Oliver North

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Oliver North, 2010
Oliver North (in the middle) 2004

Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943 in San Antonio , Texas ) is an American military officer a. D. , historian, publicist, politician and activist of the political right .

In the United States Marine Corps , North held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel . The Vietnam War veteran worked as an agent for the CIA and, as a military advisor to the National Security Council, was the key figure in the Iran-Contra affair during the Ronald Reagan presidency . North joined in 1994 as a Republican for the Senate of the United States and then worked in publishing and as a commentator for Fox News . From 2018 to April 29, 2019, he was President of the National Rifle Association (NRA) weapons advocacy group .

Iran-Contra affair

On November 25, 1986, Justice Minister Edwin Meese officially announced the events surrounding the Iran-Contra affair ("Irangate") for the first time at a press conference in the White House . Millions of dollars had been raised through illegal arms deliveries to Iran , which had been at war with Iraq since 1980 ( First Gulf War ), and were secretly passed on to support the Contras in Nicaragua , who were fighting a guerrilla war against the country's Sandinista government fought ( contra war ). The organization of these processes was the responsibility of the United States National Security Council . That same day, John Poindexter , the president's security advisor, resigned and Oliver North, then military advisor to the National Security Council, was dismissed by President Reagan .

As of July 1987, North was questioned several times by a congressional committee investigating the Iran-Contra affair. In 1988 he was charged with his actions as an adviser to the National Security Council. He defended himself by believing in the goal of supporting the Contras in Nicaragua. The media that supported him portrayed him as a loyal soldier who only obeyed orders.

The court found him guilty of illegally delivering weapons to Iran in 1985 and 1986 and of supporting the Contras with the profits from these transactions. North's network bought large quantities of weapons for the rebels from Monzer al-Kassar , a well-known terrorist in the USA. As a defendant, North admitted during the trial that he had misinformed the US Senate investigative committee into illegal military aid and had always acted with the support of the then director of the CIA, William Joseph Casey , in its activities . He was also proven to have attempted to delete all incriminating emails from the Reagan administration. North was sentenced to 3 years probation, a $ 150,000 fine, and 1,200 hours of community service. In 1990, however, the judgment was overturned on appeal due to procedural errors. There was no renewed conviction.

Further activities in the Contra support

An investigation by a Senate commission under John Kerry came to the conclusion in 1989 that a privatized contra network created by North was being used by drug smugglers to camouflage their operations. While no information was given in the investigation report as to whether North was involved in the smuggling itself, the report mentioned numerous entries in North's notes relating to drug smuggling. No mention of preventing drug investigations is made in the diary entries North wrote, according to the Washington Post newspaper . However, John Lawn, a former head of the US drug control agency DEA , testified that North undercover investigations by the DEA betrayed the lives of the undercover agents.

Further career

In the 1994 election to the US Senate , North ran for Republican in Virginia and drew criticism from the former First Lady , Nancy Reagan , because North lied to and about the president. North lost the election with 43 to 46 percent of the vote against Democrat Chuck Robb , who held the seat at the time.

North became an idol of American Conservatives and has published several high-volume books including Under Fire , One More Mission , War Stories - Operation Iraqi Freedom , Mission Compromised , The Jericho Sanction, and The Assassins . In various American television series he appeared in guest roles in which he portrayed himself or a character modeled on him, including the sitcom Wings and three episodes of the series JAG - On behalf of honor . Until 2018 he worked as a presenter and commentator for the television channel Fox News . On Fox News Radio he hosted the series "War Stories" with reports from the recent wars with American participation.

North serves on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association, and was appointed president on May 7, 2018. In 2019, he announced that he would not be available for a second term and handed over the office to his successor Carolyn D. Meadows on April 29, 2019.

Web links

Commons : Oliver North  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ German Defense , article of April 24, 1989 on Spiegel Online
  2. ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, April 20, 1987
  3. ↑ Los Angeles Times, December 31, 1987
  4. ↑ Heise: The Bush administration must hand over the mail archive as completely as possible , January 2009
  5. ^ The Oliver North File . National Security Archive - George Washington University. February 2004. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  6. ↑ Mrs. Reagan Denounces Oliver North On Iran Affair. In: The Washington Post , October 29, 1994.
  7. ↑ War Stories Podcast . In: FOX News Radio . ( foxnews.com [accessed February 14, 2018]).
  8. ^ Eli Watkins: Oliver North to be NRA's new president. In: CNN.com , May 7, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME North, Oliver
ALTERNATIVE NAMES North, Oliver Laurence (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lieutenant colonel and CIA agent
DATE OF BIRTH October 7, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH San Antonio , Texas