Theodore Shackley
Encyclopedia
Theodore G. "Ted" Shackley, Jr. (July 16, 1927 - December 9, 2002) was an American CIA officer involved in many important and controversial CIA operations during the 1960s and 1970s. He is one of the most decorated CIA officers. He was commonly known as the "Blond Ghost" due to his dislike of being photographed.
, as well as the Cuban Project
(also known as Operation Mongoose), which he directed. He was also said to be the director of the "Phoenix Program
" during the Vietnam War
, as well as the CIA station chief in Laos
between 1966–1968, and Saigon station chief from 1968 through February 1972. In 1976, he was appointed Associate Deputy Director for Operations, and was in charge of the CIA's worldwide covert operations.
Shackley is perhaps best known for his involvement in CIA "Black Operations
", such as "Phoenix", "Mongoose" and "Operation Cherry".
Shackley died on December 9, 2002, after a long struggle with cancer
. He was 75 years old.
. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 23, 1945 at Springfield, Massachusetts
as a private, eventually becoming part of the Allied Occupation Force in Germany
on completion of basic training
. Due to his knowledge of the Polish language
(his mother was a Polish immigrant), he became a recruit
of U.S. Army Counter Intelligence. As an Army recruit he studied at the University of Maryland
, and returned to Germany as a 2nd Lieutenant
in 1951. Again he served as a member of Army Counter Intelligence, where his linguistic skills were used in the recruitment of Polish Agents
. It was at this time that he was recruited by the CIA, and in 1953 he was assigned to work under William Harvey
at the CIA's Berlin
Base.
. While heading the CIA office (known as "JMWAVE
") shortly after the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion
, Shackley dealt with operations in Cuba
(alongside Edward Lansdale
). JMWAVE employed more than 200 CIA officers, who handled approximately 2,000 Cuban agents. These included the famous "Operation Mongoose" (aka "The Cuban Project"). The aim of this was to "help Cubans (exiles) overthrow the Communist regime" (of Fidel Castro
Ruz). During this period as Miami Station Chief, Shackley was in charge of about 400 agents and general operatives (as well as a huge flotilla of boats), and his tenure there encompassed the Cuban Missile Crisis
of October 1962.
, becoming the CIA station chief in Laos
between 1966–1968, where he directed the CIA's secret war of pitting the Hmong
villagers against Vietcong who used the Ho Chi Minh Trail
. He also helped coordinate local army efforts against the Pathet Lao
and North Vietnamese Army in the northern regions of Laos.
In 1968, he then moved on to become station chief for Vietnam
(in what was then Saigon). Despite popular opinion, Shackley did not in fact run the Phoenix Program
. Phoenix was a secret assassination campaign aimed at members of the Viet Cong infrastructure
. Allegations that thousands of civilians were killed are not supported by historical evidence. In 1970, after the US Bureau of Narcotics' "Operation Eagle" busted a drug-running scheme, several of the Cuban-Americans involved in the Bay of Pigs Invasion came to work for Shackley and Donald Gregg
in Vietnam, including Felix Rodriguez
. The Phoenix Program was eventually handed over to the U.S. and South Vietnamese armies. Shackley served in Vietnam through February 1972 when he returned to Langley, Virginia
.
Division". When Shackley took over the division, one mission for him was "regime change" in Chile (United States intervention in Chile
/ Project FUBELT
).
Whilst in charge of the CIA's Western Hemisphere Division, one of Shackley's jobs was to discredit an ex-CIA officer believed to have become under control of the KGB
, Philip Agee
, who was writing an "expose" on the CIA entitled Inside The Company. After Shackley's best efforts to discredit Agee, the parts of the book that would have caused most damage to the reputation of the CIA were not included.
