think the government has been doing 425 00:21:24,283 --> 00:21:26,720 all it can to gain his release? 426 00:21:26,850 --> 00:21:29,636 I think a special effort needs to be made now. 427 00:21:29,766 --> 00:21:31,246 For months now, 428 00:21:31,377 --> 00:21:33,161 his wife had been publicly calling on the U.S. 429 00:21:33,292 --> 00:21:35,250 to resolve the hostage crisis. 430 00:21:35,381 --> 00:21:36,947 Her husband had been in captivity 431 00:21:37,078 --> 00:21:39,733 for almost 500 days, 432 00:21:39,863 --> 00:21:41,735 far longer than the Iranian students 433 00:21:41,865 --> 00:21:43,432 had held the U.S. embassy hostage. 434 00:21:45,042 --> 00:21:47,088 If Buckley couldn't be freed, 435 00:21:47,218 --> 00:21:49,873 then Weir was an obvious second choice. 436 00:21:54,269 --> 00:21:56,053 Just hours after the second shipment 437 00:21:56,184 --> 00:21:58,795 of American weapons landed in Tehran, 438 00:21:58,926 --> 00:22:00,580 Weir was freed. 439 00:22:04,061 --> 00:22:05,933 His release would mark the first successful 440 00:22:06,063 --> 00:22:08,979 arms-for-hostages transaction 441 00:22:09,110 --> 00:22:11,460 in what would come to be known as the Iran-Contra scandal. 442 00:22:13,723 --> 00:22:15,943 So somewhat unexpectedly we were told 443 00:22:16,073 --> 00:22:17,466 that my dad had been released. 444 00:22:19,250 --> 00:22:20,991 We weren't really expecting that news. 445 00:22:21,122 --> 00:22:23,907 We'd had no premonition that that was going to happen 446 00:22:24,038 --> 00:22:25,909 in any way. 447 00:22:26,606 --> 00:22:27,824 All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door, 448 00:22:27,955 --> 00:22:28,869 and there was my dad. 449 00:22:31,306 --> 00:22:32,612 Quite a shock. 450 00:22:40,794 --> 00:22:43,144 I'm pleased to inform you, if you haven't heard, 451 00:22:43,274 --> 00:22:45,276 that Reverend Benjamin Weir, 452 00:22:45,407 --> 00:22:49,019 who was held hostage for 18 months in Lebanon, 453 00:22:49,150 --> 00:22:52,371 - has now been released. 454 00:22:52,501 --> 00:22:54,242 Today's news brought renewed hope for the families 455 00:22:54,373 --> 00:22:56,984 of the six Americans still held hostage. 456 00:22:57,114 --> 00:23:00,161 The heaviness of one's heart is lightened some. 457 00:23:00,291 --> 00:23:02,032 I want to have a positive attitude, 458 00:23:02,163 --> 00:23:04,252 and be optimistic, and think that this is 459 00:23:04,383 --> 00:23:07,037 the first step in the release towards all of the people. 460 00:23:07,734 --> 00:23:09,823 No one knew that Weir had been released 461 00:23:09,953 --> 00:23:13,783 in an arms-for-hostages deal, not even Weir himself. 462 00:23:13,914 --> 00:23:15,611 Because the six other hostages 463 00:23:15,742 --> 00:23:17,004 have not yet been freed, 464 00:23:17,134 --> 00:23:20,181 we do not intend to disclose any details 465 00:23:20,311 --> 00:23:22,401 on how the Reverend Weir was freed. 466 00:23:23,793 --> 00:23:26,883 However, I can assure you that no deal was made 467 00:23:27,014 --> 00:23:28,363 and that our position 468 00:23:28,494 --> 00:23:31,888 on no concessions to terrorists has not changed. 469 00:23:35,979 --> 00:23:37,938 I asked Colonel North, 470 00:23:38,068 --> 00:23:40,941 who was the only one who would know about this sort of thing, 471 00:23:41,071 --> 00:23:45,293 and he just gave me his special grin 472 00:23:45,424 --> 00:23:47,295 and the twinkle in his eye. 473 00:23:47,426 --> 00:23:52,082 Which was his way of saying, "Yes, something's going on." 474 00:23:58,785 --> 00:24:02,049 We went to Washington, D.C., 475 00:24:02,179 --> 00:24:05,052 and at the church's offices on Capitol Hill, 476 00:24:05,182 --> 00:24:06,619 my father held a press conference. 477 00:24:06,749 --> 00:24:08,229 For the first time, 478 00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:10,927 he spoke to the press about what had happened. 479 00:24:11,058 --> 00:24:13,060 I hardly need to say that I'm glad to be here. 480 00:24:16,455 --> 00:24:19,283 Not least, but first of all, 481 00:24:19,414 --> 00:24:22,809 I give credit and praise 482 00:24:22,939 --> 00:24:24,985 to our Heavenly Father 483 00:24:25,115 --> 00:24:28,162 for his tender, sustaining power 484 00:24:28,292 --> 00:24:29,946 throughout this ordeal, 485 00:24:30,077 --> 00:24:32,209 for my release 486 00:24:32,340 --> 00:24:34,690 and for the hope that, by his grace, 487 00:24:34,821 --> 00:24:36,692 freedom will come soon 488 00:24:36,823 --> 00:24:38,738 to those who are still captive. 489 00:24:38,868 --> 00:24:40,696 - Hi. How are you? - Well, thank you. 490 00:24:40,827 --> 00:24:42,306 Weir's release 491 00:24:42,437 --> 00:24:45,179 was a significant public victory for Reagan. 492 00:24:45,309 --> 00:24:47,877 Behind the scenes, the administration was struggling 493 00:24:48,008 --> 00:24:49,879 to secure the release of the remaining hostages. 494 00:24:52,012 --> 00:24:53,448 We are continuing to hope 495 00:24:53,579 --> 00:24:56,799 and continuing to do everything we can. 496 00:24:56,930 --> 00:24:58,540 The families say you're not doing enough. 497 00:25:00,673 --> 00:25:03,414 Well, unfortunately, we can't tell even the families 498 00:25:03,545 --> 00:25:05,504 all the things that we are doing. 499 00:25:08,637 --> 00:25:10,204 Fear for the hostages' lives 500 00:25:10,334 --> 00:25:12,989 weighed heavily on Reagan and on the country. 501 00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:17,080 They cohabitated with rodents and cockroaches. 