EXCERPT OF G.O.P. DEBATE INVOLVING BUSH ON IRAN ARMS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-01448R000401580086-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 24, 2012
• Sequence Number: 86
• Publication Date: January 10, 1988
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STnT _
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/25 :CIA-RDP99-014488000401580086-7
Excerpt of G.O. .
Involving Bush on Iran Arms
DES MOINES. Jan. 9 -Following is an ex?
cerpt o(the Republican Presidential debate Fri?
dat~ last night, as recorded by The New York
Times. It involves questions by the moderator,
James Gannon, editor of The Des Moines Regis-
ter, and responses by Vice Prestdent Bush.
Q. Mr. Bush, you've been Vice President for
seven years. But it is hard to assess your role in
the Reagan Administration, what your judge-
ment was on key issues and what role you
played in shaping policy. You've refused to give
a full explanation of your role in the sale of
arms to Iran and the diversion of money to the
contras. You seem to be telling the American
people, in effect, 'Trust me; 1 did the right thing,
but I can't tell you what 1 did.' How can you ex-
pect their trust if you won't tell them plainly
what you thought, what you said, what you did.
at that time on those key issues?
A. Jim, contrary to the hypothesis of your
question, l have answered every question put to
me save one. And the one question is what did
you tell the Prestdent of the United States and I
shouldnt do that. AI didn't go out talking about
what he told the President at the depths of
Watergate. Bob didn't do it when he was na-
tionalchairman. Ididn't do it and I'm not going
to.
You've got a problem : the confidentiality be-
tween the President and the Vice President that
should remain solid. Now I've answered every
question. Now what I'd like to do tonight, since
your paper had a full page on this suggesting
that 1 didnt answer the question about diver
sion, is to ask you now to ask each one of these
who has been shooting at me to ask the question
and let me answer it, save the one.
Ftutds for the Contras
You asked about diversion. I didn't know
abou[ diversion of funds to the contras. The Con-
gress had an 8- to IO-million-dollar hearing.
They never suggested that I did. The Tower re-
port said that I didn't. And you, your paper to-
day, had that question raised as if I hadn't an-
swered it. And 1 resent it frankly. And l think
you owe me now, you owe it to me to ask me the
question that I haven't answered. You owe me
in fairness. All Right ask me the question.
Q. 1 want to ask you the question i haven't
heard you answer. George Shultz went to Con?
grass and said what he told the President and
satd, 'Mr. President, this is a bad policy; we
shouldn't do it.' Cap Weinberger told the Con?
grass that. They are n't disloyal to the Adminis-
tration. Why can't you?
A. Told the Congress what?
Q. Told the Congress that they told the Presi?
dent this was a bad policy and they were op-
posed to it.
~ ne Washington Pos. '
The New York Times __
The Washington Times
The Wall Street Journal
The Christian Science Monitor
New York Daily News
USA Today ___
The Chicago Tribune
Date -__ L~ _-~4N ~~
A. I supported the policy. 1 stood, as Poindex?
ter said, solidly for the policy and the policy
was: We've got to do better. We've got to look
over the the horizon to see if there isn't some-
thing that we can deaf with in [he interest of the
Persian Gult, in the interest of U.S.-Iran rela-
tions. Something better than dealing with this
madman Ayatollah Khomeini.
And the other part of it is, and here is where 1
probably erred, Jim. We were concerned 1
headed the C.LA. We trot reports tha fir. Bic- "
ey, now a mitt as the C.I.A. station chief
was betn tonur e~tt re~is~eni and the Vice
rest ant, certa nTy the President, bear the bur-
den of that more than anybody else. ltwe erred,
and i think we did in retrospect, looking back, a.
deal that wasn't supposed to be arms for hos-
tages proved to be that. But if we erred, we
erred on the side of trying to free Americans
that are held by terrorists.
Arms for the Hostages
And, yes, I'm sorry that things didn't work out
right. That it was proved later to be arms for
hostages. That the President was presented a
deal that wasn't arms for hostage. He made a
tough choice. He had some concerns about it. I
had some concerns about it. They have been re-
corded and I don't think it is very fair to say 1
have refused to respond to questions.
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/25 :CIA-RDP99-014488000401580086-7