by Dean Hartwell
Recently, Secretary of State
Colin Powell and Vice President Dick Cheney publicly contradicted one another
about the Bush Administration’s policy toward Iraq. A few days after the Vice President had said that sending weapons
inspectors back to Iraq was not an option, Powell said that we should send
inspectors back. President Bush gave no
indication of which advisor, if either, was right.
This turmoil in the Bush
White House brings to mind another time in United States history when advisors
competed with one another to make national policy. It took place during the presidential administration of Ronald
Reagan.
Reagan acknowledged his own
shortcomings as an intellect. He once
stated that he was “not smart enough” to tell a lie. He also gained a reputation as a delegator. His lack of observation as to his advisors
and their actions came to light when his Chief of Staff, James A. Baker, traded
jobs with the Secretary of the Treasury, Donald Regan without the president’s
knowledge!
Members of the Reagan
Administration saw a green light to make their own policies. A group of them, including Oliver North and
Robert McFarlane, approached Iranians and offered weapons in exchange for the
release of United States citizens held hostage in Lebanon by pro-Iranian
factions. They directed some of the
profits to go to an anti-communist group in Nicaragua called the Contras.
At least one cabinet member,
Secretary of State George Schultz, strenuously opposed the scheme as it broke
laws against the sale of weapons to Iran and against assisting the
Contras. According to Schultz’s
memoirs, Vice President George H. W. Bush, father of the current president,
supported the idea. As for President
Reagan, we will never know how much he knew, as he could only tell
investigators that he could not remember details.
The arms trade, now known as
the Iran-Contra Scandal, disgraced the United States. Confidence in Reagan’s ability to lead took a nosedive,
especially since the President had previously stated in public that “America
will never make concessions to terrorists.”
We should remember that we rely upon one person, the president, to make decisions on our behalf. Disagreements over policy must be resolved internally at the White House. President George W. Bush’s inaction during a time of conflict within his administration foreshadows an opening for the next group of scoundrels to make their own policies.