502 00:25:17,559 --> 00:25:19,474 They were moved from place to place. 503 00:25:19,605 --> 00:25:21,824 They were wrapped like mummies with rags 504 00:25:21,955 --> 00:25:24,740 stuffed into their mouths tied to radiators. 505 00:25:24,871 --> 00:25:26,916 Many of them were beaten. 506 00:25:27,047 --> 00:25:29,484 I mean, these men really suffered. 507 00:25:29,615 --> 00:25:31,399 What was not yet known 508 00:25:31,530 --> 00:25:33,270 was that William Buckley, 509 00:25:33,401 --> 00:25:36,535 the CIA station chief, had been dead for months. 510 00:25:36,665 --> 00:25:38,362 And of course, it turned out later, 511 00:25:38,493 --> 00:25:41,104 long before anybody in the U.S. knew it, 512 00:25:41,235 --> 00:25:44,847 he was horribly tortured and murdered. 513 00:25:44,978 --> 00:25:46,153 The Post says that Buckley later died 514 00:25:46,283 --> 00:25:47,676 from a lack of medical attention. 515 00:25:47,807 --> 00:25:49,591 His body was never found. 516 00:25:49,722 --> 00:25:52,420 The question now was what to do next? 517 00:25:52,551 --> 00:25:55,249 Reagan wanted McFarlane to negotiate the release 518 00:25:55,379 --> 00:25:57,599 of the remaining hostages, 519 00:25:57,730 --> 00:26:00,950 but McFarlane no longer trusted Ghorbanifar to serve 520 00:26:01,081 --> 00:26:04,432 as a reliable intermediary between the U.S. and Iran. 521 00:26:04,563 --> 00:26:06,739 Unless you have absolute conviction 522 00:26:06,869 --> 00:26:08,828 in the integrity 523 00:26:08,958 --> 00:26:11,047 of the people you're dealing with, 524 00:26:11,178 --> 00:26:14,790 a barter for hostages is just an open door 525 00:26:14,921 --> 00:26:18,968 to encouraging more hostages being taken. 526 00:26:19,099 --> 00:26:20,840 From the Iranian point of view, 527 00:26:20,970 --> 00:26:23,146 if it works, let's do it again. 528 00:26:23,277 --> 00:26:27,194 And so I was suspicious. 529 00:26:27,324 --> 00:26:29,022 And I was candid with Reagan about that. 530 00:26:31,154 --> 00:26:32,242 As it turned out, 531 00:26:32,373 --> 00:26:34,462 McFarlane was right to be skeptical. 532 00:26:34,593 --> 00:26:36,420 Ghorbanifar was, in fact, 533 00:26:36,551 --> 00:26:38,945 something of a triple agent, if you like. 534 00:26:40,555 --> 00:26:45,429 In his career, he had worked for the regime of the Shah. 535 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:49,564 He had worked for United States intelligence. 536 00:26:49,695 --> 00:26:53,481 He had worked for Israeli intelligence. 537 00:26:53,612 --> 00:26:57,354 And by the time we got to know him in the 1980s, 538 00:26:57,485 --> 00:27:01,620 he was working for the Iranian revolutionary regime. 539 00:27:01,750 --> 00:27:05,406 He was a classic international wheeler-dealer 540 00:27:05,536 --> 00:27:08,888 who didn't care what side you were on. 541 00:27:09,018 --> 00:27:12,500 All he wanted to do was make a deal. 542 00:27:12,631 --> 00:27:15,242 The more I learned about Ghorbanifar, 543 00:27:15,372 --> 00:27:17,766 it was very clear that he was neither a principal, 544 00:27:17,897 --> 00:27:19,246 a decision-maker, 545 00:27:19,376 --> 00:27:22,510 nor a person of particular influence 546 00:27:22,641 --> 00:27:25,295 with the Iranian armed forces. 547 00:27:25,426 --> 00:27:28,516 Nothing that he said really established his bona fides 548 00:27:28,647 --> 00:27:31,040 apart from having a history 549 00:27:31,171 --> 00:27:34,304 of being involved in arms trade. 550 00:27:34,435 --> 00:27:36,306 During this same period, 551 00:27:36,437 --> 00:27:39,309 McFarlane turned his attention away from Iran 552 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:43,400 and towards America's other global foe: the Soviet Union. 553 00:27:45,794 --> 00:27:48,144 McFarlane was planning the first ever meeting 554 00:27:48,275 --> 00:27:50,016 between Reagan and his Soviet counterpart, 555 00:27:50,146 --> 00:27:52,148 Mikhail Gorbachev. 556 00:27:52,279 --> 00:27:54,020 As the summit neared, 557 00:27:54,150 --> 00:27:56,631 McFarlane handed full control of negotiations 558 00:27:56,762 --> 00:27:58,677 with Ghorbanifar off to Oliver North. 559 00:28:00,026 --> 00:28:01,984 He was North's problem now. 560 00:28:02,115 --> 00:28:05,161 I had a challenging six months 561 00:28:05,292 --> 00:28:07,294 planning the Soviet summit 562 00:28:07,424 --> 00:28:09,992 to tee up both sides' understanding 563 00:28:10,123 --> 00:28:13,169 of what was to be the outcome in Geneva. 564 00:28:13,300 --> 00:28:15,650 The topic of these diplomatic negotiations, 565 00:28:15,781 --> 00:28:17,608 ironically, was weapons reduction. 566 00:28:17,739 --> 00:28:20,568 We go to Geneva with the sober realization 567 00:28:20,699 --> 00:28:24,354 that nuclear weapons pose the greatest threat in human history 568 00:28:24,485 --> 00:28:26,617 to the survival of the human race, 569 00:28:26,748 --> 00:28:29,011 that the arms race must be stopped. 570 00:28:33,450 --> 00:28:35,583 McFarlane spent months tutoring Reagan 571 00:28:35,714 --> 00:28:38,455 on the details of arms control. 572 00:28:38,586 --> 00:28:40,066 Ronald Reagan was never a detail man. 573 00:28:40,196 --> 00:28:42,068 Not on foreign policy. 574 00:28:42,198 --> 00:28:44,766 Not on domestic policy. 