The consequences of the failed Iran-Contra investigations have been long-lasting and profound. Not only did George H.W. Bush manage to get elected president in 1988 under the false claim that he had been "out of the loop" on the scandal, but the failure to hold him accountable in 1993 opened the door to the White House eight years later for his son, George W. Bush.
George W. Bush's imperial presidency (and its costly "war on terror") would have been virtually unthinkable if the full truth had been known about George H.W. Bush regarding Iran-Contra. Nor would it have been likely that the Republicans could have succeeded in elevating Ronald Reagan to his present iconic status.
And the residual impact of Iran-Contra is not over. The prospects for a Republican restoration seem strong for Election 2012, with the contenders (except for Rep. Ron Paul) advocating a Reaganesque, tough-guy, imperial foreign policy.
Though President Barack Obama has pursued more continuity with George W. Bush's presidency than change, the Democrat is still pilloried by Republicans for "apologizing for America." Sometimes, he's labeled "apologist-in-chief," an echo of the Reagan-era demonizing of Americans who looked honestly at the nation's mistakes, as those who would "blame America first."
The quarter century since the Iran-Contra scandal broke (and was then swept under the rug) has turned out to be a lost opportunity for Americans who long for a return to a democratic Republic and an end to a bloody and costly Empire.
Cross-posted from Consortium NewsNext Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
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