Oliver North

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Lt-Col. Oliver North, testifying before Congress

Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) was a member of the United States Marine Corps who achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. During the Vietnam War he was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star and 2 Purple Heart medals. He rose to national infamy because of the Iran-Contra Affair, during which he was a key Reagan administration official involved in the clandestine selling of weapons to Iran in order to generate proceeds to support the Contra rebel group in violation of the law — specifically, a provision known as the Boland Amendment.

Today, he is a conservative political commentator, and host of the Fox News Channel program, War Stories.

[edit] Iran-Contra affair

North became famous due to his participation in the Iran-Contra Affair, in which he was the chief coordinator of the sale of weapons via intermediaries to Iran, with the profits being channeled to the Contras in Nicaragua. He was responsible for the establishment of a covert network used for the purposes of aiding the Contras.

According to the National Security Archive, in an August 23, 1986 email to John Poindexter, Oliver North described a meeting with a representative of Panamanian President Manuel Noriega: "You will recall that over the years Manuel Noriega in Panama and I have developed a fairly good relationship", North writes before explaining Noriega's proposal. If U.S. officials can "help clean up his image" and lift the ban on arms sales to the Panamanian Defense Force, Noriega will "'take care of' the Sandinista leadership for us." North tells Poindexter that Noriega can assist with sabotage against the Sandinistas, and suggests paying Noriega a million dollars – from "Project Democracy" funds raised from the sale of U.S. arms to Iran – for the Panamanian leader's help in destroying Nicaraguan economic installations (see [1]).

In November 1986, North was fired by President Reagan, and in July 1987 he was summoned to testify before televised hearings of a joint Congressional committee formed to investigate Iran-Contra. During the hearings, he admitted that he had lied to Congress, for which he was later charged among other things. He defended his actions by stating that he believed in the goal of aiding the Contras, whom he saw as freedom fighters, and said that he viewed the Iran-Contra scheme as a "neat idea" (see [2]).

North's mugshot, after his arrest

North was tried in 1988 in relation to his activities while at the National Security Council. He was indicted on sixteen felony counts and on May 4, 1989, he was convicted of three: accepting an illegal gratuity, aiding and abetting in the obstruction of a congressional inquiry, and destruction of documents (by his secretary, Fawn Hall, on his instructions). He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell on July 5, 1989, to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines, and 1,200 hours community service.

However, on July 20, 1990, with the help of the ACLU (see [3]), North's conviction was overturned by a three-judge appeals panel in advance of further proceedings on the grounds that his public testimony may have prejudiced his right to a fair trial ([4]).

The Supreme Court declined to review the case, and Judge Gesell dismissed the charges on September 16, 1991, after hearings on the immunity issue, on the motion of the independent counsel. Judge Gesell fell ill soon afterwards, and passed away from liver cancer in 1993.

Essentially, North's convictions were overturned because he had been granted limited immunity for his Congressional testimony, and this testimony was deemed to have influenced witnesses at his trial.

[edit] Later life and career

Oliver North signing one of his books

In 1994, North unsuccessfully ran for the Senate as the Republican candidate in Virginia. Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia endorsed Marshall Coleman, a Republican who ran as an independent, instead of North. On the eve of the election, former first lady Nancy Reagan told a reporter that North had lied to her husband when discussing Iran-Contra with the former president. North lost to incumbent Democrat Charles Robb. North's candidacy was documented in the 1996 film A Perfect Candidate.

Oliver North pictured with Clinton Township, Franklin County, Ohio Assistant Fire Chief John Harris and Lieutenant Douglas Brown at public speaking event.

North has written several best-selling books including Under Fire, One More Mission, War Stories — Operation Iraqi Freedom, Mission Compromised, The Jericho Sanction, and The Assassins. He is also a syndicated columnist, and is the host of the television show War Stories with Oliver North, and a regular commentator on Hannity and Colmes, both on the Fox News Channel. North appeared as himself on many television shows including the sitcom Wings and three episodes of the TV military drama JAG in 1995, 1996 and 2002. In addition, he regularly speaks at both public and private events.

