Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 1987, Page 31

Description:	>rn->rthinalnp-asathe, a2 ofnesn isI b)1 aWhat a year! 1987was a year of scandal,a year of heartbreakand a year of conflict.The previously sunnyReagan administration was clouded bythe Iran-scan, GaryHarts presidentialcampaign was foiledby his problematicpast. AIDS became awide-spread issue affecting hetrosexualsas well as gays.Iran-Contra affairsparks controversyIn 1986, no one paid much attention when yet more hostageswere taken in Iran, or whenCongress went a few morerounds in the continual argument over Contra-aid. Thesewere little things.No one paid attention untilthese little things cametogether to form part of the biggest political scandal in Americasince Watergate, the Iran-Contra arms deals.Often called Iranscan orContragate, what started outas a small discrepancy overAmerican hostage releasesslowly evolved into the exposure of million-dollarshipments of weapons from theUnited States to Iran.These weapons were traded//in exchange for hostages, and aslater revealed, money to be tunneled into a secret account foruse as aid to contra rebels inNicaragua.America was shocked by thewidespread involvement of theReagan administration in thedeals. Included in the dealswere prominent figures NationalSecurity Adviser John Poindex-ter, Lieutenant Colonel OliverNorth, CIA director WilliamCasey, and Chief of Staff DonaldRegan.The President, who at firstdenied any involvement, hasnow also admitted toknowledge of the dealings.Many twists and turns appeared to thicken the plot.North, Poindexter, and Reganleft their positions, another topaide overdosed on sleepingpills before he was scheduled toappear before the Senate Investigational Committee, andWilliam Casey suffered a surprise stroke and was severelydebilitated before he could besummoned for questioning.Caseys eventual death left a lotof open ends in the story.The outcome of the ordeal isstill unknown. Senate hearingscontinue, and new informationis revealed daily. One thing iscertain, the people of the worldwill no longer ignore the smallernews items that they hear/see.Because in 1987, with the Iran-Contra scandal, little thingsmean a lot.Stark raving mad!Iraq missile fired into Navy shipThe fury of the I ran-Iraq warbecame a stark reality this yearwith the attack on the U.S.S.Stark, a guided missle frigate stationed in the Persian gulf, by asingle Iraqi fighter.The fighter, a French builtMirage F-1 armed with Exocetanti-ship missies, ignored twomessages from the Stark askingthe pilot to identify himself andstate his intentions.When the fighter was 12miles from the Stark it suddenlyturned toward the ship andlaunched the Exocet missies atthe Stark. The Stark still trackingthe fighter was unaware that thefighter had fired its missies untila lookout spotted the incomingmissies and gave word to thecaptain.The captains ordered evasiveaction but it was to late. As theship went into a turn in an attempt to bring its Phalanx anti-missies it was impacted on theleft side, just below the bridge,killing many seamen instantly.35 of the 37 dead werereturned to the United Statesand a memorial service was heldwith President and Mrs. RonaldReagan in attendance. Twowere lost at sea.Navy investigating teamswere flown to Bahrain wherethe Stark was taken foremergency repairs. Late in Juneit was recommended that theStarks captain, executive officerand weapons systems officerface a military court martial.The incident brought questions from congressional officials as to the role of the USNavy in the Persian Gulf. A planto place Kuwaiti oil tankersunder American registration andthe US flag was delayed by congressional concerns.Consultation with Congressbecame a concern as a result ofthe 1973 War Powers Resolution which requires the President to notify Congress ifAmerican forces are placed insituations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearlyindicated. Further, some Congressmen felt the President wasusing the military to makediplomatic statements.31
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/2680
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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