“We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.” William Casey — CIA Director (1981-1987) “It is now very clear that there were two separate agreements, one the official agreement with Carter in Algeria, the other, a secret agreement with another party, which, it is now apparent, was Reagan. They made a deal with Reagan that the hostages should not be released until after Reagan became president. So, then in return, Reagan would give them arms. We have published documents which show that US arms were shipped, via Israel, in March, about 2 months after Reagan became president.” Former Iranian President Abolhassan Banisadr “My purpose was… to send a signal that the United States was prepared to replace the animosity between [the U.S. and Iran] with a new relationship… At the same time we undertook this initiative, we made clear that Iran must oppose all forms of international terrorism as a condition of progress in our relationship. The most significant step which Iran could take, we indicated, would be to use its influence in Lebanon to secure the release of all hostages held there.” US President Ronald Reagan — November 13 1986

William Joseph Casey (March 13, 1913 – May 6, 1987) was the Director of Central Intelligence from 1981 to 1987. In this capacity he oversaw the entire United States Intelligence Community and personally directed the Central Intelligence Agency. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

UPDATE (January 29 2020) — BELGA is the Belgian national news agency and leader supplier of news from Belgium. The agency describes itself as a trusted source of reliable news regarding events related to Belgium.

On August 26 2019, La Libre — one of the leading Belgian newspapers — published a piece written by BELGA regarding the infamous Belgian arms dealer Jacques Monsieur. [Jacques Monsieur n’a pas tenté de se soustraire à sa condamnation, selon ses avocats]

The piece reveals no new facts about the case. But one sentence caught my attention.

“[Jacques monsieur] avait été condamné aux Etats-Unis en 2010 dans un dossier lié à l’affaire Iran-Contra, qui concernait la vente illicite d’armes iraniennes à des groupes rebelles.” Translation: “[Jacques monsieur] was sentenced in the United States in 2010 in a case related to the Iran-Contra case, which concerned the illegal sale of Iranian weapons to rebel groups.”

This serious piece of disinformation deserves the Intel Today 2019 Fake News Award!

Allow me to explain…

The Iran-Contra Affair was a US operation, run directly from the White House, during which Israeli weapons were provided to Iran despite an arms embargo.

The profit of these arms sales was used to fund the Contras in Nicaragua despite strict prohibition by an Act of Congress (the Boland Amendment).

END of UPDATE

Casey suffered a cerebral seizure on December 15 1986. He resigned on January 29 1987 and died on May 6 1987, less than 24 hours after the first witness in Congressional hearings on the Iran–Contra affair named him as having assisted in providing arms to Nicaraguan rebels after Congress forbade such support.

In a 1987 book, Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA 1981–1987, Washington Post reporter and biographer Bob Woodward, who had interviewed Casey on a number of occasions for the biography, said that he had gained entry into Casey’s hospital room for a final, four-minute encounter.

According to Woodward, when Casey was asked if he knew about the diversion of funds to the Nicaraguan Contras, “His head jerked up hard. He stared, and finally nodded yes.”

Independent Counsel, Lawrence Walsh wrote:

“Independent Counsel obtained no documentary evidence showing Casey knew about or approved the diversion. The only direct testimony linking Casey to early knowledge of the diversion came from [Oliver] North.”

Iran – Contra Scandal

On November 3 1986, the Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa exposed the Iran–Contra scandal. Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo.

They hoped, thereby, to fund the Contras in Nicaragua while at the same time negotiating the release of several U.S. hostages.

Under the Boland Amendment, further funding of the Contras by the government had been prohibited by Congress.

This affair is usually regarded as one of the most important scandals in US modern history.

Crossfire Examines William Casey Controversy — December 12, 1986

Robert Novak and Tom Braden are joined by Max Hugel and William Corson. They discuss CIA Director William Casey’s role in the arms-for-hostages deal with Iran. The video quality is rather poor but the interview is worth watching….

REFERENCES

WILLIAM CASEY, EX-C.I.A. HEAD, IS DEAD AT 74 — NYT

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On This Day — CIA Director William Casey Resigns (January 29 1987)

On This Day — CIA Director William Casey Resigns (January 29 1987) [2020]