George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography - Get a Free Blog

June 25, 1984:
The National Security Planning Group, including Reagan, Bush and other top officials,
met secretly in the White House situation room at 2:00 P.M. They discussed whether to
risk seeking `` third- country aid '' to the Contras, to get around the congressional ban
enacted Dec. 21, 1982. George Bush spoke in favor, according to minutes of the meeting.
Bush said, `` How can anyone object to the U.S. encouraging third parties to provide help
to the anti- Sandinistas under the [intelligence] finding. The only problem that might
come up is if the United States were to promise to give these third parties something in
return so that some people might interpret this as some kind of an exchange '' [emphasis
added]. Warning that this would be illegal, Secretary of State Shultz said: `` I would like
to get money for the contras also, but another lawyer [then-Treasury Secretary] Jim Baker
said if we go out and try to get money from third countries, it is an impeachable offense. ''
CIA Director Casey reminded Shultz that `` Jim Baker changed his mind [and now
supported the circumvention].... '' NSC adviser Robert McFarlane cautioned, `` I propose
that there be no authority for anyone to seek third party support for the anti-Sandinistas
until we have the information we need, and I certainly hope none of this discussion will
be made public in any way. '' President Ronald Reagan then closed the meeting with a
warning against anyone leaking the fact they were considering how to circumvent the
law: `` If such a story gets out, we'll all be hanging by our thumbs in front of the White
House until we find out who did it. '' In March of the following year, Bush personally
arranged the transfer of funds to the Contras by the Honduran government, assuring them
they would receive compensating U.S. aid. The minutes of this meeting, originally
marked `` secret, '' were released five years later, at Oliver North's trial in the spring of
1989.@s1@s6
October 3, 1984:
Congress enacted a new version of the earlier attempt to outlaw the U.S. secret war in
Central America. This `` Boland II '' amendment was designed to prevent any
conceivable form of deceit by the covert action apparatus: `` During fiscal year 1985, no
funds available to the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, or any
other agency or entity of the United States involved in intelligence activities may be
obligated or expended for the purpose or which would have the effect of supporting,
directly or indirectly, military or paramilitary operations in Nicaragua by any nation,
group, organization, movement, or individual. '' This law was effective from October 3,
1984, to December 5, 1985, when it was superceded by various aid-limitation laws
which, taken together, were referred to as `` Boland III. ''@s1@s7
November 1, 1984:
Felix Rodriguez's partner, Gerard Latchinian, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. Latchinian was then tried and convicted of smuggling $10.3 million in
cocaine into the United States. The dope was to finance the murder and overthrow of the
President of Honduras, Roberto Suazo Cordova. Latchinian was sentenced to a 30-year
prison term.