Tower Commission
Encyclopedia
Commissioned on November 26, 1986 by American President Ronald Reagan
, the Tower Commission was in response to the Iran Contra scandal. Taking effect on December 1, Reagan appointed Republican
and former Senator John Tower
of Texas
, former Secretary of State Edmund Muskie
, and former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft
.
The commission's report "held Reagan accountable for a lax managerial style and aloofness from policy detail."
Oliver North
, John Poindexter
, Caspar Weinberger
, and others were also implicated.
A major result of the Tower Commission was the consensus that Reagan should have listened to his National Security Advisor more, thereby placing more power in the hands of that chair. The National Security Advisor was to be seen as an "honest broker" and not someone who would use his position to further his political agenda.
Summarised, the main findings showed that "Using the Contras as a front, and against international law, and US law, weapons were sold, using Israel
as intermediaries, to Iran
, during the brutal Iran-Iraq war
. The US was also supplying weapons to Iraq, including ingredients for nerve gas, mustard gas and other chemical weapons."
The Great War for Civilisation, The Conquest of the Middle East; Robert Fisk
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....
, the Tower Commission was in response to the Iran Contra scandal. Taking effect on December 1, Reagan appointed Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and former Senator John Tower
John Tower
John Goodwin Tower was the first Republican United States senator from Texas since Reconstruction. He served from 1961 until his retirement in January 1985, after which time he was the chairman of the Reagan-appointed Tower Commission that investigated the Iran-Contra Affair. He was George H. W...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, former Secretary of State Edmund Muskie
Edmund Muskie
Edmund Sixtus "Ed" Muskie was an American politician from Rumford, Maine. He served as Governor of Maine from 1955 to 1959, as a member of the United States Senate from 1959 to 1980, and as Secretary of State under Jimmy Carter from 1980 to 1981...
, and former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft
Brent Scowcroft
Brent Scowcroft, KBE was the United States National Security Advisor under Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush and a Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force. He also served as Military Assistant to President Richard Nixon and as Deputy Assistant to the President for National...
.
The commission's report "held Reagan accountable for a lax managerial style and aloofness from policy detail."
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....
, John Poindexter
John Poindexter
John Marlan Poindexter is a retired United States naval officer and Department of Defense official. He was Deputy National Security Advisor and National Security Advisor for the Reagan administration. He was convicted in April 1990 of multiple felonies as a result of his actions in the Iran-Contra...
, Caspar Weinberger
Caspar Weinberger
Caspar Willard "Cap" Weinberger , was an American politician, vice president and general counsel of Bechtel Corporation, and Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan from January 21, 1981, until November 23, 1987, making him the third longest-serving defense secretary to date, after...
, and others were also implicated.
A major result of the Tower Commission was the consensus that Reagan should have listened to his National Security Advisor more, thereby placing more power in the hands of that chair. The National Security Advisor was to be seen as an "honest broker" and not someone who would use his position to further his political agenda.
Summarised, the main findings showed that "Using the Contras as a front, and against international law, and US law, weapons were sold, using Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
as intermediaries, to 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...
, during the brutal Iran-Iraq war
Iran-Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between the armed forces of Iraq and Iran, lasting from September 1980 to August 1988, making it the longest conventional war of the twentieth century...
. The US was also supplying weapons to Iraq, including ingredients for nerve gas, mustard gas and other chemical weapons."
Further reading
See Chapter 5, "The Politics of Scandal: The Tower Commission and Iran-Contra," in Kenneth Kitts, *Presidential Commissions and National Security (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2006).The Great War for Civilisation, The Conquest of the Middle East; Robert Fisk