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[[File:Reagan meets with aides on Iran-Contra.jpg|right|thumb|President Reagan meets aids on Iran-Contra]]The '''Iran-Contra Affair''' ('''Operation Black Eagle''', later '''Operation Screw Worm'''; sometimes called '''Iran-gate''') was the result of an arms deal between the [[United States]], [[Iran]] and the Nicaraguan [[Contras]], an anti-communist guerilla group operating against the [[Marxist]] government of [[Nicaragua]]. Essentially, arms were sold to Iran despite an international embargo which was spearheaded just years earlier by the United States. The proceeds from this arms sale were then used to purchase additional arms for the Contras operating in the mountains of Nicaragua.  When these transactions became public a special Prosecutor Lawrence Walsh was appointed.  Walsh then prosecuted a number of high-level Reagan Administration officials.  Although not generally known at the time, two future Presidents, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, were also involved.<ref>https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_cia05.htm#THE_BOSS_HOG_LIST_</ref> The matter ended later with President George H. W. Bush pardoning the key players on the eve of their trial.

[[File:Reagan meets with aides on Iran-Contra.jpg|right|thumb|President Reagan meets aids on Iran-Contra]]The '''Iran-Contra Affair''' ('''Operation Black Eagle''', later '''Operation Screw Worm'''; sometimes called '''Iran-gate''') was the result of an arms deal between the [[United States]], [[Iran]] and the Nicaraguan [[Contras]], an anti-communist guerilla group operating against the [[Marxist]] government of [[Nicaragua]]. Essentially, arms were sold to Iran despite an international embargo which was spearheaded just years earlier by the United States. The proceeds from this arms sale were then used to purchase additional arms for the Contras operating in the mountains of Nicaragua.  When these transactions became public a special Prosecutor Lawrence Walsh was appointed.  Walsh then prosecuted a number of high-level Reagan Administration officials.  Although not generally known at the time, two future Presidents, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, were also involved.<ref>[https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_cia05.htm#THE_BOSS_HOG_LIST_ The Boss Hogg List]</ref> The matter ended later with President George H. W. Bush pardoning the key players on the eve of their trial.

While the [[foreign policy]] of the United States is explicitly the purvue of the President, Congress nonetheless retains the power of the purse. President Reagan wished to actively oppose the [[Soviet]] and [[Cuba]]n fomented violence and [[Marxist]] [[revolution]] in [[Central America]], and their active material support of the [[communist]] regime of [[Daniel Ortega]] and the Nicaragua [[Sandinista]]s. The [[Boland Amendment]] however, forbid the use of any US federal funds to overthrow the Nicaraguan communist regime. Sources of funding were sought elsewhere.<ref>http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-05-06/news/8702030597_1_gen-richard-secord-anxiety-and-ignorance-supply-effort</ref>

While the [[foreign policy]] of the United States is explicitly the purvue of the President, Congress nonetheless retains the power of the purse. President Reagan wished to actively oppose the [[Soviet]] and [[Cuba]]n fomented violence and [[Marxist]] [[revolution]] in [[Central America]], and their active material support of the [[communist]] regime of [[Daniel Ortega]] and the Nicaragua [[Sandinista]]s. The [[Boland Amendment]] however, forbid the use of any US federal funds to overthrow the Nicaraguan communist regime. Sources of funding were sought elsewhere.<ref>http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-05-06/news/8702030597_1_gen-richard-secord-anxiety-and-ignorance-supply-effort</ref>