November 3, 1986 was when it all began. The Lebanese newspaper Ash-Shiraa printed a publication saying that the Reagan administration secretly sold arms to Iran in order to secure the release of seven American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran-Contra_Affair). Then on November 21 National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary began shredding documents connecting them and others to the scandal also US Attorney General Edwin Meese admitted that profits from covert weapons sales to Iran were illegally diverted to the anti-Communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua. After light was shined on these accusations the Reagan administration had a lot of explaining to do.
             The Contra portion of the Iran-Contra Affair is just this. The United States Central Intelligence Agency armed and trained an anti-Sandinista Guerrilla force based in the neighboring countries of Honduras and Costa Rica called the "Contras." These Contras began a series of terrorist raids in Nicaragua on the communist party, and the death toll mounted. A large amount of opposition and protests by European powers soon followed. Congress then banned any further US financial or military assistance to the Contras in legislation titled the Boland amendment. ("Iran-Contra Affair") This is where the deception started. The Reagan administration knew that if their aid to the Contras stopped, it would mean the end of the Contras (Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia Deluxe). Reagan called together a small planning staff to "keep the Contras together, body and soul" regardless of the legislation. Detailed to the NSC from the marines, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North was given the responsibility to establish a secret network to arm the Contras. Dozens of former CIA and retired military personnel were recruited to train the Contras and fly weapons into Central America. At first, Am
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