575 00:28:44,897 --> 00:28:48,335 His aides would tell stories about his eyes glazing over. 576 00:28:48,465 --> 00:28:50,163 It was revealed that 577 00:28:50,293 --> 00:28:53,732 before his meetings with foreign leaders, 578 00:28:53,862 --> 00:28:57,518 instead of a big binder of printed material of the kind 579 00:28:57,648 --> 00:28:59,999 that the CIA would have customarily 580 00:29:00,129 --> 00:29:02,784 given to a president before a summit, 581 00:29:02,915 --> 00:29:07,223 the CIA had prepared a movie about Mikhail Gorbachev, 582 00:29:07,354 --> 00:29:09,008 a mini documentary, 583 00:29:09,138 --> 00:29:11,140 so that he could absorb the information that way. 584 00:29:11,271 --> 00:29:12,315 And the President was delighted. 585 00:29:17,538 --> 00:29:19,975 The November summit arrives, 586 00:29:20,106 --> 00:29:21,629 and the world is watching closely 587 00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:23,413 to see if the tensions 588 00:29:23,544 --> 00:29:26,068 will remain as icy as the Geneva weather. 589 00:29:27,243 --> 00:29:29,985 On November 19, 1985, 590 00:29:30,116 --> 00:29:32,422 Reagan and Gorbachev met in Switzerland. 591 00:29:38,864 --> 00:29:40,430 General Secretary Gorbachev and I 592 00:29:40,561 --> 00:29:42,650 have held comprehensive discussions 593 00:29:42,781 --> 00:29:45,566 covering all elements of our relationship. 594 00:29:46,567 --> 00:29:49,178 I'm convinced that we are heading in the right direction. 595 00:29:51,659 --> 00:29:53,095 Both men agreed 596 00:29:53,226 --> 00:29:54,923 to consider reducing their stockpiles 597 00:29:55,054 --> 00:29:56,664 of nuclear weapons, 598 00:29:56,795 --> 00:29:59,145 but Reagan refused to compromise on his dream 599 00:29:59,275 --> 00:30:01,277 of building a missile defense system in space. 600 00:30:03,149 --> 00:30:04,977 Ultimately, no deal was signed. 601 00:30:08,981 --> 00:30:13,463 Meanwhile, McFarlane was losing control of Oliver North 602 00:30:13,594 --> 00:30:16,162 who was continuing to give in to Ghorbanifar's demands 603 00:30:16,292 --> 00:30:18,425 for more and more weapons. 604 00:30:18,555 --> 00:30:20,949 The Iranians wanted sophisticated 605 00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:22,646 air-to-air missiles 606 00:30:22,777 --> 00:30:26,085 before anyone else would be released. 607 00:30:26,215 --> 00:30:28,174 Well, it was out of the question. 608 00:30:28,304 --> 00:30:31,786 This was a particularly sophisticated system 609 00:30:31,917 --> 00:30:35,311 that we weren't even selling to all of our allies, 610 00:30:35,442 --> 00:30:38,097 let alone to an alien country like Iran. 611 00:30:40,664 --> 00:30:42,623 This really was a marker 612 00:30:42,753 --> 00:30:47,149 of the good faith being very much in doubt. 613 00:30:47,846 --> 00:30:49,412 Nevertheless, with no oversight, 614 00:30:49,543 --> 00:30:52,154 Oliver North persisted. 615 00:30:52,285 --> 00:30:55,766 Iran was asking for 150 HAWK missiles 616 00:30:55,897 --> 00:30:58,073 as well as 200 Sidewinder missiles 617 00:30:58,204 --> 00:31:00,510 and 30 to 50 Phoenix missiles. 618 00:31:00,641 --> 00:31:03,600 But this time, it was America that changed the terms. 619 00:31:03,731 --> 00:31:06,560 A plane carrying just 18 Hawk missiles 620 00:31:06,690 --> 00:31:08,127 touched down in Iran. 621 00:31:12,435 --> 00:31:15,395 In addition to the drastically reduced number of weapons, 622 00:31:15,525 --> 00:31:16,831 they weren't even the I-Hawks 623 00:31:16,962 --> 00:31:18,833 capable of shooting down planes 624 00:31:18,964 --> 00:31:21,662 at high altitudes the Iranians had ordered. 625 00:31:21,792 --> 00:31:24,186 On top of that, about half the missiles 626 00:31:24,317 --> 00:31:26,623 carried Israeli's Star of David markings, 627 00:31:26,754 --> 00:31:28,669 which enraged the Iranians. 628 00:31:28,799 --> 00:31:30,976 No hostages were released. 629 00:31:32,107 --> 00:31:34,457 A week later, deflated from the Geneva summit 630 00:31:34,588 --> 00:31:35,894 and from what looked increasingly 631 00:31:36,024 --> 00:31:37,678 like dead-end negotiations with Iran, 632 00:31:37,808 --> 00:31:39,636 McFarlane had had enough. 633 00:31:39,767 --> 00:31:41,812 I was exhausted. 634 00:31:41,943 --> 00:31:45,512 Their request for a much more sophisticated weapons system, 635 00:31:45,642 --> 00:31:48,645 their lack of production of releasing a hostage 636 00:31:48,776 --> 00:31:52,954 led me to formally ask for a meeting with the president. 637 00:31:53,085 --> 00:31:56,697 I was reaching a point where, more for family reasons, 638 00:31:56,827 --> 00:31:59,613 I wanted to retire. 639 00:31:59,743 --> 00:32:01,702 His ability to weigh both sides of an issue 640 00:32:01,832 --> 00:32:05,314 and to provide key advice has been invaluable. 641 00:32:05,445 --> 00:32:09,666 And we had a long and rather emotional, 642 00:32:09,797 --> 00:32:13,496 mutual sorrow to the point 643 00:32:13,627 --> 00:32:16,717 of his being distraught at my leaving, 644 00:32:16,847 --> 00:32:19,328 and he wanted me to reconsider. 645 00:32:19,459 --> 00:32:21,548 I said, "I really can't do that. 646 00:32:21,678 --> 00:32:24,725 I'm sorry to let you down." 647 00:32:24,855 --> 00:32:28,772 At the end, he very clearly, reluctantly said, "All right." 648 00:32:28,903 --> 00:32:30,513 McFarlane's parting wisdom 649 00:32:30,644 --> 00:32:32,385 was that all negotiations 650 00:32:32,515 --> 00:32:35,344 with Iranian arms dealers should cease. 651 00:32:35,475 --> 00:32:38,391 The president was pursed lips all the way, 652 00:32:38,521 --> 00:32:41,350 as was his way of showing his wish 653 00:32:41,481 --> 00:32:43,396 to go in the opposite direction 654 00:32:43,526 --> 00:32:45,572 that he thought it worth continuing. 