Iran-Contra affair Essay Example for Free

Iran-Contra affair Essay The Iran-Contra affair was a US scandal that occurred in the mid 1980s under the leadership of President Ronald Reagan and vice president George bush. The scandal majorly involved two events. First, there was the sale of US arms to one of its main enemies, Iran and then the millions of dollars in profits derived from the arms deal were used to finance a clandestine operation rejected by congress, the financing of Nicaraguan guerrillas named the Contra. The Contra guerillas were opponents of the Nicaraguan’s Sandinista rebels who came to power after overthrowing Anastasio Somoza, the then leader of Nicaragua in the year 1979. The idea was to secure the release of American hostages held by the Hezbollah terrorists. This scandal prompted numerous investigations that led the indictment of US government officials. Indeed, many questions still linger on the minds of many concerning the role played by top US White House officials including President Reagan and the then vice president George Bush (TheFreeDictionary, 2009). This paper will discuss some of the dealings in the arms trade, stating their historical background, reasons behind the trade, the parties involved and its eventual outcome. The Contra Affair first received public attention in November 1986 after al-sharia, a Lebanese publication reported that the American government was involved in arms trade with Iran. Worse still, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) supply plane was shot down by the Nicaraguan forces. The only survivor was the pilot and he was captured. The plane was carrying, over 50 000 rounds of ammunition, Russian rifles and boots (Tristam, 2009). The confession of the pilot shocked the public indicating that the US government was involved in arming the contra rebels and also confirmed the earlier reports in the Lebanese publication. The irony was that President Ronald Reagan was on record as having numerously associated the Iran government with terrorism (TheFreeDictionary, 2009). Why Reagan supported the Sandinistas To Reagan, the victory of the Sandinista in Nicaragua was a major US security threat since he thought that it had the potential of sparking off a revolution in Central America (BBC News Channel, 2004). The fear could be traced back to 1954 when Jacobo Arbenz won the elections to become president of Guatemala. What alarmed the US government was his oratory which indicated that the US government was on the verge of losing its control in Central America. In 1979, the Sandinistas overthrew the Arbenz government and initiated communist reforms. This was in spite of the fact that in actual sense they never really defined themselves as communists but as pluralists. They began to reallocate estates and to redistribute wealth and this was enough to alarm the United States which became uncomfortable with having a communist state right in its backyard. Violence also erupted spreading to other countries and this was seen as an indication that communism could end up spreading to other countries in Central America (BBC News Channel, 2004). Reagan was alarmed by these developments and felt that he had to do whatever it took to stop this. Fortunately for him, other groups within Nicaragua began arming themselves against the policies initiated by the Sandinistas. Reagan’s hope then lay in equipping the rebels in an attempt to overthrow the Sandinistas government. At first he allocated the funds openly and even gave additional funds to the CIA to carry out his mission. However, the allocation of funds to the contras was opposed within the United States throwing his plans to the gutter. Ronald Reagan involvement with Iran Ronald Reagan was known to have publicly referred to Iran as one of the nations that both supported and financed terrorism in the world. It therefore seemed to be a stab in the back for US citizens when the world heard reports that the US was trading arms with its worst enemy. The entire situation could be traced back to the 1980 US presidential elections. These pitted the then president Jimmy Carter against the implicated Ronald Reagan. The period between the 1970s and 1980 was one characterized by numerous incidences of hostage taking. In the year 1979, fifty two workers of the US embassy in Iran were captured by Iranian students and held hostage. The US at the time proclaimed a ‘no- negotiation’ policy when dealing with terrorists. The then president Jimmy Carter failed to secure the release of these hostages (Absolute astronomy, 2009). During the elections, Jimmy Carter was slightly taking the lead and if only the US hostages held by the Hezbollah group had been released, it could have been a sure win for Carter. The release of the hostages then became the decisive factor on who would win the elections. This prompted the Reagan team to negotiate a release deal with Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran. This team met with the then prime minister of Iran Bani-sadr in Paris. The agreement reached was that the US hostages would remain captives until after the election and in extension of this favor, Iran would be supplied with weapons. At that time, Iran was at war with Iraq and the supply of weapons was absolutely welcomed. It therefore came to be that immediately after Reagan won the elections, the hostages were released (Angel Force, n. d). Arms transactions The US received special assistance from Israel to carry out the sale of arms to moderate Iranians opposed to Ayatollah Khomeni. Michael Ledeen and Robert McFarlane the then National Security Adviser managed to convince the Israeli government to ship arms to these politically influential Iranians in return for the same kind of weapons along with monetary benefits. Israel agreed but in the mean time Reagan was hospitalized for a colon cancer surgery. Later on, Israel tried to convince the United States to allow Israel to sell a few antitank missiles as an indication that the Iranian group had strong US ties. This offer was initially rejected but eventually Israel managed to convince Reagan that the group was an antiterrorist group. The group in return had promised to talk to the captor to release seven hostages, a proposal that Reagan readily consented to. The plan was later readjusted such that the arms were now to be sold directly to the Iranians at a marked up price of about 715 million dollars as suggested by North. This price was rejected but eventually over one thousand anti-tank missiles were shipped. The adjustments also included the financing of the contras contrary to the Boland Amendments that restricted the US administration and the CIA from financing the contras. (Absolute astronomy, 2009). The scandal blew up after Mehdi Hashemi a cleric with the Islamic revolutionary guards leaked information concerning the trade to Ash-Shiraa, a renowned Lebanese magazine. This together with the crashing of a CIA plane led to Reagan’s confession in the national television that the arms deal transactions had indeed taken place. His argument was that the trade had taken place in an attempt to forge better ties with Iran and to also to make Iran reconsider a negotiation for the release of held hostages (Absolute astronomy, 2009). Conclusion The Iran-Contra Scandal led to the sacking of numerous government officials including Oliver North who was sacked and also tried for the shredding of evidence (some say that the evidence was bulky enough to jam the government’s shredding machine. In his defense, North tried to link the case with the Vietnam War by arguing that the main issue in the affair was the actual financing of the contras (Isaacs, (1997). He also attempted to justify his action by saying that it fell within his powers. The president’s popularity ratings also dropped from a high of 67% to a low of 46%. Internationally, the scandal sent harmful signal to terror indicating that hostage taking could be used as a powerful means of coaxing political influence with the west (Absolute astronomy, 2009). References Absolute astronomy. (2009). Iran-Contra Affair. Retrieved on 28th March, 2009, from: http://www. absoluteastronomy. com/topics/Iran-Contra_Affair BBC News Channel. (2004). Reagan and the Iran-Contra affair. Retrieved on 30th March, 2009, from: http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/world/americas/269619. stm Isaacs, A. (1997) Vietnam Shadows. Baltimore London: John Hopkins University Press. TheFreeDictionary. (2009). Iran-Contra Affair . Retrieved on 30th March, 2009, from: http://www. acc. af. mil/news/story. asp? id=123080422 Tristam, P. (2009). What Was the Arms-for-Hostages Iran-Contra Affair? Retrieved on 30th March, 2009, from: http://middleeast. about. com/od/usmideastpolicy/f/me081109f. htm Angel Force. (n. d). Iran-Contra. Retrieved on 30th March, 2009, from: http://www. angelfire. com/ca3/jphuck/BOOK3Ch7. html

