McFarlane briefs the President on the London Meeting..199
Poindexter to North: Keep Trying..200
The CIA evaluates Ghorbanifar..200
Acceleration of the Initiative: January 1986..201
Nir comes to Washington..210
Nir & North discuss use of residuals..201
A new finding is prepared..202
The President and advisers consider the new proposal..203
North proceeds with plans for replenishment..203
Legal problems identified with replenishment approach..205
Ghorbanifar fails polygraph..205
Restructuring the deal..206
President signs a new finding..208
Conclusion..209
references..210
12 Arms Sales to Iran: The United States Takes Control..213
The Finding Is Implemented..213
The Army executes the tasking..215
Pricing the TOW missiles..215
The London meeting..215
The February Shipment..217
The first Frankfurt meeting..218
The meeting with an Iranian official..219
The second installment of TOWs is delivered..219
The diversion continues..221
The Initiative Continues..221
Cave joins the team..222
New doubts about Ghorbanifar..223
Ghorbanifar visits Washington..224
Planning the Tehran mission..225
North's diversion memorandum..225
Complications..226
Pricing the HAWK parts..227
New Demands..227
The State Department hears rumors..228
Another meeting in London..229
Cave becomes concerned about pricing..230
The Meeting Is Set..231
The National Security Planning Group meeting..231
Final planning for Tehran..231
US war readiness suffers..232
Conclusion..233
references..234
13 Deadlock in Tehran..237
Preparing for the Mission..237
Arrival in Tehran..238
The misunderstanding..238
Days 1 & 2╤marking time..238
The final days╤McFarlane remains firm..239
Departure..241
Why the Tehran Mission Failed..242
references..243
14 "Taken to the Cleaners": The Iran Initiative Continues..245
The Bartering Continues..245
Iran Discovers the Overcharge..245
Trying for an Independence Day Present..246
The Da'wa Prisoners.. 247
Crowe Is Apprised..247
The Vice President is Briefed..247
A New Deal in London..248
The Microfiche Arrives..248
The Search for a New Channel..249
The Second Channel's Debut..249
Two Trains Running..250
Second Channel Out Front..250
Secord/Hakim Ascending..250
Nir Suspects..251
In "Great Satan's" Parlor..251
Preparations for Frankfurt..253
Chasing the Horizon╤Frankfurt, October 6╤8..254
Ambassador Extraordinaire..256
Arms Transfer Preparations..258
Arming the Guards..259
Mainz Meeting..259
The Release of Jacobsen..261
Exposure..251
Taking Stock in Geneva..262
The Circle Opens..262
The Finale..263
references..264
15 The Diversion..269
Whose Idea?..269
Figure 15╤1. Exhibit JKS╤6: 3 Way trade..270
Who Else Knew╤a Study in Contradictions..271
Presidential knowledge..271
Casey's knowledge..273
How Much Was Diverted?..274
references..275
16 Summary: The Iran Initiative..277
The Attorney General's Advice..278
The Hostage Objective..278
The Position of Israel..279
The Contra Objective..280
The Profit Objective..280
references..281
+ Part IV Exposure and Concealment ch.17╤20
17 Exposure & Concealment: Introduction..285
18 October 1986: Exposure Threatened..287
The Hasenfus Plane is Shot Down..287
North tries to slow the FBI investigation of SAT..287
SAT=Southern Air Transport, a former CIA proprietary charter airline based in Miami, Fl.
