George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography - Get a Free Blog

epresentatives of Ayatollah Beheshti, leader of the fundamentlist clergy in Iran." "Top
level intelligence sources in Reagan's inner circle confirmed Kissinger's unreported talks
with the Iranian mullahs, but stressed that the Kissinger initiative was totally
unauthorized by the president-elect." According to EIR, "it appears that the pattern of
cooperation between the Khomeini people and circles nominally in Reagan's camp began
approximately six to eight weeks ago, at the height of President Carter's efforts to secure
an arms-for-hostages deal with Teheran. Carter's failure to secure the deal, which a
number of observers believe cost him the November 4 election, apparently resulted from
an intervention in Teheran by pro-Reagan British circles and the Kissinger faction." [fn
45] These revelations from EIR are the first mention in the public record of the scandal
which has come over the years to be known as the October surprise.
The hostages were not released before the November election, which Reagan won
convincingly. That night, according to Roland Perry, Bush said to Reagan, "You're in like
a burglar." Khomeini kept the hostages emprisoned until January 20, the day of the
Reagan-Bush inauguration, and let the hostage plane take off just as Reagan and Bush
were taking their oaths of office.
Whether George Bush was personally present in Paris, or at other meetings with Iranian
representatives where the hostage and arms questions were on the agenda, has yet to be
conclusively proven. Here a thorough and intrusive Congressional investigation of the
Carter and Reagan machinations in this regard is long overdue. Such a probe might also
shed light on the origins of the Iran-Iraq war, which set the stage for the more recent Gulf
crisis. But, quite apart from questions regarding George Bush's presence at this or that
meeting, there can be no doubt that both the Carter regime and the Reagan-Bush
campaign were actively involved in dealings with the Khomeini regime concerning the
hostages and concerning the timing of their possible release. In the case of the Reagan-
Bush Iran connection, there is reason to believe that federal crimes under the Logan Act
and other applicable laws may have taken place.
George Bush had now grasped the interim prize that had eluded him since 1968: after
more than a dozen years of effort, he had now become the Vice President of the United
States.
NOTES:
1. Bob Woodward and Walter Pincus, "At CIA, a Rebuilder 'Goes With the Flow,'" Washington Post,
August 10, 1988.
2. For Bush's business dealings of 1977-79, see Bob Woodward and Walter Pincus, "Doing Well With Help
From Family, Friends," Washington Post, August 11, 1988.
3. Washington Post, April 6, 1978.
4. Washington Post, November 12, 1978.