George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography - Get a Free Blog

next year working on Iran arms sales: Earl devoted one-quarter to one- half of his time on
Iran and Contra support operations; Coy ``knew everything'' about Project Democracy.
North traveled much of the time. Earl and Coy were at this time officially attached to the
Crisis Management Center, which North worked on in 1983.@s4@s6 FBI Assistant
Director Revell, often George Bush's ``hit man'' against Bush's domestic opponents,
partially disclosed this shell game in a letter to Sen. David Boren (D-Ok.), explaining the
FBI's contacts with North:
At the time [April 1986], North was the NSC official charged by the President with the
coordination of our national counterterrorist program. He was responsible for working closely
with designated lead agencies and was responsible for participating in all interagency groups,
maintaining the national programming documents, assisting in the coordination of research and
development in relation to counterterrorism, facilitating the development of response options and
overseeing the implementation of the Vice President's Terrorism Task Force recommendations.
This description of Col. North's position is set forth in the public report of the Vice President's
Task Force on Combatting Terrorism, February 1986. There is an even more detailed and
comprehensive description of Col. North's position in the classified National Security Decision
Directive #207 issued by the President on January 20, 1986. @s4@s7
The Bush Terrorism Task Force, having completed its official work, had simply made
itself into a renamed, permanent, covert agency. Its new name was Operations Sub-Group
(OSG). In this transformation, CIA Contra-handler Duane Clarridge had been added to
the Task Force to form the ``OSG,'' which included North, Poindexter, Charles Allen,
Robert Oakley, Noel Koch, General Moellering and ``Buck'' Revell. According to the
Oliver North diaries, even before this final phase of the Bush-North apparatus there were
at least 14 meetings between North and the Bush Task Force's senior members Holloway,
Oakley and Allen, its principal consultant Terry Arnold, and its staff men Robert Earl and
Craig Coy. The North diaries from July 1985 through January 1986, show one meeting
with President Reagan, and four meetings with Vice President Bush: either the two alone,
North with Bush and Amiram Nir, or North with Bush and Donald Gregg. The Bush
counterterrorism apparatus had its own communications channels, and a global
antiterrorist computer network called Flashboard outside of all constitutional government
arrangements. Those opposed to the arming of terrorists, including cabinet members, had
no access to these communications.@s4@s8 This apparatus had responsibility for Iran
arms sales; the private funding of the Contras, from contributions, theft, dope-running;
the ``public diplomacy'' of Project Democracy to back these efforts; and
counterintelligence against other government agencies and against domestic opponents of
the policy.@s4@s9
January 28, 1986:
George Bush met with Oliver North and FDN Contra Political Director Adolfo Calero in
the Old Executive Office Building.@s5@s0 North and Calero would work together to
protect George Bush when the Contra supply effort blew apart in October 1986.
January 31, 1986: