ABSTRACT
The Iran-contra affair was a struggle between the president and the Congress over the power to control American foreign policy. The problem, according to the Tower Commission, with both the arms-for-hostages policy in Iran and the arms for revolution policy in Central America was the absence of normal and effective decision-making procedures. According to the Tower Commission, the national security decision-making processes of the Reagan administration were seriously deficient. The central issue for the Iran initiative was how much information the administration had to provide to the Congress about arms sales and on-going covert activities and when that information should have been provided. Early in the Reagan administration, Central America became a major focus of foreign policy attention. The Iran initiative ran directly counter to the Administration's own policies on terrorism, the Iran/Iraq war, and military support to Iran. National Security Council (NSC) staff members begin discussions with representatives of the "second channel" to Iran.