A Pair Of Silk Stockings Essay example -- essays research papers

Kate Chopin again writes another short story with a way of getting the attention of the reader in a short period of time. â€Å"A Pair of Silk Stockings† is based in early to mid 1900's in a average town. Shops, a theater and such lies in the center of town. The author tells of a widowed mother that is not so well off, that discovers a sum of money and is taken away in her own shopping spree and perhaps her own dreams.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mrs. Sommers is a middle aged timid mother of a handful of children, and is apparently not well to do anymore after her husband’s death; Not that she probably ever was, but more so than her luck would have it now. She is small framed with tattered old clothes, as if she hasn’t been able to purchase anything in quite awhile, nor would she knowing how...

Leisure Time Essay

In the mid-1800s Americans started to receive a lot of extra time in their hand and had more time to do fun activities. Businesses declining working hours was a major reason for the rise of leisure time but what also had a huge impact was installation of the electric lighting in the city’s streets which made Americans have more time to perform activities at later hours (Lund). So what did Americans decide to do with this time? The recommendation of physical exercise as a way to relive of all the stress raised the importance of physical actives and to also attend spectator sports became part of the leisure activities in the United States. Vaudeville, dance halls, and motion pictures became popular, while new modes of travel allowed Americans to go visit the mountains, seaside resorts and county fairs (Lund). To begin with after the Civil War, the popularity of sports as leisure activities grew as people began to see the importance of exercise to health. While initially only the wealthy could take part in most sporting events because the middle and lower classes couldn’t afford most of the activities .The opening of public available gymnasiums, courts, and fields allowed the middle class to participate in those activities as well (Lund). Athletic clubs such as the New York Athletic Club were organized and the YMCAs began to institute sports programs. These programs mostly focused on track and field events, introduced by communities of European descent, and gymnastics, heavily influenced by German athletics. Gymnasiums, which included exercises using Indian clubs, wooden rings, and dumbbells, were opened in many Eastern cities which helped expand exercise. Also With the extra time Americans gained American sought out to find new ways to keep themselves occupied and entertained. Americans began to seek out new ways to distract themselves so they started to experiment in making new activities to do. As a result of Americans seeking for a new past time they invented Americas greatest past time today, baseball. Different types of Baseball have been played throughout time and before the 1800s but the rise of the sport didn’t come until after the civil war (Bluett). While at war the soldiers had a lot of extra time in their hands the soldiers from New York introduced the game to their comrades from their camps and soon the game also spread to other camps over the north and south. It was said that because of this baseball expanded from the north to the south baseball was recognized more after the civil war ended. After all the soldiers from the camps were taught how to play, they went back home and introduced their sport to their families and friends which helped expand they name of the game (Bluett). In 1870 the first professional team were founded but didn’t last for more than five years. In 1876 the first major professional league that was formed was the National league of baseball clubs which still exist today. Another sport that was created by Americans in the 19th century which they invented to perform as a leisure activity was Basketball. The game was created from the mind of James Naismith in 1891, while he was an instructor at the School for Christian Workers, later called the International YMCA Training School, in Springfield, Massachusetts (McComb). The YMCA was an international organization that focused on the idea that physical as well as religious training was important for humans. Naismith had graduated from McGill University, and after leaving a Presbyterian seminary jo ined the YMCA school in Massachusetts. When he arrived the director of the YMCA name Luther asked Naismith if he could design an interesting indoor sport for physical activity in a gymnasiums Americans can exercise while having fun in the winter when it was cold and couldn’t be outside (McComb). He thought that people were bored of just working out with weights and running around without a purpose. James considered the thought of throwing a ball into a box, like the warm-up exercise he had used when he played rugby but only this time the box was ten feet up and had to dribble the ball (McComb). The game was a success Americans all over the country were playing it and it even expanded internationally. In the 1880s women didn’t really perform any  sports but after they were introduced with basketball they were so fascinated that it became one of women’s favorite sport in the 1880s. Furthermore although men performed the majority of sports activities around the 19th century. Opportunities for women beg an to appear as the century ended. Some of the most popular sports for women in the 19 century were basketball and lawn tennis. Also by the end of the century schools began to offer even more sports activities for females, such as gymnastics and basketball. One of the most popular sports for women was basketball. Girls’ and women’s basketball flourished in the early years of the game. Two days after the invention of basketball, some female teachers who had heard the shouts of players coming from the gym, asked Naismith to instruct