Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 30, 1994 TAG: 9412240013
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: G3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK R. LEVIN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
My lowest, darkest, bleakest day as an American was when I learned [North] sold arms to the most terrorist nation on earth. That person cannot become a United States senator. - Sen. Barbara Boxer about Oliver North, The Washington Post, Oct. 10, 1994.
IRAN-CONTRA has become a rallying cry for those who wish to return Chuck Robb to the U.S. Senate. But their effort to rewrite history and mislead the public about critical aspects of Iran-Contra must not go unaddressed. So here's a brief history lesson for Robb and Boxer.
First, when Robb stated, `` ... [Y]ou do not save lives if you skim off money that belongs to the federal government for yourself,'' he is alleging that North used money from the sale of arms to the Iranians for his personal benefit. Not even Iran-Contra prosecutor Lawrence Walsh has ever made such a charge.
The record is clear. North did not receive a penny of that money. Proceeds, at least in part, went to assist the Nicaraguan Freedom Fighters. Whether aiding the NFF in that way was prudent is a topic for legitimate debate. But the fact is North did not ``skim off money'' from the arms transactions.
Second, Robb and Boxer claim weapons were sold to ``terrorists'' or to the ``most terrorist nation on earth.'' That's not what happened.
The arms transfers were part of an initiative, approved by President Reagan, intended to enhance the national security of the United States by opening channels of communication with more moderate forces in Iran. The purpose of the initiative was to try to end the Iran-Iraq war and reduce terrorism in the Middle East.
Moreover, the United States sought the help of Iranian moderates in locating, and seeking the release of, American hostages who were kidnapped by terrorists in Lebanon. The truth is the Reagan administration was forced to contend with a radical terrorists' regime in Iran as a direct result of the failed policies of Jimmy Carter.
So no official in the Reagan administration, including North, sold weapons to terrorists. And the birth of ``the most terrorist nation on earth'' is one of the many foreign-policy contributions of the Carter administration (as was the existence of the Marxist Sandinista regime in Nicaragua).
Furthermore, while we're on the subject of truth and the Iran-Contra matter, some might be surprised to learn that no Reagan administration official, including North, was charged with violating any law relating to the arms shipments to Iran (or even the transfer of funds to the NFF).
Despite the false impression created by Democrats and many media pundits, the relevant statutes that might arguably relate to the arms shipments are not criminal laws. They neither specify crimes nor prescribe penalties for the actions taken by Reagan administration officials. Simply put, the arms shipments were legal.
But Robb, who is a sitting U.S. senator, has now made some serious, albeit false, allegations about the Reagan administration and North. Robb should provide the evidence that arms were sold to terrorists (including the identity of the terrorists), and that North ``skimmed off money that belongs to the federal government'' for his personal use, or correct his false statements.
Robb certainly should not accuse others of lying when he can't seem to get his own facts straight.
Mark R. Levin was chief of staff to former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese, and served as a lead attorney for Meese in the Iran-Contra matter.
by CNB