North tries to slow the Customs investigation of SAT..287
Poindexter tries to slow the investigations..288
House com. seeks indepen. counsl to investig. Hasenfus crash..288
Furmark Visits the CIA: Talk of "Diversion"..288
The Travelers Check Ledger..290
The Fall Guy Plan..291
references..292
19 November 1986: Concealment..293
The Admin's Initial Response to Arms Sales Disclosures..293
The Shultz/Poindexter Cables..293
The Public Denials Continue..294
The November 10 Meeting at the White House..294
Phase 2 of the Admin Response: Limited Disclosure..295
Preparing for the President's address to the nation..295
The President addresses the nation..296
Events Between Nov.13 & Nov.19 News Conference..296
The President's Nov.10 News Conference..297
The President & Secretary of State Meet on Nov.20..298
The NSC Staff's Chronologies..298
Casey & Poindexter Prepare for Congress..301
Poindexter, Casey, & the Intelligence Committees: Nov. 21
references..304
20 November 1986: The Attorney General's Inquiry..305
The Attorney General's Inquiry Is Launched..305
The NSC staff responds by altering & destroying evidence..306
November 22: Diversion Is Discovered..309
November 23: Investigation & Obstruction Continue..311
November 24: Informing the President..313
November 25: The Public Learns of the Diversion..316
November 25: the Attorney General's press conference..317
November 26: Criminal Investigation Underway..319
November 27: A Thanksgiving Phone Call..320
Final Steps..320
References..322
+ Part V The Enterprise ch.21╤23
21 Introduction to the Enterprise..327
By the summner of 1986, the organization that Richard Secord ran at Lt. Col. Oliver L. North's direction controlled 5 aircraft, including C-123 and C-7 transports. It had an airfield in one country, warehouse facilities at an airbase in another, a stockpile of guns and military equipment to drop by air to the Contras, and secure communications equipment obtained by North from the National Security Agency.(NSA)
...This private air force was but a part of the organization that Secord and Hakim called the "Enterprise."
...To Hakim, Secord's partner, the Enterprise was a covert organization with a chain of command headed by North. Secord...testified that it was fair to describe the Enterprise as his won covert operations organization formed at the request of North and Poindexter to carry out all of the operations described in his testimony.
Secord consistently turned to the same group of individuals in order to accomplish the tasks that North assigned to him. Albert Hakim, an Iranian-born American citizen, was his partner and, by agreement, Secord and Hakim were to share equally in any Enterprise profits. Hakim controlled the Enterprise's bank accounts. Rafael Quintero, a Cuban exile formerly associated with the CIA, handled the logistics of arms deliveries from various locations in Central America. Glenn Robinette, a former CIA officer-turned-consultant, investigated those who made accusations about operations of the Enterprise and performed other tasks, among them, installation of a security system at North's residence. Thomas Clines, a former CIA official-turned-investor and consultant, served as the primary broker for the Enterprise's arms transactions.
...Secord, as an Air Force officer, and Clines, as a CIA officer, worked together in the late 1960's when both were assigned to the CIA station in Laos... When Secord returned from Laos he was stationed at the Pentagon. Clines took the opportunity to introduce him to a number of Clines' CIA associates, including Quintero. Clines also introduced Secord to Edwin Wilson, a former CIA officer who had become enormously successful in international business dealings.(18) In the Mid 1970's, Secord was stationed in Iran where he exercised substantial influence over purchasing decisions of the Iranian Air Force.
After Secord returned from Iran, his relationship with Wilson became more involved. In 1981, Secord and Clines became subjects of a Department of Justice conflict-of-interest and bribery investigation stemming from their relationship with Wilson.
In addition, in 1982, Clines became a target of a Department of Justice investigation concerning fraudulent overbillings of the US Government by the Egyptian American Transport Company (EATSCO), 49% of which was owned by Clines. Secord retired from the Air Force in May 1983 because the Wilson story and the ongoing Justice Department investigation had placed a cloud over his military career. Two months later, EATSCO pleaded guilty to criminal and civil overbilling charges.
Clines, on behalf of the corporate entity that held his 49% interest, paid a $10,000 criminal fine and a $100,000 civil fine as part of the settlement. In July 1984 the Justice Department closed the EATSCO case and in January 1986, it closed the conflict-of-interest and bribery investigation of Secord and Clines. No indictment or other prosecutorial action followed.
