RIGHT PERSON, RIGHT PLACE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000403610005-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 27, 2012
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: November 25, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403610005-6
AX"U
_.( ON'A{R_ BOSTON GLOBE
26 November 1986
Right person, right place
STAT
By Stephen Kurkjian
Globe Staff
WASHINGTON - As described
by those who know him. Lt. Col.
Oliver L. North Jr. is the perfect
person to engineer a multination-
al scheme that would result in up
to $30 million in Iranian money
being secretly diverted to assist
the rebels fighting to overthrow
the Nicaraguan government.
The 43-year-old career Marine
officer, they say. has all the "right
stuff' - the intelligence, the fiery
personality and the bravado - to
try to pull off such a deal Involv-
ing jacked-up 'ces for American
arms and numbered Swiss bank
accounts.
And most of all he was in the
right position to pull it off: inside
the White House. As a deputy di-
rector for the National Security
Council, North was able to operate
free of the usual bureacratic re-
strictions that bind the conduct of
State Department diplomats and
unfettered by the congressional
oversight that binds covert action
by agents for the Central Intelli-
gence Agency.
As head of the NSC's political-
military affairs. North has been
involved in a wide range of foreign
hot spots for the Reagan adminis-
tration. Since the invasion of
Grenada in 1983, he has played a
role in providing support for the
rebels in Afghanistan and Angola.
and coordinated the capture of the
Achille Lauro terrorists. But, ac-
cording to congressional sources.
North's overriding concern since
joining the NSC has been coordi-
nating. if not directing. the Rea-
gan administration's support for
the Nicaraguan rebels. who are
known as contras.
North's role in the contra effort
during the nearly two-year
n -.vhich the United States
w.~ ''y prohibited from pro-
vid ne military aid for the
;nrras. = rte that prohibition,
there w~,s I'. I doubt during the
period :tbnut w` ..t the president
wants i to 1,- or he rebels: at or e
point earlier this year, Reagan in-
vited several of their leaders to the
White House and. grasping their
hands in a victory salute, de-
clared, "I am a contra."
With such gestures from Rea-
gan, North, according to congres-
sional sources, felt tree to coordi-
nate a private network of Ameri-
cans and others to provide finan-
cial resources for the contras. A
report prepared by the staff of
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) alleg
that North, assisted by severa
other former military officers, se
up the network that was used to
ship weapons and other military
equipment to the rebels.
Through a spokesperson at the
NSC, North has denied the
charges. Congressional sources
said receftly, however, that North
is scheduled to be questioned by
investigators from the Senate For-
eign Relations Committee about
the allegations and has retained
private counsel.
"Oliver Nc.rt h cares deeply
enough about the contra cause
that he would do anything. I re-
peat ar;vth;ng. to assist them,"
said an independent television
producer who had several meet-
ings with NortI1.lesl near in an ef-
fort to film a' ow on the cotrtras.
"I think he sa v1 Ir f as a
patriot in the truest sense." said
the producer. who asked that he
not be identified. "He was carry-?
ing out a secret mission for the
president because Congress
wouldn't let the president act for
himself."
But North's role n the contra
aid network began to leak out this
year as questions about the net-
work became the focus of numer-
ous news stories. Those questions
intensified last month after it was
reported that North's White House
office had received numerous
phone calls from the Salvador sale
house used by the airmen who
had been involved in the secret
mission, flying military supplies
to the contras inside Nicaragua.
While his tactics have been
widely criticized. North's reputa-
tion inside the White House and
his access to policy-making supe-
riors has been envied. Robert
McFarlane. former national secu-
rite adviser, whom North accom-
panied on a trip to Tehran last
July. has previously praised
North's abilities and described
him as "like a son." Also aboard
on that trip was retired Major
Gen. Richard Secord, who report-
edly played a key role in the con-
tra supply mission.
Congressional sources also
said esterda that North main-
tained close links to oicia s in-
side the CIA, chiefl throw t -th NSC assistants, , incent_Cannis
Craro and Marine Lt. Col. Robert
Eafle.
A native of San Antonio. North
graduated from the US Naval
Academy. He served as a Marine
platoon and company commander
in Vietnam, participating in con-
ventional and unconventional
warfare, according to his official
1983 biography. While in Viet-
nam, he was awarded the Silver
Star and two Purple Hearts. He
has taught at the FBI Academy
and at the Marine Corps Basic
School. Before coming to the NSC.
he served in policy and planning
for the Marines.
North's activities inside the
White House have not all been
shrouded in secrecy. In one speech
he gave on the administration's
foreign policy, he said that the
United States should cease talking
"tough" and begin a policy of qui-
et action. Also, he periodically par-
ticipated in background briefings
for corporate leaders about the
Reagan administration's role in
Central America.
One person who attended sev-
eral of the sessions said that
North's understanding of the for-
eign policy implications and his
grasp of the military detail over-
shadowed the speeches given that
day on the same subject by McFar-
lane. Secretary of State George
Shultz and Defense Secretary Cas-
par Weinberger.
"It was very strange to me that
North knew as much as he did."
said one businessman In atten-
dance. "He seemed to be the one in
command, not all these others."
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403610005-6