655 00:32:46,442 --> 00:32:48,923 But at the end, he said, "All right," 656 00:32:49,054 --> 00:32:51,230 and he directed me to go to London. 657 00:32:54,407 --> 00:32:57,366 On December 7th, McFarlane flew to London 658 00:32:57,497 --> 00:32:59,586 for what would be his final international mission 659 00:32:59,716 --> 00:33:01,631 as national security advisor. 660 00:33:01,762 --> 00:33:04,156 Ghorbanifar and Oliver North were there waiting for him. 661 00:33:04,286 --> 00:33:05,592 I said, 662 00:33:05,722 --> 00:33:07,115 "My government simply is not interested 663 00:33:07,246 --> 00:33:09,378 "in pursuing what we think 664 00:33:09,509 --> 00:33:12,991 is evidence of bad faith here on the Iranian side. 665 00:33:13,121 --> 00:33:15,950 There would be no arms transfers at all." 666 00:33:16,081 --> 00:33:18,518 Ghorbanifar was livid. 667 00:33:18,648 --> 00:33:20,520 He stormed around. 668 00:33:20,650 --> 00:33:23,914 Said, "You're foolish, you're crazy, you're misguided. 669 00:33:24,045 --> 00:33:26,961 This is the opportunity of a lifetime." 670 00:33:27,092 --> 00:33:31,400 I said, "Ollie, it's over. Let's get out of here." 671 00:33:33,315 --> 00:33:35,404 And we left. 672 00:33:37,450 --> 00:33:40,757 I have a statement I wish to read to you. 673 00:33:40,888 --> 00:33:43,543 It's with deep regret and reluctance 674 00:33:43,673 --> 00:33:47,373 that I have accepted the resignation of Bud McFarlane 675 00:33:47,503 --> 00:33:50,680 as my assistant for National Security Affairs. 676 00:33:50,811 --> 00:33:52,682 While Bud's departure is a cause 677 00:33:52,813 --> 00:33:55,250 of deep regret for me, 678 00:33:55,381 --> 00:33:56,947 I'm pleased to announce 679 00:33:57,078 --> 00:33:59,863 that I have appointed Vice Admiral John M. Poindexter 680 00:33:59,994 --> 00:34:01,561 to be the new assistant to the president 681 00:34:01,691 --> 00:34:03,606 for National Security Affairs. 682 00:34:04,738 --> 00:34:07,045 As McFarlane cleared out his office, 683 00:34:07,175 --> 00:34:09,351 he feared that Reagan would turn his attention 684 00:34:09,482 --> 00:34:11,049 back to Iran. 685 00:34:11,179 --> 00:34:13,703 I knew that his preoccupation 686 00:34:13,834 --> 00:34:15,879 with the safety of the hostages 687 00:34:16,010 --> 00:34:18,839 would lead him to start this process up again. 688 00:34:19,796 --> 00:34:22,582 I nonetheless tabled my resignation and left, 689 00:34:22,712 --> 00:34:24,149 and I shouldn't have done it. 690 00:34:25,324 --> 00:34:28,196 The only person that could have stopped it was me. 691 00:34:29,023 --> 00:34:31,199 And I didn't do it. 692 00:34:32,983 --> 00:34:34,637 McFarlane was right. 693 00:34:34,768 --> 00:34:36,639 Negotiations between Oliver North 694 00:34:36,770 --> 00:34:38,685 and Manucher Ghorbanifar resumed. 695 00:34:39,251 --> 00:34:41,514 To North, the only downside 696 00:34:41,644 --> 00:34:43,777 of further arms-for-hostages transactions 697 00:34:43,907 --> 00:34:47,607 was a few weapons being sent to Iran with no results. 698 00:34:48,173 --> 00:34:50,436 On the other hand, if the deals stopped, 699 00:34:50,566 --> 00:34:52,960 the hostages could come to severe harm. 700 00:34:53,091 --> 00:34:56,790 In January of 1986, 701 00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:59,749 after I had become a national security advisor 702 00:34:59,880 --> 00:35:03,536 in December, I convened an NSPG meeting 703 00:35:03,666 --> 00:35:05,712 with the director of central intelligence, 704 00:35:05,842 --> 00:35:07,975 Bill Casey. 705 00:35:08,106 --> 00:35:13,589 And Bill Casey picked retired Air Force General Dick Secord 706 00:35:13,720 --> 00:35:17,941 to be the contractor to manage the logistics 707 00:35:18,072 --> 00:35:22,685 of getting the weapons from the U.S. to Iran. 708 00:35:23,382 --> 00:35:25,340 Richard Secord was still buying weapons 709 00:35:25,471 --> 00:35:27,081 and building an air fleet 710 00:35:27,212 --> 00:35:29,910 with American money for the Contras in Nicaragua. 711 00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:31,955 In his new role, he would also be in charge 712 00:35:32,086 --> 00:35:34,915 of funneling U.S. weapons to Iran. 713 00:35:35,045 --> 00:35:37,744 So they decided that I ought to take over 714 00:35:37,874 --> 00:35:40,790 that whole operation, which was growing and growing. 715 00:35:40,921 --> 00:35:42,792 Well, that was the last thing we needed. 716 00:35:42,923 --> 00:35:46,318 But suddenly, we find ourselves involved 717 00:35:46,448 --> 00:35:48,711 in the Iran part of this mess. 718 00:35:52,715 --> 00:35:55,936 On January 22nd, North flew to London again 719 00:35:56,066 --> 00:35:58,373 to turn up the heat on Ghorbanifar. 720 00:35:59,418 --> 00:36:01,420 If negotiations were going to continue, 721 00:36:01,550 --> 00:36:05,032 the hostages needed to be released and soon. 722 00:36:05,163 --> 00:36:08,470 This meeting would later become publicly known as... 723 00:36:08,601 --> 00:36:10,559 The bathroom story. 724 00:36:10,690 --> 00:36:13,083 And that story goes something like this... 725 00:36:13,214 --> 00:36:14,607 North and Ghorbanifar 726 00:36:14,737 --> 00:36:17,566 and others were in London in a hotel room. 727 00:36:17,697 --> 00:36:19,742 The negotiations were getting nowhere, 728 00:36:19,873 --> 00:36:21,527 and according to North, 729 00:36:21,657 --> 00:36:23,572 Ghorbanifar asked him to step into the bathroom... 730 00:36:25,792 --> 00:36:29,404 and said, "There has to be "a way to make this deal work. 731 00:36:29,535 --> 00:36:32,755 I can just write you a check for $1 million." 