Despite an explicit ban by the US Congress, the CIA decided to support the counterrevolutionary Contra guerillas in Nicaragua by providing them with weapons. At the same time, people realized that Iran’s Islamist regime was there to stay and that it was desirable to start reestablishing ties with Iran by selling them weapons. Congress forbade this as well, but CIA director William Casey, one of Ronald Reagan’s personal appointees, designed a complex plan to avoid unnecessary interference by the United States’ democratic institutions. Thus, the CIA facilitated arms sales to Iran with a markup
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