. Turner disapproved of Shackley’s close involvement with agent Edwin P. Wilson
and an ex-CIA employee, Frank Terpil. In 1982, Wilson was later convicted for selling 22 tons of "Composition 4" plastic explosive
to Muammar al-Gaddafi
's Libya
, and also on the charge of exporting guns. On October 29 2003, the conviction on the explosives charge was reversed. However, in the midst of that scandal, in December 1977 Shackley was relieved of his deputy directorship, and when the Jimmy Carter
administration announced wide cuts in the CIA's network of officers and informants, Shackley finally left the organization.
continued to surround Shackley over alleged involvement in the alleged "October Surprise
" of 1980, and later the "Iran-Contra" affair of the mid 1980s.
He had hoped to return to the agency, and according to Rafael Quintero
, during the 1980 presidential campaign, Shackley met Bush almost every week, and his wife, Hazel, also campaigned for Bush.
, a diplomat
attached to the U.S. Embassy in Beirut
was kidnapped by the Hezbollah, a fundamentalist
Shiite group with strong links to the Khomeini regime. Buckley was tortured, and it was soon discovered that he was the CIA station chief in Beirut.
William Casey asked Shackley for help in obtaining Buckley's freedom. Shackley was horrified when he discovered that Buckley had been captured. Buckley had been a member of Shackley's Secret Team.
Three weeks after Buckley's disappearance, President Ronald Reagan
signed the National Security Decision Directive 138. This directive was drafted by Oliver North
, and outlined plans on how to get the American hostages released from Iran
, and to "neutralize" terrorist threats from countries such as Nicaragua
. This new secret counterterrorist task force was to be headed by Shackley’s old friend, General Richard Secord
. This was the beginning of the Iran-Contra deal.
In November 1985, Shackley traveled to Hamburg
where he met General Manucher Hashemi, the former head of SAVAK's
counterintelligence division at the Atlantic Hotel. Also at the meeting on 22 November was Manuchehr Ghorbanifar. According to the report of this meeting that Shackley sent to the CIA, Ghorbanifar had "fantastic" contacts with Iran.
At the meeting Shackley told Hashemi and Ghorbanifar that the United States
was willing to discuss arms shipments in exchange for the four Americans kidnapped in Lebanon
. The problem with the proposed deal was that William Francis Buckley was already dead (he had died of a heart attack while being torture
d).
Shackley recruited some of the former members of his CIA Secret Team to help him with these arm deals. This included Thomas G. Clines
, Rafael Quintero
, Ricardo Chavez and Edwin Wilson of API Distributors. Also involved was Carl Elmer Jenkins
and Gene Wheaton of National Air. The plan was to use National Air to transport weapon
s.
On October 5, 1986, a Sandinista patrol in Nicaragua shot down a C-123K cargo plane that was supplying the Contras. Eugene Hasenfus
, an Air America veteran, survived the crash and told his captors that he thought the CIA was behind the operation. This resulted in journalist
s being able to identify Rafael Quintero
and Felix Rodriguez
as the two Cuban-Americans mentioned by Hasenfus. It gradually emerged that Thomas G. Clines
, Oliver North
, Edwin P. Wilson
and Richard Secord
were also involved in this conspiracy to provide arms to the Contras.
On December 12, 1986, Daniel Sheehan
submitted to the court an affidavit detailing the Irangate scandal. He also claimed that Shackley and Thomas Clines were running a private assassination program that had evolved from projects they ran while working for the CIA. Others named as being part of this assassination team included Rafael Quintero
, Richard Secord
, Felix Rodriguez
and Albert Hakim
. It later emerged that Gene Wheaton and Carl E. Jenkins were the two main sources for this affidavit
The Edwin Wilson Affair
United States intervention in Chile
October Surprise
Overview
In the early 1960s, Shackley's work included being station chief in Miami, during the period of the Cuban Missile CrisisCuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
, as well as the Cuban Project
Cuban Project
The Cuban Project was a program of Central Intelligence Agency covert operations developed during the early years of the administration of President of the United States John F. Kennedy...
