Iran Contra

(Newser) - Robert McFarlane, a national security adviser to President Ronald Reagan who pleaded guilty to four counts in the Iran-contra scandal, has died. He was 84. The son of a congressman, McFarlane was a lieutenant colonel in the Marines and decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War before serving in congressional...

(Newser) - John McCain has past connections to a group that supplied aid to guerrillas seeking to overthrow the leftist government of Nicaragua in the Iran-Contra affair. The US Council for World Freedom was part of an international organization linked to former Nazi collaborators and ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America. Its...

(Newser) - John McCain today hit Barack Obama harder than ever, Talking Points Memo notes, saying the Democrat’s willingness to talk with Iran proves he “does not have the knowledge, the experience, the background to make the kind of judgments that are necessary to preserve this nation’s security.”...

(Newser) - President Bush has secretly approved a CIA "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government, ABC reports. Sources tell ABC the covert mission deploys propaganda, misinformation, and financial manipulation. A retired senior CIA official says economic pressure may be the most effective means to curb Iran's nuclear buildup.