'MISTAKES WERE MADE,' BUSH ADMITS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00587R000100710015-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 16, 2011
• Sequence Number: 15
• Publication Date: December 4, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/03/16 :CIA-RDP91-005878000100710015-9
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By Mary Belcher
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Vice President George Bush said
yesterday that mistakes were
"clearly" made in selling U.S. arms
to Iran.
But he defended the secret policy
as one of "simple human hope" for
the release of American hostages in
Lebanon.
Mr. Bush also denied that he knew
or approved of the diversion of arms
sales proceeds to Nicaraguan resis-
tance forces, which he said has
"clouded" debate over the Iran con-
troversy.
Some observers believed that the
speech -the vice president's first
public appearance since news of the
arms sales surfaced early last
month -distanced Mr. Bush from
Mc Reagan in the growing contro-
versy. However, the president read
and approved the speech before it
was delivered, according to Marlin
Fitzwater, spokesman for Mr. Bush.
"Clearly mistakes were made;'
the vice president said, going be-
yond Mr. Reagan's statement last
week that the matter raised "serious
questions of propriety."
The president has refused to
characterize -the secret its sales
as a mistaken policy, even though the
effort has led to the worst credibility
crisis of his political career.
lair. Bush said the debate over the
Iranian initiative has been "clouded
by the way in which the president's
goals were executed:'
He also went much further than
other administration officials in ac-
knowledging that "there can be no
denying that our credibility has
been damaged by this entire episode
and its aftermath:'
Nevertheless, Mr. Bush told the
American Enterprise Institute, "I
lutely convinced in his awn mind he
did not swap arms for hostages:'
Despite a "mutual hatred" be-
tween Americans and Iranians, the
vice president said, "Simple human
hope explains it [the arms salesl bet-
ter than anything else.
"The president hoped that we
could open a channel that would
serve the interests of the U.S. and
our allies in a variety of ways;' he
said. "Call it leadership, give 20-20
hindsight and call it a mistaken tac-
tic if you want to, it was risky but
potentially of long-term value:'
The president said in a nationally
televised speech Nov. 13 that the
arms sales were made as a gesture
of good faith to "moderate" Iranian
factions believed to have influence
over terrorist groups holding Amer-
ican hostages in Beirut. The pres-
ident said the secret overtures did
not contradict his publicly stated re-
fusal to give in to terrorist demands
or the longstanding U.S. embargo on
arms sales to Iran.
Public furor over the deal esca-
lateddramatically last week with the
revelation that as much as $30 mil-
lion in proceeds from the sales had
been di~~erted, through Swiss bank
account;, to Nicaragua's Contra reb-
els.
n other develo ments related to
the scandal vester a , t e IA took
the unusua step o pu tc v envine
published reports that it had trans-
ferredthe Iran arms proceeds to the
Nicaraguan reststance and other
ants-cam ommuntst tnsur enctes.
"T e only funds related to the
Iran ro ram that aased throu h
a enc ? an s were the $12 million
owe tote enta on for th arm "
at A s okesman Geor a Lauder.
e C A "receive no pro i s
from an tran acti n with the Iran-
ians, nor were any funds that passed
through aeencv hands diverted to
the Contras or any other covert ac-
lion ro ram" 1VIr. Lauder said.
A statement was ac ed up
b a sensor administration '~ tc~a ,
w o ca ed the reports o IA fund
transters "pure disinformation:'
''T a agency has strict ac-
coun a l t y, t o o ~cta said.
' ere is no co-mm in o unds."
owever, a government
source told The Associated Press
that millions of dollars diverted
from Iranian arms sales to Nicara-
guan- rebels went through a Swiss
bank account controlled by the CIA
- an account also used to handle
covert assistance to the Afghan reb-
els.
'['he source said the use of the
account "will be the subject of the
investigation" of congressional
probes and the independent counsel
Attorney General Edwin Meese III
is expected to seek.
At the time the funds were di-
verted earlier this year, the U.S. gov-
ernment and specifically the CIA
were barred from giving military
aid to the Contras.
On Nov 25, Mr. Meese said pro-
ceeds of the Iranian arms sales ex-
ceedingthe amount owed the Penta-
gon were transferred to Swiss bank
accounts controlled by Contra re-
presentatives.
The Justice Department, at least
nine congressional committees and
a presidentially appointed Special
Review Board have launched inves-
tigations into the Iranian-
Nicaraguanconnection to determine
whether administration officials
broke the law in funneling aid to the
rebels.
"IWo days ago, Mr. Reagan en-
dorsed NIr. Meese's decision to ask
for acourt-appointed special coun-
sel to investigate the matter.
Speaking yesterday to a group of
women entrepreneurs, the pres-
ident said, "I am determined to get
to the bottom of this matter and to
get all the facts out:'
Mr. Bush said that when the "full
truth" becomes known and Ameri-
cans understand that "this strong
and honest president moves swiftly
to correct what might have been
wrong, then a forgiving American
people - in spite of their misgivings
about Iran and weapons and diverted
funds -will say, 'Our president told
the truth. He took action. Let's go
forward together.' "
1VIr. ;Vieese has said that Lt. Col.
Oliver North, the National Security
Council staff member fixed last
week, was the only official with "pre-
cise" knowledge of the diversion of
funds to Nicaraguan rebels.
STAT
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" Mi-. Meese said Vice. Adm. John
Poindexter, who resigned as the
president's national security adviser
last week, had general knowledge of
the matter.
In addition, former National Secu-
rity Adviser Robert ~1cFarlane, who
initiated contacts with Iran in
mid-1985 and made several trips to
Iran following his December 1985
resignation, has acknowledged he
knew of the Nicaragua funding,
which occurred earlier this year.
~Ir. Reagan, ~Ir. Bush, White
House Chief of Staff Donald Regan
and members of the president's
Cabinet have denied knowing any-
thingabout the diversion of funds.
"I'd like to say something abot}t
my own role in all this;' Mr. Bush
said yesterday. "I was aware of our
Iran initiative and I support the
president's decision. ,
"I was not aware of and oppose
anv diversion of funds, anv ransom
payments, or any circumvention of
the will of the Congress and the law
of the United States of America;' he
said.
The political fallout from the
Iranian crisis could hurt Mr. Bush's
bid for the Republican presidential
nomination in 19$8. But, he said yes-
terday, "Let the chips fall where they
may.
"Politics do not matter; personal-
ities do not matter; those who
haven't served the president well
don't matter," Mr Bush said. Instead,
he said, foreign policy must not bE
allowed to "become paralyzed by
distraction:'
The vice president said U.S. sup-
port for Nicaraguan resistance
forces should "stand on its own mei-
its, not hang on events related tb
Iran. The Marxist-Leninist regime
in Managua must not benefit from
the errors of some people in Wash-
ington, D.C:' ,
Meanwhile, an ABC News poll re-
leased yesterday showed that nearly
half of alt Americans believe the.
president is not telling the full truth
about the Iranian-arms, Contra.
funding deal.
Forty-nine percent of SOS
Americans polled believe that Mf'
Reagan has been lying and ~.
percent believe he is telling thy'
truth.
However, the percentage of peter
ple who believe the president has irk.
creased sharply from 37 percent oft"
Nov. 25, when it was disclosed that.
funds had been transferred to Nica-
raguan rebels.
Nearly halt of those polled said
1~ir. Reagan should resign if he's ly-.
ing. ,
? This article is based in part otr
wire service reports. ?~
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