Choice Outstanding Academic Title Everything began to unravel on
October 5, 1986, when a Nicaraguan soldier downed an American plane
carrying arms to "Contra" guerrillas, exposing a tightly held U.S.
clandestine program. A month later, reports surfaced that
Washington had been covertly selling arms to Iran (our sworn enemy
and a state sponsor of terrorism), in exchange for help freeing
hostages in Beirut. The profits, it turned out, were going to
support the Contras, despite an explicit ban by Congress. In the
firestorm that erupted, shocking details emerged, raising the
prospect of impeachment, and the American public confronted a
scandal as momentous as it was confusing. At its center was
President Ronald Reagan amid a swirl of questions about illegal
wars, consorting with terrorists, and the abuse of presidential
power. Yet, despite the enormity of the issues, the affair dropped
from the public radar due to media overkill, years of legal
wrangling, and a vigorous campaign to forestall another Watergate.
As a result, many Americans failed to grasp the scandal's full
import. Through exhaustive use of declassified documents,
previously unavailable investigative materials, and wide-ranging
interviews, Malcolm Byrne revisits this largely forgotten and
misrepresented episode. Placing the events in their historical and
political context (notably the Cold War and a sharp partisan
domestic divide), he explores what made the affair possible and
meticulously relates how it unfolded-including clarifying minor
myths about cakes, keys, bibles, diversion memos, and shredding
parties. Iran-Contra demonstrates that, far from being a "junta"
against the president, the affair could not have occurred without
awareness and approval at the very top of the U.S. government.
Byrne reveals an unmistakable pattern of dubious behavior-including
potentially illegal conduct by the president, vice president, the
secretaries of state and defense, the CIA director and others-that
formed the true core of the scandal. Given the lack of meaningful
consequences for those involved, the volume raises critical
questions about the ability of our current system of checks and
balances to address presidential abuses of power, and about the
possibility of similar outbreaks in the future.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
