In the United States, the name 'Ronald Reagan' has meaning. For Republicans, he's considered a god, and for Democrats, he was just someone they needed to work with. At that time, most Americans thought of him as a father figure and a more relatable president. That begs the question, with these opinions coming from the general population, did that give President Reagan the ability to walk away almost untouched from the Iran-Contra affair? For this, I'm going to explore three reasons why the country moved on from the scandal so quickly, plausible deniability on account of the administration, and whether taking responsibility helped Reagan stay unpunished from both the law and the public.
The Iran-Contra scandal, or affair, was a secret business deal between the United States and Iran that lasted about two years, in which the U.S. sold weapons to Iran to aid in the war against Iraq. The proceeds of those said sold weapons were sent to a pro-Capitalist group in Nicaragua. This contradicted President Reagan's policy (i.e., the United States does not negotiate with terrorists). By selling weapons to Iran, the United States was hopeful of the release of American hostages in Lebanon. The hostages were taken to attempt to stop the United States from intervening in the Lebanese civil war. Seeing how Hezbollah (an extremist Muslim group responsible for keeping Americans hostage) was close allies with Iran, President Reagan's administration attempted to devise a plan to get the captives back. "National Security Advisor Robert MacFarlane proposed a plan to gain their release. In return for a supply of U.S. weapons, Iran would use its influence with Hezbollah to secure the freedom of the American captives in Lebanon" President Reagan approved of MacFarlane's plan to sell the weapons despite the policy in place. On August 20, 1985, the first shipment of weapons was sent to Iran. In the shipment were 96 TOW missiles and another 408 on September 15, 1985. In response, one of the hostages, Benjamin Weir, was released. By October 1986, approximately 2,00 TOW missiles had been sent to Iran, and only two of the other hostages were released: Lawrence Jenco and David Jacobsen.
On August 12, 1987, President Reagan addressed the nation to keep his word on speaking when the congressional investigations had wrapped up. He stated, "Yet the buck does not stop with Admiral Poindexter, as he stated in his testimony; it stops with me. I am the one who is ultimately accountable to the American people." After that, he turned his focus toward the future, even with some questions unanswered. The President manipulated the narrative to make him look like a victim. At the same time, the people in his administration took the mantle of being out of control. The President accepting responsibility and downplaying his role in the scandal ultimately swayed Americans to look toward the future. Though some still were not happy about the President's attempt to invoke the "rally around the flag" phenomenon. Some forgave the President, making his address sufficient for them. It seems as though the public forgot about the matter entirely, especially with the campaign of 1988 coming up. The media then switched its gears from reporting/finding dirt on Reagan to running primetime debates of the future candidates.
At the beginning of the scandal, the Reagan administration tried to use a phenomenon called "Rally around the flag." Essentially it uses patriotism to answer for the possible wrongdoings on account of the administration and the President. At the time, the administration only released a certain amount of information to hone in on the specifics it wanted the American people to focus on. At first, the media did not have much to work with, so that is why it seemed like the media was on President Reagan's side. Further down the line, the President would get his fair share of criticism and a 15-21% decrease in support. This would change as the narrative was pushed to make him innocent while members of his administration went rogue.
President Reagan and his administration in 1985 contradicted their own policies and betrayed the American citizens by secretly selling missiles to Iran and giving the money to the Contras, as a way to get hostages back. Instead of going to plan, only three US hostages were released, and the Iran-Contra scandal became a stain on the Reagan administration.
Sources
"Address to the Nation on the Iran Arms and Contra Aid Controversy and Administration
Goals." Address to the Nation on the Iran Arms and Contra Aid Controversy and
Administration Goals | The American Presidency Project, August 12, 1987.
-aid-controversy-and-administration-goals.
Bogen, David, and Michael Lynch. "Taking Account of the Hostile Native: Plausible Deniability
and the Production of Conventional History in the Iran-Contra Hearings." Social
Problems 36, no. 3 (1989): 197–224. .
Brody, Richard A., and Catherine R. Shapiro. "Policy Failure and Public Support: The
Iran-Contra Affair and Public Assessment of President Reagan." Political Behavior 11, no. 4 (1989): 353–69. .
Craig, Bryan. "The Iran-Contra Affair." Miller Center, July 14, 2017.
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"Iran-Contra Affair." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, January 1, 2018, 1;
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Overall, I think an encyclopedia is the best place to start when forming the foundation of knowledge. So, This source is what I initially used for my basic knowledge of the case. Using the key points made in this article I based my focus on the confirmed basics.
President Ronald Reagan Addresses the Nation after Congressional Hearings on Iran-Contra
Affair. 1987. Associated Press. .
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