(also known as Operation Mongoose), which he directed. He was also said to be the director of the "Phoenix Program
Phoenix Program
The Phoenix Program |phoenix]]) was a controversial counterinsurgency program designed, coordinated, and executed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency , United States special operations forces, and the Republic of Vietnam's security apparatus during the Vietnam War that operated...
" during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, as well as the CIA station chief in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
between 1966–1968, and Saigon station chief from 1968 through February 1972. In 1976, he was appointed Associate Deputy Director for Operations, and was in charge of the CIA's worldwide covert operations.
Shackley is perhaps best known for his involvement in CIA "Black Operations
Black op
A black operation or black op is a covert operation typically involving activities that are highly clandestine and often outside of standard military protocol or even against the law.-Origins:...
", such as "Phoenix", "Mongoose" and "Operation Cherry".
Shackley died on December 9, 2002, after a long struggle with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. He was 75 years old.
Early years
Shackley was born on July 16, 1927, and raised in West Palm Beach, FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 23, 1945 at Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
as a private, eventually becoming part of the Allied Occupation Force in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on completion of basic training
Basic Training
Basic Training may refer to:* Basic Training, a 1971 American documentary directed by Frederick Wiseman* Basic Training , an American sex comedy* Recruit training...
. Due to his knowledge of the Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
(his mother was a Polish immigrant), he became a recruit
Army recruit
Recruit or army recruit is a term often colloquially used to refer to the lowest military rank in various armed services. It usually implies that the soldier so labeled has not yet completed basic training....
of U.S. Army Counter Intelligence. As an Army recruit he studied at the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
, and returned to Germany as a 2nd Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in 1951. Again he served as a member of Army Counter Intelligence, where his linguistic skills were used in the recruitment of Polish Agents
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
. It was at this time that he was recruited by the CIA, and in 1953 he was assigned to work under William Harvey
William King Harvey
William King "Bill" Harvey was a Central Intelligence Agency officer, best known for his role in Operation Mongoose. He was known as "America's James Bond."...
at the CIA's Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
Base.
Miami and the Cuban crisis
During the period (1962–1965), Shackley was station chief in Miami, FloridaMiami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. While heading the CIA office (known as "JMWAVE
JMWAVE
JMWAVE or JM/WAVE or JM WAVE was the codename for a major secret United States covert operations and intelligence gathering station operated by the CIA from 1961 until 1968...
") shortly after the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months...
, Shackley dealt with operations in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
(alongside Edward Lansdale
Edward Lansdale
Edward Geary Lansdale was a United States Air Force officer who served in the Office of Strategic Services and the Central Intelligence Agency. He rose to the rank of Major General and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in 1963. He was an early proponent of more aggressive US actions in...
). JMWAVE employed more than 200 CIA officers, who handled approximately 2,000 Cuban agents. These included the famous "Operation Mongoose" (aka "The Cuban Project"). The aim of this was to "help Cubans (exiles) overthrow the Communist regime" (of Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
Ruz). During this period as Miami Station Chief, Shackley was in charge of about 400 agents and general operatives (as well as a huge flotilla of boats), and his tenure there encompassed the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
of October 1962.
Vietnam, Laos and the "Phoenix Program"
In 1966, Shackley moved on to the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, becoming the CIA station chief in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
between 1966–1968, where he directed the CIA's secret war of pitting the Hmong
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
villagers against Vietcong who used the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Ho Chi Minh trail
The Ho Chi Minh trail was a logistical system that ran from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to the Republic of Vietnam through the neighboring kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia...
. He also helped coordinate local army efforts against the Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
and North Vietnamese Army in the northern regions of Laos.
In 1968, he then moved on to become station chief for Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
(in what was then Saigon). Despite popular opinion, Shackley did not in fact run the Phoenix Program
Phoenix Program
The Phoenix Program |phoenix]]) was a controversial counterinsurgency program designed, coordinated, and executed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency , United States special operations forces, and the Republic of Vietnam's security apparatus during the Vietnam War that operated...
