George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography - Get a Free Blog

Craig Fuller's memorandum said, in part:
1. SUMMARY. Mr. Nir indicated that he had briefed Prime Minister Peres and had been asked to
brief the V[ice] P[resident] by his White House contacts. He described the details of the efforts
from last year through the current period to gain the release of the U.S. hostages. He reviewed
what had been learned which was essentially that the radical group was the group that could
deliver. He reviewed the issues to be considered--namely that there needed to be ad [sic] decision
as to whether the items requested would be delivered in separate shipments or whether we would
continue to press for the release of the hostages prior to delivering the items in an amount agreed
to previously.
2. The VP's 25 minute meeting was arranged after Mr. Nir called Craig Fuller and requested the
meeting and after it was discussed with the VP by Fuller and North....
14. Nir described some of the lessons learned: `We are dealing with the most radical elements....
They can deliver ... that's for sure.... [W]e've learned they can deliver and the moderates
can't....@s6@s9
July 30, 1986:
The day after his Jerusalem summit with Amiram Nir, Vice President Bush conferred
with Oliver North. This meeting with North was never acknowledged by Bush until the
North diaries were released in May 1990.
Early September, 1986:
Retired Army Maj. Gen. John K. Singlaub sent a memo to Oliver North on the Contra
resupply effort under Felix Rodriguez. Singlaub warned North that Rodriguez was
boasting about having `` daily contact '' with George Bush's office. According to
Singlaub, this could `` damage President Reagan and the Republican Party. ''@s7@s0
The Scandal Breaks--On George Bush
October 5, 1986:
A C-123k cargo aircraft left El Salvador's Ilopango air base at 9:30 A.M., carrying ``
10,000 pounds of small arms and ammunition, consisting mainly of AK rifles and AK
ammunition, hand grenades, jungle boots. '' It was scheduled to make air drops to Contra
soldiers in Nicaragua.@s7@s1 The flight had been organized by elements of the CIA, the
Defense Department, and the National Security Council, coordinated by the Office of
Vice President George Bush. At that time, such arms resupply was prohibited under U.S.
law--prohibited by legislation which had been written to prevent precisely that type of
flight. The aircraft headed south along the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, turned east over
Costa Rica, then headed up north into Nicaraguan air space. As it descended toward the
point at which it was to drop the cargo, the plane was hit in the right engine and wing by
a ground-to-air missile. The wing burst into flames and broke up. Cargo handler Eugene
Hasenfus jumped out the left cargo door and opened his parachute. The other three crew