732 00:36:33,321 --> 00:36:35,541 North recognized that he was, in effect, 733 00:36:35,671 --> 00:36:37,760 being offered a bribe. 734 00:36:38,892 --> 00:36:40,850 And North, in his accounting, bristled and said, 735 00:36:40,981 --> 00:36:42,635 "No, I can't do anything like that." 736 00:36:42,765 --> 00:36:44,854 At which point Ghorbanifar said, 737 00:36:44,985 --> 00:36:49,816 "Well, what if I sent the money "to an account for the Contras? 738 00:36:49,946 --> 00:36:51,774 Would that help?" 739 00:36:51,905 --> 00:36:53,820 At which point, according to North, 740 00:36:53,950 --> 00:36:56,475 he said, "Now, that's an interesting idea." 741 00:36:56,605 --> 00:36:59,869 And thus was the diversion begun. 742 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:01,567 And so, as the story goes, 743 00:37:01,697 --> 00:37:03,090 it was in a London bathroom 744 00:37:03,221 --> 00:37:05,962 that North's two big missions became one. 745 00:37:06,093 --> 00:37:07,834 And the twin-engine scandal, 746 00:37:07,964 --> 00:37:11,490 now known as Iran-Contra, was born. 747 00:37:11,620 --> 00:37:13,318 It became apparent to Ollie North 748 00:37:13,448 --> 00:37:16,451 that he had just found a way to solve two problems, he thought. 749 00:37:16,582 --> 00:37:18,888 One was getting the hostages out of Iran, 750 00:37:19,019 --> 00:37:22,762 and the other was getting money to the Contras in Nicaragua. 751 00:37:22,892 --> 00:37:28,463 I, at the time, thought that it was a really neat idea 752 00:37:28,594 --> 00:37:30,726 to use Khomeini's money 753 00:37:30,857 --> 00:37:34,600 to support the indigenous forces in Nicaragua 754 00:37:34,730 --> 00:37:36,254 where we were trying 755 00:37:36,384 --> 00:37:40,258 to roll back the Communist Marxist state. 756 00:37:40,388 --> 00:37:43,304 The Iranian program was controversial. 757 00:37:43,435 --> 00:37:47,569 I've often told people I specialize in controversies, 758 00:37:47,700 --> 00:37:50,529 but I thought it made a lot of sense. 759 00:37:51,486 --> 00:37:53,662 In the later retelling of Ollie North, 760 00:37:53,793 --> 00:37:56,056 the idea of diverting money 761 00:37:56,186 --> 00:37:59,146 from Iranian arms sales to the Contras 762 00:37:59,277 --> 00:38:03,803 actually came from Ghorbanifar, the Iranian arms merchant. 763 00:38:03,933 --> 00:38:07,067 The problem with that story, as charming as it is, 764 00:38:07,197 --> 00:38:10,505 is that it is almost certainly untrue. 765 00:38:11,463 --> 00:38:13,769 In fact, by the time North and Ghorbanifar 766 00:38:13,900 --> 00:38:16,119 had their dubious bathroom conversation, 767 00:38:16,250 --> 00:38:20,298 Secord had already diverted more than $850,000 768 00:38:20,428 --> 00:38:22,735 from Iranian arms sales to Nicaragua, 769 00:38:22,865 --> 00:38:24,867 a transaction Secord would jokingly refer 770 00:38:24,998 --> 00:38:26,695 to as a Contra-bution. 771 00:38:26,826 --> 00:38:28,871 We only had a small amount of money, 772 00:38:29,002 --> 00:38:30,960 and we were eating it up very rapidly. 773 00:38:31,091 --> 00:38:33,963 Air operations are very expensive. 774 00:38:34,094 --> 00:38:36,705 And procuring these weapons was very expensive. 775 00:38:36,836 --> 00:38:39,012 And buying and operating a ship, 776 00:38:39,142 --> 00:38:40,970 that was pretty expensive. 777 00:38:41,101 --> 00:38:43,930 You know, and we needed additional funds, 778 00:38:44,060 --> 00:38:47,325 and this came along. We said, "Eh, how about this? 779 00:38:47,455 --> 00:38:50,719 It's a good way. We'll tap into that," and did. 780 00:38:51,807 --> 00:38:53,983 Now under Richard Secord's direction, 781 00:38:54,114 --> 00:38:56,638 Operation Recovery was launched. 782 00:38:56,769 --> 00:38:59,162 It was a complex order of operations 783 00:38:59,293 --> 00:39:02,862 that was designed specifically to uphold one thing: secrecy. 784 00:39:04,167 --> 00:39:06,779 And it went like this. 785 00:39:06,909 --> 00:39:08,955 Ghorbanifar would deposit funds 786 00:39:09,085 --> 00:39:12,393 into a Swiss bank account controlled by Secord. 787 00:39:12,524 --> 00:39:14,439 Secord would then transfer a portion of that money 788 00:39:14,569 --> 00:39:16,397 to the CIA, 789 00:39:16,528 --> 00:39:19,618 which would purchase the missiles from the U.S. Army. 790 00:39:19,748 --> 00:39:21,837 Secord would then charter a plane 791 00:39:21,968 --> 00:39:24,840 to ferry the missiles from the U.S. to Israel. 792 00:39:24,971 --> 00:39:27,495 Finally, an Israeli charter would carry the weapons 793 00:39:27,626 --> 00:39:28,888 on their last leg to Iran. 794 00:39:30,977 --> 00:39:33,980 A shipment of 500 TOW missiles arrived in Iran 795 00:39:34,110 --> 00:39:36,286 on February 18th. 796 00:39:36,417 --> 00:39:39,377 But once again, no hostages were released. 797 00:39:40,856 --> 00:39:42,858 Just under two weeks later, 798 00:39:42,989 --> 00:39:46,253 an additional 500 TOW missiles were delivered to Iran. 799 00:39:46,384 --> 00:39:49,212 Again, no hostages were freed. 800 00:39:49,343 --> 00:39:51,998 North had now overseen five shipments 801 00:39:52,128 --> 00:39:54,174 of lethal weapons to Iran, 802 00:39:54,304 --> 00:39:55,915 and it had been months since the first 803 00:39:56,045 --> 00:39:56,959 and only hostage had been freed. 804 00:39:59,135 --> 00:40:01,747 But in the meantime, as much as $20 million 805 00:40:01,877 --> 00:40:03,923 had piled up in Secord's Swiss bank account. 806 00:40:06,752 --> 00:40:08,144 The war in Nicaragua 807 00:40:08,275 --> 00:40:10,886 was now just as dependent on Iran 808 00:40:11,017 --> 00:40:13,280 as the fate of the hostages in Beirut. 809 00:40:13,411 --> 00:40:15,935 It was time for a face-to-face meeting with the enemy. 810 00:40:20,026 --> 00:40:22,289 McFarlane's visit to Tehran in May 811 00:40:22,420 --> 00:40:26,902 was the point at which all of his illusions 812 00:40:27,033 --> 00:40:29,688 about the possibilities of a deal with Iran 813 00:40:29,818 --> 00:40:32,821 crashed into a brick wall of reality. 814 00:40:34,519 --> 00:40:36,477 In the spring of 1986, 815 00:40:36,608 --> 00:40:39,219 Reagan called Bud McFarlane out of retirement 816 00:40:39,349 --> 00:40:41,700 to spearhead a top secret mission. 817 00:40:41,830 --> 00:40:44,093 And I agreed to go 818 00:40:44,224 --> 00:40:47,488 when I was asked by the president to go to Iran. 819 00:40:47,619 --> 00:40:49,055 He would be traveling with a small team. 820 00:40:49,185 --> 00:40:53,233 My name is George Cave, and I was in the CIA, 821 00:40:53,363 --> 00:40:55,844 and I focused on the Middle East. 822 00:40:55,975 --> 00:40:57,759 Howard Teicher 823 00:40:57,890 --> 00:40:59,152 and Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North. 824 00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:06,115 Ghorbanifar claimed that he had arranged 825 00:41:06,246 --> 00:41:08,683 for McFarlane and his team to meet with men 826 00:41:08,814 --> 00:41:11,381 in Khomeini's inner circle. 827 00:41:11,512 --> 00:41:16,038 We hadn't had any diplomatic approach to Iran 828 00:41:16,169 --> 00:41:17,997 up to that point. 829 00:41:18,127 --> 00:41:23,263 And so it was momentous to decide to send a mission. 830 00:41:23,393 --> 00:41:26,353 America hadn't sent a White House delegation to Iran 831 00:41:26,484 --> 00:41:28,616 since the hostage crisis six years earlier. 832 00:41:29,356 --> 00:41:31,140 Our hope was that we would actually sit down 833 00:41:31,271 --> 00:41:38,104 with Speaker Rafsanjani, Mousavi, the prime minister. 834 00:41:38,234 --> 00:41:41,411 This had always been McFarlane's goal-- 835 00:41:41,542 --> 00:41:43,588 to determine, once and for all, 836 00:41:43,718 --> 00:41:48,027 if a relationship between Iran and the U.S. could be brokered. 837 00:41:48,157 --> 00:41:50,159 He saw this as an important moment 838 00:41:50,290 --> 00:41:52,161 to make a difference 839 00:41:52,292 --> 00:41:55,991 in the course of American history 840 00:41:56,122 --> 00:41:57,819 in the Middle East. 841 00:41:58,864 --> 00:42:00,822 This could be McFarlane's Kissinger moment. 842 00:42:01,997 --> 00:42:03,825 As for Reagan, 843 00:42:03,956 --> 00:42:06,393 he was being promised what he had wanted all along, 844 00:42:06,524 --> 00:42:08,134 the immediate release 845 00:42:08,264 --> 00:42:11,006 of all remaining American hostages in Lebanon. 846 00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:14,357 Everyone did not think this was a good idea. 847 00:42:14,488 --> 00:42:16,795 This was a high-stakes gamble. 848 00:42:16,925 --> 00:42:20,538 The trip was supported by the CIA, 849 00:42:20,668 --> 00:42:22,278 and it was opposed by the State Department 850 00:42:22,409 --> 00:42:24,977 and the Defense Department. 851 00:42:26,108 --> 00:42:28,807 The operation was completely covert. 852 00:42:28,937 --> 00:42:30,548 Not even Congress knew about it, 853 00:42:30,678 --> 00:42:32,724 and just a handful of Iranians were aware 854 00:42:32,854 --> 00:42:34,160 that an American delegation, 855 00:42:34,290 --> 00:42:36,292 along with several tons of weapons parts, 856 00:42:36,423 --> 00:42:38,860 were boarding a plane bound for Tehran. 857 00:42:38,991 --> 00:42:42,255 We borrowed an airplane from Israel. 858 00:42:42,385 --> 00:42:44,823 We went over every bit of that airplane, 859 00:42:44,953 --> 00:42:47,347 and anything that would indicate 860 00:42:47,477 --> 00:42:50,742 it was Israeli, Stars of David or whatever, 861 00:42:50,872 --> 00:42:53,396 we got rid of it. 862 00:42:53,527 --> 00:42:58,314 And we take off in this unmarked, white 707. 863 00:42:59,359 --> 00:43:01,927 We had Irish passports, and we had an Irish story, 864 00:43:02,057 --> 00:43:05,017 because we were going as an Irish trade delegation. 865 00:43:05,147 --> 00:43:07,715 My Irish name was Tim McGann, from Dingle. 866 00:43:11,414 --> 00:43:12,764 Determined to make a good impression 867 00:43:12,894 --> 00:43:14,374 on the Iranians, 868 00:43:14,504 --> 00:43:16,332 North decided to sweeten the deal. 869 00:43:21,337 --> 00:43:22,861 Of course, the funny story on the plane 870 00:43:22,991 --> 00:43:25,820 was Ollie pulling out this cake. 871 00:43:25,951 --> 00:43:27,779 And I said, "What is this?" 872 00:43:29,955 --> 00:43:33,001 It was a regular old chocolate cake 873 00:43:33,132 --> 00:43:35,569 with a great, big brass key 874 00:43:35,700 --> 00:43:37,615 pressed into the frosting, on top. 875 00:43:37,745 --> 00:43:40,748 The key represents the opening of relations 876 00:43:40,879 --> 00:43:41,880 between the two countries. 877 00:43:44,273 --> 00:43:46,232 And indeed, there is a tradition among Persians 878 00:43:46,362 --> 00:43:49,409 when families or individuals try to make up, 879 00:43:49,539 --> 00:43:51,193 after some kind of fight, 880 00:43:51,324 --> 00:43:52,934 they share pastries and cookies and cakes. 