. Phoenix was a secret assassination campaign aimed at members of the Viet Cong infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
. Allegations that thousands of civilians were killed are not supported by historical evidence. In 1970, after the US Bureau of Narcotics' "Operation Eagle" busted a drug-running scheme, several of the Cuban-Americans involved in the Bay of Pigs Invasion came to work for Shackley and Donald Gregg
Donald Gregg
-Personal history:Gregg worked for the CIA for 31 years, from 1951-1982. After graduating from high school he enlisted in the military and received training as a cryptanalyst. He then attended Williams College, in Williamstown, MA, until 1951. Upon his graduation, he was recruited by the CIA...
in Vietnam, including Felix Rodriguez
Félix Rodríguez (Central Intelligence Agency)
Félix Ismael Rodríguez Mendigutia is a former Central Intelligence Agency officer infamous for his involvement in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, in the interrogation and execution of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara and his ties to George H. W. Bush during the Iran-Contra Affair...
. The Phoenix Program was eventually handed over to the U.S. and South Vietnamese armies. Shackley served in Vietnam through February 1972 when he returned to Langley, Virginia
Langley, Virginia
Langley is an unincorporated community in the census-designated place of McLean in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States.The community was essentially absorbed into McLean many years ago, although there is still a Langley High School...
.
Western Hemisphere Division and Chile
From 1972, Shackley ran the CIA's "Western HemisphereWestern Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...
Division". When Shackley took over the division, one mission for him was "regime change" in Chile (United States intervention in Chile
United States intervention in Chile
The United States intervention in Chilean politics started during the War of Chilean Independence. The influence of the United States of America in both the economic and the political arenas of Chile has gradually increased over the almost two centuries since, and continues to be...
/ Project FUBELT
Project FUBELT
Project FUBELT is the code name for the secret Central Intelligence Agency operations that were to prevent Salvador Allende rise to power before his confirmation, and promote a military coup in Chile....
).
Whilst in charge of the CIA's Western Hemisphere Division, one of Shackley's jobs was to discredit an ex-CIA officer believed to have become under control of the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
, Philip Agee
Philip Agee
Philip Burnett Franklin Agee was a Central Intelligence Agency case officer and writer, best known as author of the 1975 book, Inside the Company: CIA Diary, detailing his experiences in the CIA. Agee joined the CIA in 1957, and over the following decade had postings in Washington, D.C., Ecuador,...
, who was writing an "expose" on the CIA entitled Inside The Company. After Shackley's best efforts to discredit Agee, the parts of the book that would have caused most damage to the reputation of the CIA were not included.
Deputy Director of Covert Operations
In May 1976, Shackley was made Deputy Director of Covert Operations, serving under CIA director George H.W. Bush, before officially retiring from the organization in 1979. However, it has been widely reported that in reality he was forced out of the organization by Bush's successor as Director, Stansfield TurnerStansfield Turner
Stansfield M. Turner is a retired Admiral and former Director of Central Intelligence. He is currently a senior research scholar at the University of Maryland, College Park School of Public Policy....
. Turner disapproved of Shackley’s close involvement with agent Edwin P. Wilson
Edwin P. Wilson
Edwin P. Wilson was a former CIA officer who was convicted of illegally selling weapons to Libya. It was later found that the United States Department of Justice and the CIA had covered up evidence in the case.-Early life:...
and an ex-CIA employee, Frank Terpil. In 1982, Wilson was later convicted for selling 22 tons of "Composition 4" plastic explosive
Plastic explosive
Plastic explosive is a specialised form of explosive material. It is a soft and hand moldable solid material. Plastic explosives are properly known as putty explosives within the field of explosives engineering....
to Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
's Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, and also on the charge of exporting guns. On October 29 2003, the conviction on the explosives charge was reversed. However, in the midst of that scandal, in December 1977 Shackley was relieved of his deputy directorship, and when the Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
administration announced wide cuts in the CIA's network of officers and informants, Shackley finally left the organization.
