Robert McFarlane
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- For the Canadian politician, see Robert MacFarlane.
Early Life
After graduating high school, McFarlane attended the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. At the academy, he chose to enlist with the United States Marine Corps and graduated as an officer in the Corps. Soon after he was sent to Vietnam where he served with the Marine artillery.
Iran-Contra Affair
A former United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel, McFalane was serving as an assistant to Secretary of State Alexander Haig, in 1981, when he authored "Taking the War to Nicaragua" and led the Restricted Inter-Agency Group (RIG) which formulated and carried out the administration's Central America policies. Later, as National Security Adviser, McFarlane urged Reagan to negotiate an arms deal with Iranian intermediaries against the advice of Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and Secretary of State George Shultz.In May 1986, after his retirement, he acted as an envoy for two planeloads of weapons parts delivered to the Iranians. When the first planeload failed to win Iranian cooperation or the release of any hostages, McFarlane refused to deliver the second plane and returned to the US where he advised the president to quit. When news of the secret mission was published in the Lebanese weekly Al Shiraa complete with unflattering details and confirmation from top Iranian officials, Chief of Staff Donald Regan attempted to spin the story. McFarlane refused to speak to the press but was rattled by Regan’s accusation that he had been the sole official behind the weapons transfers. McFarlane quickly shot off an email to Poindexter threatening a libel suit and warning that he “wouldn’t tolerate lies from Don Regan.”
Aftermath
Disheartened, and abused by his former colleagues, McFarlane tried to kill himself with an overdose of Valium on February 9, 1987, saying he had failed his country. In 1988 he pleaded guilty to four counts of withholding information from Congress for his role in the Iran-Contra cover-up. He was sentenced to two years’ probation and a $20,000 fine but was pardoned by President George H.W. Bush in the waning hours of his presidency on Christmas Eve 1992 along with the other key players in the scandal.McFarlane later co-founded and served as CEO of Global Energy Investors.
McFarlane is a member of The Advisory Council of Aegis Defence Services.
References
- “Complaint That Donald Regan May Be Placing Blame for the Iran Initiative on Robert McFarlane,” Secret PROFS email (November 7, 1986). Original source: US National Security Council.
- Kornbluh, Peter and Malcolm Byrne, eds. The Iran-Contra Affair: The Making of a Scandal, 1983-1988 (Document collection). Alexandria, VA: Chadwyck-Healey; Washington, DC: National Security Archive, 1990.
- Kornbluh, Peter and Malcolm Byrne, eds. The Iran-Contra Scandal: The Declassified History. New York: New Press, Distributed by W.W. Norton, 1993.
- Walsh, Lawrence E. Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-up. New York: Norton, 1997.
- Timberg, Robert, The Nightingale's Song. New York: Free Press, 1996.
See also
|- style="text-align: center;"
| National Security Advisors of the United States |
|
|---|---|
| Cutler | Anderson | Jackson | Cutler | Gray | Bundy | Rostow | Kissinger | Scowcroft | Brzezinski | Allen | Clark | McFarlane | Poindexter | Carlucci | Powell | Scowcroft | Lake | Berger | Rice | Hadley |
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