881 00:43:54,719 --> 00:43:58,940 So it was an appropriate gift to bring 882 00:43:59,071 --> 00:44:01,639 as a light-hearted 883 00:44:01,769 --> 00:44:04,772 but, nonetheless, symbolic gesture on our part. 884 00:44:07,079 --> 00:44:10,299 Unfortunately, when they arrived in Iran 885 00:44:10,430 --> 00:44:12,780 and wanted to present this key to senior Iranian leaders, 886 00:44:12,911 --> 00:44:15,827 they never got a chance, 887 00:44:15,957 --> 00:44:18,525 because the young guards 888 00:44:18,656 --> 00:44:21,267 providing security for them at their hotel suite 889 00:44:21,397 --> 00:44:22,834 found the cake and ate it first. 890 00:44:25,314 --> 00:44:27,403 That's a pretty good metaphor for the whole trip. 891 00:44:28,491 --> 00:44:31,016 Reagan had also given the men a signed Bible 892 00:44:31,146 --> 00:44:34,149 to take with them. It was a gesture to indicate 893 00:44:34,280 --> 00:44:36,325 that they were representing the president 894 00:44:36,456 --> 00:44:38,110 and that Reagan, too, was a man of God. 895 00:44:44,290 --> 00:44:48,468 Well, I was very concerned that there be a plan 896 00:44:48,598 --> 00:44:50,513 to rescue us if we were held hostage. 897 00:44:50,644 --> 00:44:53,081 So I specifically 898 00:44:53,212 --> 00:44:55,649 and repeatedly asked Oliver North, 899 00:44:55,780 --> 00:44:58,434 "What is the plan for extricating us 900 00:44:58,565 --> 00:45:01,176 "in the event that we can't just drive to the airport 901 00:45:01,307 --> 00:45:03,265 and get on our airplane?" 902 00:45:04,049 --> 00:45:08,053 And Ollie assured me that everything was taken care of. 903 00:45:08,183 --> 00:45:10,751 What North meant but told no one 904 00:45:10,882 --> 00:45:14,320 was that William Casey, using a classic CIA tactic, 905 00:45:14,450 --> 00:45:16,235 had handed him cyanide pills 906 00:45:16,365 --> 00:45:19,238 in the event that the mission went horribly wrong. 907 00:45:19,368 --> 00:45:22,197 And before the American delegation had even landed, 908 00:45:22,328 --> 00:45:24,852 it almost did 909 00:45:24,983 --> 00:45:26,767 when Iranian control ops 910 00:45:26,898 --> 00:45:29,944 picked up the jet's approach and radioed the pilot. 911 00:45:30,075 --> 00:45:31,163 They said, you know, 912 00:45:31,293 --> 00:45:32,773 "Either tell us what's going on, 913 00:45:32,904 --> 00:45:35,515 or I'm gonna shoot you down." And so we explained, 914 00:45:35,645 --> 00:45:38,083 and I gave them the name of the man 915 00:45:38,213 --> 00:45:41,434 in the prime minister's office who they should contact. 916 00:45:41,564 --> 00:45:43,305 And they apparently did, 917 00:45:43,436 --> 00:45:46,744 because we were not threatened after that. 918 00:45:46,874 --> 00:45:50,008 But that was only the beginning of their troubles. 919 00:45:50,138 --> 00:45:52,140 From the moment we arrived, 920 00:45:52,271 --> 00:45:55,535 the atmosphere was bizarre. 921 00:45:55,665 --> 00:45:57,276 They had apparently changed their clocks, 922 00:45:57,406 --> 00:45:59,017 and we didn't know it. 923 00:45:59,147 --> 00:46:01,062 And they were expecting us at a different time. 924 00:46:02,107 --> 00:46:06,154 And we were set off into some, uh, 925 00:46:06,285 --> 00:46:10,202 I'd say, second-class VIP lounge. 926 00:46:10,332 --> 00:46:13,031 And we stayed there for about an hour-plus 927 00:46:13,161 --> 00:46:18,297 until Ghorbanifar showed up apologizing. 928 00:46:18,427 --> 00:46:20,647 The logistics screw-up was disconcerting, 929 00:46:20,778 --> 00:46:22,780 but it was a small price to pay 930 00:46:22,910 --> 00:46:24,694 if the rest of the mission went well. 931 00:46:24,825 --> 00:46:27,523 We said, "Well, have the hostages been freed?" 932 00:46:27,654 --> 00:46:29,090 That was what we were told when we arrived. 933 00:46:31,266 --> 00:46:32,790 And there was no news, 934 00:46:32,920 --> 00:46:36,271 and so the main thing they were supposed to do 935 00:46:36,402 --> 00:46:39,187 on arrival wasn't happening. 936 00:46:41,886 --> 00:46:43,452 This was starting to feel 937 00:46:43,583 --> 00:46:45,019 like a futile exercise, at best, 938 00:46:45,150 --> 00:46:46,934 and a trap, at worst. 939 00:46:48,849 --> 00:46:52,418 And then we piled into these old Oldsmobiles, 940 00:46:52,548 --> 00:46:54,289 and we're driven from the airport 941 00:46:54,420 --> 00:46:56,465 to the former Tehran Hilton, 942 00:46:56,596 --> 00:46:58,337 now known as the Imperial Hotel. 943 00:46:58,467 --> 00:47:01,601 There we were ensconced on the top-floor penthouse, 944 00:47:01,731 --> 00:47:02,950 cut off from everyone. 945 00:47:04,299 --> 00:47:05,605 And thus began 946 00:47:05,735 --> 00:47:07,128 a strange and frustrating three days. 947 00:47:09,435 --> 00:47:12,568 There was really no food in this hotel. 948 00:47:12,699 --> 00:47:14,570 They'd come out with this big menu. 949 00:47:14,701 --> 00:47:16,790 100 items on the menu. And you would say, 950 00:47:16,921 --> 00:47:18,531 "Wow, this sounds great. I'll have this." 951 00:47:18,661 --> 00:47:20,141 "We don't have it." 952 00:47:20,272 --> 00:47:21,490 Turned out they had nothing on the menu. 953 00:47:21,621 --> 00:47:23,231 They had a pancake. 954 00:47:24,537 --> 00:47:27,235 The American envoy had shown up during Ramadan, 955 00:47:27,366 --> 00:47:28,671 the month when devout Muslims 956 00:47:28,802 --> 00:47:30,151 fast from sunrise till sundown. 957 00:47:32,414 --> 00:47:34,112 So Ghorbanifar had, I believe, 958 00:47:34,242 --> 00:47:37,811 his mother prepare a feast for us, 959 00:47:37,942 --> 00:47:40,596 which we did enjoy. But, you know, 960 00:47:40,727 --> 00:47:43,251 that was about the only thing that he delivered that he said 961 00:47:43,382 --> 00:47:45,601 he was gonna deliver that was what he said it would be. 962 00:47:46,951 --> 00:47:48,474 Holed up in the less-than-luxurious 963 00:47:48,604 --> 00:47:50,563 confines of the Tehran Hilton, 964 00:47:50,693 --> 00:47:52,782 they began negotiating. 