October Surprise
Despite his retirement in 1979, controversyControversy
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion. The word was coined from the Latin controversia, as a composite of controversus – "turned in an opposite direction," from contra – "against" – and vertere – to turn, or versus , hence, "to turn...
continued to surround Shackley over alleged involvement in the alleged "October Surprise
October surprise
In American political jargon, an October surprise is a news event with the potential to influence the outcome of an election, particularly one for the U.S. presidency...
" of 1980, and later the "Iran-Contra" affair of the mid 1980s.
He had hoped to return to the agency, and according to Rafael Quintero
Rafael Quintero
Rafael "Chi Chi" Quintero Ibaria was a CIA operative, who was born in Camagüey Province of Cuba and died in Baltimore, Maryland....
, during the 1980 presidential campaign, Shackley met Bush almost every week, and his wife, Hazel, also campaigned for Bush.
Iran-Contra Affair
On 16 March 1984, William Francis BuckleyWilliam Francis Buckley
William Francis Buckley was a United States Army officer and a Paramilitary Operations Officer in the Special Activities Division of the CIA. He died on or around June 3, 1985 while in the custody of Hezbollah...
, a diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
attached to the U.S. Embassy in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
was kidnapped by the Hezbollah, a fundamentalist
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
Shiite group with strong links to the Khomeini regime. Buckley was tortured, and it was soon discovered that he was the CIA station chief in Beirut.
William Casey asked Shackley for help in obtaining Buckley's freedom. Shackley was horrified when he discovered that Buckley had been captured. Buckley had been a member of Shackley's Secret Team.
Three weeks after Buckley's disappearance, President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
signed the National Security Decision Directive 138. This directive was drafted by Oliver North
Oliver North
Oliver Laurence North is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a New York Times best-selling author....
, and outlined plans on how to get the American hostages released from Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, and to "neutralize" terrorist threats from countries such as Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. This new secret counterterrorist task force was to be headed by Shackley’s old friend, General Richard Secord
Richard Secord
Major General Richard V. Secord, Retired , is a United States Air Force officer convicted for his involvement with the Iran-Contra scandal only to be exonerated after a 1990 Supreme Court case found the statute used to be illegal....
. This was the beginning of the Iran-Contra deal.
In November 1985, Shackley traveled to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
where he met General Manucher Hashemi, the former head of SAVAK's
SAVAK
SAVAK was the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service established by Iran's Mohammad Reza Shah on the recommendation of the British Government and with the help of the United States' Central Intelligence Agency SAVAK (Persian: ساواک, short for سازمان اطلاعات و امنیت کشور...
counterintelligence division at the Atlantic Hotel. Also at the meeting on 22 November was Manuchehr Ghorbanifar. According to the report of this meeting that Shackley sent to the CIA, Ghorbanifar had "fantastic" contacts with Iran.
At the meeting Shackley told Hashemi and Ghorbanifar that the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was willing to discuss arms shipments in exchange for the four Americans kidnapped in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. The problem with the proposed deal was that William Francis Buckley was already dead (he had died of a heart attack while being torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d).
Shackley recruited some of the former members of his CIA Secret Team to help him with these arm deals. This included Thomas G. Clines
Thomas G. Clines
Thomas G. Clines was a Central Intelligence Agency covert operations agent who was a prominent figure in the Iran-Contra Affair.-CIA career:As a CIA agent, between 1961–1962, Clines was involved in covert operations in Cuba....
, Rafael Quintero
Rafael Quintero
Rafael "Chi Chi" Quintero Ibaria was a CIA operative, who was born in Camagüey Province of Cuba and died in Baltimore, Maryland....
, Ricardo Chavez and Edwin Wilson of API Distributors. Also involved was Carl Elmer Jenkins
Carl Elmer Jenkins
Carl Elmer Jenkins is a retired Central Intelligence Agency officer.- Early background :Jenkins was born in Louisiana and joined the United States Marine Corps during World War II, becoming a commissioned officer in 1948....
and Gene Wheaton of National Air. The plan was to use National Air to transport weapon
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
s.
