Changes

The Mena Airport in Arkansas became the logistical point for implementation of US Central American policy.<ref>https://youtu.be/g_epmurfIk8 ; see also Bill Plante & Michael Singer, ''Still a Strong Scent on the Mena Trail'', Letter to the Editor, [[Wall Street Journal]], 5/3/94. </ref> On 5 October 1986 a C-123 transport plane delivering weapons to the Nicaraguan Contras was shot down by a surface-to-air shoulder launched missile. Two U.S. pilots and a Nicaraguan radio operator were killed while [[Eugene Hasenfus]], the "cargo-kicker" survived. The plane was carrying "60 collapsible [[AK-47]] rifles, 50,000 AK-47 rifle cartridges, several dozen [[RPG-7]] grenade launchers and 150 pairs of jungle boots".<ref name=Lange>Timothy Lange, ''Daily Kos'', 27 December 2009, [http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/12/27/819675/-Blast-from-the-Past-Gene-Hasenfus-December-1986 Blast from the Past. Gene Hasenfus: December 1986]</ref> The plane had been owned by [[Barry Seal]] and based in Mena, Arkansas.<ref>http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB920421328276427000 </ref> Hasenfus's captured phone book contained the names of Barry Seal, Oliver North, and Felix Rodriguez which the Sandinista's used to attract American media attention and expose the Mena operation.

The Mena Airport in Arkansas became the logistical point for implementation of US Central American policy.<ref>https://youtu.be/g_epmurfIk8 ; see also Bill Plante & Michael Singer, ''Still a Strong Scent on the Mena Trail'', Letter to the Editor, [[Wall Street Journal]], 5/3/94. </ref> On 5 October 1986 a C-123 transport plane delivering weapons to the Nicaraguan Contras was shot down by a surface-to-air shoulder launched missile. Two U.S. pilots and a Nicaraguan radio operator were killed while [[Eugene Hasenfus]], the "cargo-kicker" survived. The plane was carrying "60 collapsible [[AK-47]] rifles, 50,000 AK-47 rifle cartridges, several dozen [[RPG-7]] grenade launchers and 150 pairs of jungle boots".<ref name=Lange>Timothy Lange, ''Daily Kos'', 27 December 2009, [http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/12/27/819675/-Blast-from-the-Past-Gene-Hasenfus-December-1986 Blast from the Past. Gene Hasenfus: December 1986]</ref> The plane had been owned by [[Barry Seal]] and based in Mena, Arkansas.<ref>http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB920421328276427000 </ref> Hasenfus's captured phone book contained the names of Barry Seal, Oliver North, and Felix Rodriguez which the Sandinista's used to attract American media attention and expose the Mena operation.

Even when Mena's gun-running operation was shut down after 1986, Mena continued to be used for illegal narcotics smuggling into the United States and the profits pocketed by locals under then Governor [[Bill Clinton]].<ref>http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/08/26/the-boys-on-the-tracks-are-back </ref>

Even when Mena's gun-running operation was shut down after 1986, Mena continued to be used for illegal narcotics smuggling into the United States and the profits pocketed by locals under then Governor [[Bill Clinton]].<ref>http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/08/26/the-boys-on-the-tracks-are-back </ref> In 1989 Clinton received petitions from Arkansas citizens demanding he convene a state grand jury and investigate Mena. Winston Bryant made Mena an issue in his successful bid for state [[Attorney General]] in 1990. A year later Bryant turned over state files involving Mena to Iran-Contra special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh, but Walsh did nothing with the reams of evidence.

==Iran==

==Iran==