them (Woolum). Naismith did so and the women became very fund of the sport. In 1892 after the women new the game better the YMCA hosted the first tournament for women (Woolum). The game for women spread and they even got to play in college, in 1896 the first intercollegiate game was played in Berkeley between the University of California and Stanford. No male spectators were allowed at the Berkeley match because it was considered improper for male viewers to attend (Woolum). Also the other sport the women were very fund of was lawn tennis. Mary Ewing Outerbridge has be en credited with introducing lawn tennis to the United States in 1874. When she went to Bermuda she watched as British Army officers were hitting a rubber ball with spoon-shaped paddles strung with catgut across an outstretched net. Fascinated by the game, Outerbridge brought a box of the tennis equipment with her and returned to New York (Woolum). When she got home she introduced the game to her friends and family. The game rapidly got popular and became very popular not just with women but with men as well and rapidly spread throughout the Northeast as a favorite national pastime (Woolum). In addition Americans didn’t just past their times with sports they also enjoyed other activities like attending vaudeville shows. Within cities, people attended vaudeville shows which would include many acts. The vaudeville shows were usually watched by the middle class, the shows often ran for many hours so the people could come and go whenever they wanted (Ushistory). In the Vaudeville shows the viewers could enjoy a performance consisting of Shakespeare plays, acrobatics, singing, dancing, and comedy (Lund). Vaudeville shows weren’t just for entertaining they also talked  about economic and ethnic situations. Other popular shows of the time included circuses and Wild West shows, one of the most famous plays was Buffalo Bill Cody’s by William F. Motion pictures also served as entert ainment during leisure time for urban audiences. Initially the movies were originalities in kinescope viewers, until they became acts in their own right on the vaudeville stage. As motion pictures became longer, they moved into storefront Nickelodeon theaters and then into even larger theaters (Lund). Finally another activity Americans did as for their leisure time was to go on vacations. Some people wished to go further afield on their vacations and leave the city now that they invented a new way to travel faster which was by trains (Ushistory). Many with limited budgets went to the countryside or the beaches which mostly included the lower and middle class. Towards the late nineteenth century resorts opened in the outskirts of cities, such as the beach area of Asbury Park in New Jersey which was founded in 1870 (Lund). Amusement parks opened in places like Coney Island in New York was founded in 1897.the Park offering rides, fun houses, and scenes from foreign life, and the latest technological breakthroughs, such as motion pictu res. National parks were created by the federal government to preserve nature and many began to tour these areas on vacation (Lund). One such example was Yellowstone Park where people camped or stayed at the hotels, the park was built there in the late 1880s. World’s fairs and expositions held in different U.S. cities offered Americans a chance to tour the world in one place. The fairs celebrated progress and featured exhibits of science and technology, foreign villages, shows, rides and vendors. The first major one was the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876 (Lund). All in all Americans in the 19th century performed a large variety of activities for their leisure time. Men performed many different physical activities especially when clubs like the YMCA was introduced which helped more Americans become more active, also American performed sports like baseball and basketball in their leisure time. In the late 19th century even women were starting to take place in the sports a nd other activates. Another major activity Americans did for leisure time was to go to vaudeville shows which had all sorts of acts from Shakespeare plays to comedy acts. Finally after traveling was easier Americans started to go on vacations outside the city and go to resorts and world fairs for their leisure time. Bibliography 1. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awlhtml/awlleis.html a. Leisure after the civil war b. Lund, Karen C. â€Å"America at Work / America at Leisure, 1894-1915.† America at Work / America at Leisure, 1894-1915. Memory.loc.gov, 01 June 2000. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. 2. http://www.pacivilwartrails.com/stories/tales/baseball-and-the-civil-war a. Baseball and the civil war b. Bluett, Terry. â€Å"Baseball and the Civil War.† Welcome to the Pennsylvania Civil War Trails. Civil War Trails, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. 3. http://www.elibrary.com/elibweb/elib/do/document?set=search&dictionaryClick=on&secondaryNav=&groupid=1&requestid=lib_standard&resultid=1&edition=&ts=FA9DBE62F456E22634A15DC6F7B76C44_1385528175587&start=1&publicationId=&urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B171337845 a. The Great Spectator Sports of North America b. McComb, David G. â€Å"ELibrary: Login.† ELibrary: Login. Proquest, 01 Dec. 1998. Web. 18 Dec. 2013. 4. http://www.ushistory.org/us/39b.asp a. Leisure time b. Ushistory.org. â€Å"39b. Sports and Leisure.† Sports and Leisure [ushistory.org]. U.S. History Online Textbook, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2013. 5. http://www.elibrary.com/elibweb/elib/do/document?set=search&dictionaryClick=on&secondaryNav=&groupid=1&requestid=lib_standard&resultid=3&edition=&ts=FA9DBE62F456E22634A15DC6F7B76C44_1385528175587&start=1&publicationId=&urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B28013995 a. Women in America sports b. Woolum, Janet. â€Å"ELibrary: Login.† ELibrary: Login. Elibrary, 05 Aug. 1992.