On October 5, 1986, a Sandinista patrol in Nicaragua shot down a C-123K cargo plane that was supplying the Contras. Eugene Hasenfus
Eugene Hasenfus
Eugene H. Hasenfus is a United States citizen who was alleged by Nicaragua Sandinista authorities to be employed by the U.S...
, an Air America veteran, survived the crash and told his captors that he thought the CIA was behind the operation. This resulted in journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
s being able to identify Rafael Quintero
Rafael Quintero
Rafael "Chi Chi" Quintero Ibaria was a CIA operative, who was born in Camagüey Province of Cuba and died in Baltimore, Maryland....
and Felix Rodriguez
Félix Rodríguez (Central Intelligence Agency)
Félix Ismael Rodríguez Mendigutia is a former Central Intelligence Agency officer infamous for his involvement in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, in the interrogation and execution of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara and his ties to George H. W. Bush during the Iran-Contra Affair...
as the two Cuban-Americans mentioned by Hasenfus. It gradually emerged that Thomas G. Clines
Thomas G. Clines
Thomas G. Clines was a Central Intelligence Agency covert operations agent who was a prominent figure in the Iran-Contra Affair.-CIA career:As a CIA agent, between 1961–1962, Clines was involved in covert operations in Cuba....
, Oliver North
Oliver North
Oliver Laurence North is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a New York Times best-selling author....
, Edwin P. Wilson
Edwin P. Wilson
Edwin P. Wilson was a former CIA officer who was convicted of illegally selling weapons to Libya. It was later found that the United States Department of Justice and the CIA had covered up evidence in the case.-Early life:...
and Richard Secord
Richard Secord
Major General Richard V. Secord, Retired , is a United States Air Force officer convicted for his involvement with the Iran-Contra scandal only to be exonerated after a 1990 Supreme Court case found the statute used to be illegal....
were also involved in this conspiracy to provide arms to the Contras.
On December 12, 1986, Daniel Sheehan
Daniel Sheehan
Daniel Sheehan may refer to:* D. D. Sheehan , Irish nationalist and author* Daniel Joseph Sheehan , son of D. D. Sheehan, Irish aviator...
submitted to the court an affidavit detailing the Irangate scandal. He also claimed that Shackley and Thomas Clines were running a private assassination program that had evolved from projects they ran while working for the CIA. Others named as being part of this assassination team included Rafael Quintero
Rafael Quintero
Rafael "Chi Chi" Quintero Ibaria was a CIA operative, who was born in Camagüey Province of Cuba and died in Baltimore, Maryland....
, Richard Secord
Richard Secord
Major General Richard V. Secord, Retired , is a United States Air Force officer convicted for his involvement with the Iran-Contra scandal only to be exonerated after a 1990 Supreme Court case found the statute used to be illegal....
, Felix Rodriguez
Félix Rodríguez (Central Intelligence Agency)
Félix Ismael Rodríguez Mendigutia is a former Central Intelligence Agency officer infamous for his involvement in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, in the interrogation and execution of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara and his ties to George H. W. Bush during the Iran-Contra Affair...
and Albert Hakim
Albert Hakim
Albert Hakim was an Iranian businessman and a figure in the Iran-Contra affair.Born in Iran, Hakim attended California Polytechnic Institute for 3 years, beginning in 1955. Back in Iran, he established an export business specializing in advanced technologies, and in avoiding export restrictions...
. It later emerged that Gene Wheaton and Carl E. Jenkins were the two main sources for this affidavit
External links
- Historical Militaria obituary for Ted Shackley
- Blond Ghost by David Corn (extensive review of David Corn's Shackley biography)
The Edwin Wilson Affair
- Opinion on Conviction (PDF) US District Judges opinion on the Wilson Conviction
- The CIA Lied About Edwin Wilson.
- Edwin Wilson: America's Man In The Iron Mask.
United States intervention in Chile
October Surprise