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This same contradiction in the narative was revisited in 2003 when the US invaded Iraq to oust [[Saddam Hussein]] and force regime change. A much publicized photo from 1982 of [[Donald Rumsfeld]] shaking hands with Saddam was circulated, at a time when the US supposedly was selling arms to Iran. Critics of the Reagan policy swallowed the CIA cover story hook-line-and-sinker, that arms sales to Iran had funded the Contra war, not [[Bill Clinton]]'s Arkansas drug running operation.
This same contradiction in the narative was revisited in 2003 when the US invaded Iraq to oust [[Saddam Hussein]] and force regime change. A much publicized photo from 1982 of [[Donald Rumsfeld]] shaking hands with Saddam was circulated, at a time when the US supposedly was selling arms to Iran. Critics of the Reagan policy swallowed the CIA cover story hook-line-and-sinker, that arms sales to Iran had funded the Contra war, not [[Bill Clinton]]'s Arkansas drug running operation.
The first arms sale occurred on August 20, 1985, when Israel sent 100 American-made TOW missiles to Iran through an arms dealer named Manucher Ghorbanifar. Subsequently, on September 14, 1985, 408 more TOW missiles were delivered. On September 15, 1985, following the second delivery, Reverend Benjamin Weir was released by his captors, the Islamic Jihad Organization.<ref>[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/PS157/assignment%20files%20public/TOWER%20EXCERPTS.htm#PartII "Excerpts from the Tower Commission's Report"], January 26, 1987.</ref> Payment by Ghorbanifar was made through the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International]] (BCCI).
After the delivery of shoulder launched TOW missiles to Iran, an assistant to Attorney General Ed Meese found a memorandum written by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North documenting diversion of the proceeds of the sale to aid the Contras. After the discovery of the memorandum, President [[Ronald Reagan]] met with both houses of Congress to disclose their findings; he then asked for the appointment of an independent counsel.<ref>''An American Life, The Autobiography of Ronald Reagan, pg. 530''</ref>
After the delivery of shoulder launched TOW missiles to Iran, an assistant to Attorney General Ed Meese found a memorandum written by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North documenting diversion of the proceeds of the sale to aid the Contras. After the discovery of the memorandum, President [[Ronald Reagan]] met with both houses of Congress to disclose their findings; he then asked for the appointment of an independent counsel.<ref>''An American Life, The Autobiography of Ronald Reagan, pg. 530''</ref>