In 1990 North founded the Freedom Alliance, a 501(c)(3) foundation "...to advance the American heritage of freedom by honoring and encouraging military service, defending the sovereignty of the United States and promoting a strong national defense."

• Pictures of North in the NSA buildings with former British Intelligence Officer John P. Lawrence were flashed around the world, when the two former colleagues were asked to help the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Oliver North has been married to Betsy North (formerly Betsy Stuart) since 1968, and they have four children (daughters Tait, Dornin, and Sarah North, and son, Stuart North). Although raised a Roman Catholic, he has long attended Protestant evangelical services with his family.

[edit] Political and historical legacy

North was a figure of great controversy, with supporters enjoying his impassioned defense of his actions, and opponents disapproving of his breaking the law.

Despite, and because of, North's history, he remains a largely popular figure among conservatives. Many conservatives sympathize with the basis of North's activities within the Reagan administration, due to the fact they believe the "Boland Amendment" — a Congressional act specifically barring the U.S. government from providing material support to anti-Communist rebels in Nicaragua — infringed on the constitutional power of the executive branch to conduct foreign policy. Some believe that North was used as a scapegoat for the Iran-Contra affair, and that other top government officials in the Reagan administration disproportionately laid the blame on him. Some hold the view that North's goal of defeating Communist expansion was just, and the illegal means he used to achieve it were irrelevant.

North's critics argue that in a democracy and a nation of laws, one man cannot act above the law regardless of how righteous he believes his goals to be. Some point out that his activities substantially contributed to an attempted overthrow of a sovereign, democratically elected government and to terrorism in Nicaragua, and that they aided Iran, a nation that has been militarily hostile to the United States since 1979.

In October 2006, North revisited Nicaragua in the run up to presidential elections. Claiming he was invited in a private capacity to Nicaragua by friends, he warned against his old foe, Sandinista leader, Daniel Ortega's possible return to power. Despite this, Ortega did win Nicaragua's presidency without the need of a runoff. During his visit, he expressed support for the PLC candidate, Jose Rizo, rather than the United States government's preferred candidate, Eduardo Montealegre, a disident PLC candidate. His visit may have swayed enough votes away from Montealegre to ensure Ortega's win in the first round.

[edit] Trivia

• On a trip to Iran during the Iran-Contra affair, North and Robert McFarlane took a chocolate cake (shaped like a key to symbolize the opening of improved relations) and a Bible as gifts to Ruhollah Khomeini.
• In the Michael Moore satire Canadian Bacon, Oliver North becomes President of the United States in the film's epilogue.
• During the early 1990s, North's mother, Ann Clancy North, called his radio show to tell him that she was out of the hospital, and that her operation had gone well.
• North was referenced in the Simpsons episode Bart Gets Famous where a biography of Bart was "mostly about Ross Perot, and the last two chapters are excerpts from the Oliver North trial." Then Homer says "Ah, Oliver North. He was just poured into that uniform."
• In two episodes of the television show Sliders it was mentioned that alternate versions of Oliver North were the president of the United States on the parallel worlds featured in the respective episodes.
• The film Lord of War has a high-ranking US Marine officer who aids in keeping the main character out of custody; his name is Oliver Southern, a parody of Oliver North.
• In the episode Exit Strategy of Arrested Development, the narrator explains that the D.A. got their evidence against North by using a scrapbooking sting operation.
• Two songs by the band R.E.M. reference North: 1992's "Drive" contains the lyric, "Ollie, Ollie, Ollie Ollie Ollie, Ollie Ollie in come free," referencing North's acquittal. Also, the c.1994 b-side "Revolution" contains the lyric "Oliver North is running for Senate". In both contexts, the band appears to view him negatively.

[edit] External links

• Oliver North's political donations
• Freedom Alliance
• The Oliver North File. The National Security Archive / George Washington University.