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$Unique_ID{bob01029}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Iran-Contra Affair: The Report
Chapter 6D McFarlane's 1986 Testimony}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Various}
$Affiliation{}
$Subject{mcfarlane
north
contras
testimony
country
documents
resistance
support
activities
congress}
$Date{1987}
$Log{}
Title: Iran-Contra Affair: The Report
Author: Various
Date: 1987
Chapter 6D McFarlane's 1986 Testimony
In the wake of the November 1986 revelations and a full year after he
left office, McFarlane testified before several panels investigating the
Iran-Contra Affair: the Senate and House Intelligence Committees, the Senate
and House Foreign Affairs Committees, and the President's Special Review Board
(The Tower Board). Again, Members of Congress - and this time officials on
the Tower Board staff as well - were unable to learn the crucial facts about
the Government's actions in support of the Nicaraguan Resistance.
The former National Security Adviser acknowledged to the panels that
North had told him in May 1986 about the diversion of Iranian arms sales funds
to the Contras. That aspect of Administration support for the Resistance, by
the time of McFarlane's December 1986 testimony, had been revealed by the
Attorney General. Beyond that, McFarlane withheld virtually all other
relevant information in his possession about U.S. support for the Contras
during the period of Congressional restrictions. He concealed new information
he learned of North's activities in 1986, and he repeated many of the
inaccurate statements that he had made orally and in writing to Members of
Congress while he was National Security Adviser.
In his testimony before the Select Committees, McFarlane acknowledged
that his remarks to investigating panels between December 1986 and February
1987, like his statements about U.S. support of the Resistance in 1984 and
1985, had been "clearly too categorical."
McFarlane's Testimony on North's Activities in 1986
On December 1, 1986, while he was testifying before the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence, McFarlane was asked whether, after his resignation,
there were "any indications" about "North's involvement in the funding [of the
Contras] either directly or indirectly." McFarlane responded:
Well, since leaving Government my only basis for knowing anything more about
the issue is what I read in the press and the events that I described this
morning about what I was told about the diversion of Iranian money in May of
this year. So I have no personal basis for corroborating the press stories
that I've seen that have alleged that Col. North has done various things to
channel money and to advise and done business with arms merchants. I have no
independent knowledge of that and I guess the only thing that I do know first
hand from Col. North was what he told me about diversion of Iranian monies.
I've described that this morning.
In fact, despite his assertion that he had "no personal basis for
corroborating" allegations about North, and that "the only thing" he knew
"first hand from Col. North" was the diversion, McFarlane had learned
directly from North in 1986 about efforts to provide funds and weapons to the
Resistance. Indeed, McFarlane had offered to assist. After his resignation,
McFarlane communicated regularly with the NSC staff via a PROF machine he was
permitted to keep in his home. PROF messages in 1986 show that North freely
shared with McFarlane details of the NSC-coordinated Contra operation, despite
North's strong desire to hold close information about the project. The
following exchange between North and McFarlane about efforts to obtain
sophisticated Blowpipe missiles for the Resistance is illustrative. In late
March, North wrote to McFarlane about efforts to obtain sophisticated
surface-to-air missiles for the Contras:
After the House vote on aid to the resistance, I plan to take a few days just
to get re-acquainted w/the family. Meanwhile, we are trying to find a way to
get 10 BLOWPIPE launchers and 20 missiles from . . . thru the Short Bros. Rep.
The V.P. from Short Bros. sought me out several mos. ago and I met w/him . . .
a few weeks ago . . . . Short Bros., the mfgr. of the BLOWPIPE, is willing to
arrange the deal, conduct the training and even send U.K. "tech reps" fwd if
we can close the arrangement. Dick Secord has already paid 10% down on the
delivery and we have a [Central American country] EUC [end user certificate]
which is acceptable to . . . .
McFarlane replied about one week later:
I've been thinking about the blowpipe problem and the Contras. Could you ask
the CIA to identify which countries the . . . have sold them to. I ought to
have a contact in at least one of them. How are you coming on the loose ends
for the material transfer? Anything I can do? If for any reason, you need
some mortars or other artillery - which I doubt - please let me know.
In another message to McFarlane, dated April 21, 1986, North provided
details on the resupply operation. "So far," he wrote, "we have seven A/C
[aircraft] working, having delivered over $37 M in supplies and ordnance
. . . ." In the message, North also discussed the need to obtain new funding
for the Contras. "The resistance support acct is darned near broke," he
wrote. "Any thoughts where we can put our hands on a quick $3-5 M? Gaston
[Sigur] is going back to his friends who have given $2 M so far in hopes that
we can bridge things again, but time is running out along w/the money." Sigur
recalled making no such approach in 1986. Demonstrating to McFarlane his
operational control of the resupply program, North added that he had told
Secord to sell "the ship first and then the a/c [aircraft] as a means of
sustaining the effort." He then proposed to McFarlane that U.S. businessman
Ross Perot be approached for funds. "As you know, we've never asked him for
help in this regard, believing that he wd be inclined to talk about it," North
wrote, an indication that he and McFarlane had discussed funding alternatives.
"It may now be time to take that risk. Any thoughts?"
The reference in the PROF to Richard Secord's involvement in the Contra
operation is not the only such reference. In February 1986, North sent a PROF
message to McFarlane in which he said that he had "asked JMP [Poindexter] for
a session w/you and Dick Secord as soon as possible after Dick returns
tomorrow night from Eur[ope] where he is setting up an arms delivery for the
Nic[araguan] resistance. A man of many talents ol' Secord is." In his
testimony before the Select Committees, McFarlane specifically acknowledged
that he was aware in 1986 that "Secord was involved in helping the Contras."
But on December 10, 1986, testifying before the House Intelligence Committee,
McFarlane denied any such knowledge. Representative Brown asked: "Let me ask
about Gen. Secord . . . . Were you aware of the fact that he had a role in
the Contra supply operation?" McFarlane replied, "No sir."
Testimony on Fundraising Activities
As described above, McFarlane arranged for two large donations totalling
about $32 million from Country 2, telling a high official of that country
about U.S. concerns and the Contras' needs, and then providing the bank
account number when the country decided to donate funds. The first gift came
in 1984 and the second in February and March 1985.
In his testimony before Congress following the November 1986 disclosures,
McFarlane denied personal knowledge of the donations by Country 2. During
McFarlane's testimony on December 8, 1986, before the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, Representative Mel Levine asked: "There have been also press
reports that" Country 2 has been "indirectly involved in financing the
Contras. Are you aware of any such activities?" McFarlane replied: "I have
seen the reports and I have heard that" Country 2 has contributed. However,
he said, "The concrete character of that is beyond my ken."
Similarly, McFarlane testified at t