Eugenics and Planned Parenthood Essay - 1405 Words

When one contemplates the concept of eugenics, few think of modern contraception and abortion when in reality they are one in the same. The American Eugenics Society, founded in 1923, proudly proclaimed that men with incurable â€Å"conditions† should be sterilized. However these conditions were often none that could be helped, such as, one’s intelligence, race, and social class (Schweikart and Allen 529-532). The purpose of the society was to create the perfect class of men; elite in all ways. Likewise, Margaret Sanger’s feminist, contraceptive movement was not originally founded with this purpose. It was marketed as a way to control the population and be merciful to those yet to be born, again determined also by race and†¦show more content†¦A superior race determined by ethnic origin, intelligence, and even physical appearance. Margaret Sanger built upon Davenport’s movement through the concept of contraception rather than sterilization. Altho ugh her initial purpose was not to create a superior race, the contraception movement had an equally detrimental effect upon society. Fuelled by the anger from her mother’s death, Sanger wrote The Woman Rebel advocating controlling who could reproduce (Citation). Just as Davenport, she had criteria for those she wished to eliminate including, Jews, Blacks, and Chinese (Schweikart and Allen 529-532). She also believed that large families were wasteful and wrong. In her book Women and the New Race, Sanger stated that â€Å"the most merciful thing a large family could do to new baby is to kill it.† She believed he could not be properly loved and cared for and furthermore considered him a waste of resources(â€Å"Margaret Sanger: Family Planning†). Her articles were condemned illegal and she fled to England where she truly let her colors show. 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