Inside the October Surprise Cover-up

from Consortium News:



Inside the October Surprise Cover-up

Special Report: The George H.W. Bush Library in Texas has just released thousands of pages of documents on the October Surprise mystery, revealing how Bush’s inner circle handled allegations that the Reagan-Bush campaign in 1980 struck a treacherous deal with Iran. It was a textbook case of controlling the narrative, reports Robert Parry.

By Robert Parry
July 12, 2011


In 1991-92, when President George H.W. Bush’s reelection campaign was threatened by interlocking national security scandals, his White House staff and Republicans in Congress went into partisan battle mode determined to discredit – not investigate – allegations of wrongdoing, newly released documents from Bush’s presidential library reveal.

The documents show that GOP anger boiled over in 1991 when the long-running Iran-Contra scandal opened another front with allegations that secret Republican contacts with Iran extended back to 1980 when Ronald Reagan was seeking to unseat Democratic President Jimmy Carter – and Bush was Reagan’s vice presidential running mate.

Republicans were alarmed that Bush might be implicated in a secret – arguably treasonous – deal with Iran, struck behind President Carter’s back when Carter’s own reelection in 1980 hinged on whether he could gain freedom for 52 American hostages being held by Iranian radicals.

The archived White House documents, which were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, reveal a coordinated strategy between Bush’s Executive Branch and congressional Republicans to disrupt, delay and destroy the so-called October Surprise investigation. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://consortiumnews.com/2011/07/12/inside-the-october-surprise-cover-up/

Why do Republicons HATE America, and perpetrate treason against the USA?

They want absolute power. Treason is not in their vocabulary to identify their own actions. Treason is to be used against their oppostition.

And I remember thinking/saying that if candidate Reagan had a surefire, secret plan to gain the hostages' release, which is what he claimed, it was inhumane if not downright unAmerican and treasonous to hold off those plans just to 'guarantee' his election. It boggled my mind that others didn't see it the same way.

These tactics were used to limit and block thorough investigation and prosecution of crimes in the Iran-Contra scandal, to push through Clarence Thomas and other conservative activists onto the Supreme Court, to shut down opposition that might have stopped W's neconservative joyride wars (hell, to get Bush into office), and to gin up and perpetuate a rolling list of scandals and "outrages" for Clinton and Obama.

This is how conservative movement activists have been shaping the Washington "conventional wisdom" for decades, without any effective counter by liberals (or anyone not on board with the conservative movement, for that matter). It's a very real part of what has happened to this country and what continues to happen to it.

And an important part in fighting it is simply understanding that it is happening, that there are people pushing hard to control the spin to limit damage that should destroy them, and it's not simply the flow of events.

And a very complacent, lapdancing "liberal" media, who went right along with the WH's framing of the story.

Here are some more extracts from the article:

Good ol' Lee Hamilton. A natural choice for the 9/11 Commission.

An Act of War.

Poppy was the Ramrod on that project too.

There's lots more.

I told them at the time: "You people are out of your fucking minds. Congress is going to cut our Balls off when they find out!!"

The rest is History.

apparently worked. Hardly anyone would treat anyone claiming the October Surprise, to be anything other a lucky coincidence and nice jester from Iran to the new Reagan Administration, as anything other than a raving lunatic. It worked quite well - damn bastards get away with murder and never have to face up to what the really do and who they really are. Now, it is just a footnote in history but it changed the course of things in the country much much to worse.

acts severely harming America treason. :patriot:

I had my political awakening in the 80's trying to get to the bottom of this scandal. I always thought, and still do, that the deal was made to delay release of the hostages to facilitate Reagan beating Carter. Over the years it's been incredibly discouraging seeing the lack of real investigation and how thorough the counter-spin is. I like to think that the truth will out, but in this case, as in JFK's murder, and others, the perps were true professionals with sufficient connections to get any act buried in history's basement.

It's made it pretty hard watching guys like Gates, who was up to his ears in this scandal, work for Obama.

Thanks for the OP, and thanks to the excellent Robert Parry for his persistence.

edited to remove an extra "the"