965 00:47:52,913 --> 00:47:55,350 McFarlane expected to be talking 966 00:47:55,481 --> 00:47:57,309 to the most senior leaders. 967 00:47:57,439 --> 00:48:00,921 He was there as a personal emissary of the United States. 968 00:48:01,052 --> 00:48:06,187 He found himself talking to arms dealers and underlings 969 00:48:06,318 --> 00:48:09,843 whose real connection to power wasn't clear at all. 970 00:48:09,974 --> 00:48:12,193 Worse still, it was becoming clear 971 00:48:12,324 --> 00:48:14,761 that the Iranians hadn't even contacted Hezbollah 972 00:48:14,892 --> 00:48:17,546 to discuss the hostage release in Lebanon. 973 00:48:17,677 --> 00:48:21,115 We were having substantive dialogue about our goals 974 00:48:21,246 --> 00:48:22,464 and our interests, 975 00:48:22,595 --> 00:48:24,597 and, you know, 976 00:48:24,727 --> 00:48:26,904 where we thought we could possibly cooperate. 977 00:48:27,034 --> 00:48:28,906 And what could be an opening to improvement? 978 00:48:29,036 --> 00:48:31,430 And then we would suddenly, you know, say, 979 00:48:31,560 --> 00:48:32,735 "But we're not gonna talk anymore 980 00:48:32,866 --> 00:48:34,824 unless you release the hostages." 981 00:48:34,955 --> 00:48:36,391 And then the Iranians would say, 982 00:48:36,522 --> 00:48:39,873 "Well, we can't even try to influence them 983 00:48:40,004 --> 00:48:42,223 until you deliver all the spare parts." 984 00:48:42,354 --> 00:48:44,878 Because indeed, because of our mistrust 985 00:48:45,009 --> 00:48:47,359 and their past failure to deliver, 986 00:48:47,489 --> 00:48:50,188 we didn't bring all of the parts with us 987 00:48:50,318 --> 00:48:52,712 that they wanted. Only some of them. 988 00:48:52,842 --> 00:48:55,410 So it was a very frustrating experience 989 00:48:55,541 --> 00:48:59,284 where McFarlane was increasingly fed up 990 00:48:59,414 --> 00:49:01,329 and just ready to leave. 991 00:49:01,460 --> 00:49:03,549 McFarlane would insist 992 00:49:03,679 --> 00:49:05,943 they've gotta release hostages. 993 00:49:06,073 --> 00:49:09,555 That was our instructions when we came here-- 994 00:49:09,685 --> 00:49:12,384 to make sure that the hostages get released 995 00:49:12,514 --> 00:49:13,951 before you make any commitments. 996 00:49:15,691 --> 00:49:16,997 And... 997 00:49:19,434 --> 00:49:20,479 we never got that. 998 00:49:21,871 --> 00:49:23,438 It was plain 999 00:49:23,569 --> 00:49:26,615 that we had been misled by Ghorbanifar. 1000 00:49:26,746 --> 00:49:28,748 He had misled both parties 1001 00:49:28,878 --> 00:49:32,447 in an effort to create a situation 1002 00:49:32,578 --> 00:49:34,449 where a deal would happen. 1003 00:49:34,580 --> 00:49:39,759 And once we knew that Ghorbanifar had lied to us 1004 00:49:39,889 --> 00:49:41,630 and lied to the Iranians, 1005 00:49:41,761 --> 00:49:43,937 I knew this was a really bad idea. 1006 00:49:44,068 --> 00:49:45,852 I aborted the mission 1007 00:49:45,983 --> 00:49:47,810 before it was 48 hours old 1008 00:49:47,941 --> 00:49:49,595 when there was a breach of commitment 1009 00:49:49,725 --> 00:49:52,250 that they had made to deliver hostages. 1010 00:49:53,468 --> 00:49:55,731 On the morning of their third day in Tehran, 1011 00:49:55,862 --> 00:49:58,604 things went from bad to worse. 1012 00:49:58,734 --> 00:50:01,563 News that Americans were in town on a secret mission 1013 00:50:01,694 --> 00:50:03,304 had leaked to the public. 1014 00:50:03,435 --> 00:50:05,219 A couple of mullahs found out about it, 1015 00:50:05,350 --> 00:50:06,742 started spreading the word, 1016 00:50:06,873 --> 00:50:09,136 and that's when the mobs were formed. 1017 00:50:09,658 --> 00:50:10,920 A failed mission 1018 00:50:11,051 --> 00:50:13,271 suddenly became a life-threatening one. 1019 00:50:13,401 --> 00:50:15,708 They said, "Get everyone down here. 1020 00:50:15,838 --> 00:50:17,492 "We gotta get you out of here, 1021 00:50:17,623 --> 00:50:20,191 "because this mob's coming up the main highway. 1022 00:50:20,321 --> 00:50:22,671 It's blocked." 1023 00:50:22,802 --> 00:50:27,807 So we went over the backroads of Northern Tehran, 1024 00:50:27,937 --> 00:50:29,374 to get out of the way of these guys 1025 00:50:29,504 --> 00:50:30,723 that were coming to get us. 1026 00:50:33,813 --> 00:50:35,684 And we just got on the plane and left. 1027 00:50:39,036 --> 00:50:40,646 I think we were all kind of glad to get out alive. 1028 00:50:47,131 --> 00:50:50,177 The plane ride home was very quiet. 1029 00:50:51,744 --> 00:50:52,788 It was very quiet. 1030 00:50:55,661 --> 00:50:58,490 I recall saying to Bud that, while we failed, 1031 00:50:58,620 --> 00:51:00,187 you know, we did the right thing to try. 1032 00:51:02,537 --> 00:51:04,583 And he said, "Maybe." 1033 00:51:11,590 --> 00:51:12,808 The American delegation 1034 00:51:12,939 --> 00:51:15,420 had escaped with their lives, 1035 00:51:15,550 --> 00:51:18,858 but the fate of the hostages still hung in the balance. 1036 00:51:18,988 --> 00:51:21,513 And just six months later, 1037 00:51:21,643 --> 00:51:23,689 details of the Iran-Contra operation 1038 00:51:23,819 --> 00:51:26,561 would leak out into the open. 1039 00:51:26,692 --> 00:51:28,215 The consequences for the Reagan Administration 1040 00:51:28,346 --> 00:51:29,086 would be monumental.