Showing posts with label Iran-Contra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iran-Contra. Show all posts

Sunday, March 4, 2012

The Secret Problem with Jeb: Why Another Bush is not the Solution 2/2


by Nomad

In the previous post we examined the kind assistance Jeb Bush, gave a Cuban exile turned business and how that led to one of the largest Medicare frauds in American history. In this post, we will look into some other possible reasons why Jeb Bush (and his father) would have been so eager to help Recarey and his friends.

The Exiled Mobster
With Jeb Bush's help in overcoming certain Medicare regulations, Cuban businessman and Bush business partner Miguel Recarey was able to amass a fortune in a very short time. 

In exchange, he provided free and no-questions medical care to Nicaraguan right wing rebels, otherwise known as Contras. When the scheme collapsed, Bush and high level Bush administration officials successfully helped Recarey avoid prosecution and even had the kindness to give him a bonus for his services in the form of a hefty IRS check.
But Bush and company were not the only people involved in Recarey Medicare fraud. If he had friends in high places, Recarey also has important contact in the lower realms too.
Back in 1988, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Sydney P. Freedberg of the Wall Street Journal, wrote of Miguel Recarey’s longstanding connection with Florida underworld boss Santo Traffincante, Jr. It was alleged by Miguel Recarey's associates that the medical company IMC was, in fact, financed by the Miami mafia don Trafficante.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Then Along Came a Hero: The Oliver North Myth

By Nomad

A lot of years have passed since Reagan's second term. Many people who lived during those times are apt to forget the scandal that became known as Iran-Contra. And many Americans are unaware the role that Oliver North played in it. 
Yet from time to time, you still see his aging face appearing on Fox News to give his opinions. For that reason, you should really understand the mindset of the man who, banking on the ignorance of the American public, claims to be a hero to his nation.

Furthering the Version

Reagan-myth worshipers would prefer to erase from the national conscious (and conscience) the embarrassing events of the final years of his second term, especially the entire Iran-Contra affair. It was, for a lot of people, a case of a Republican administration getting caught up in another humiliating scandal. 

In many ways, the Iran-Contra affair went far beyond anything seen in the Watergate hearings. The threat of another Communist Cuba had preoccupied the Reagan administration. Those fears were stoked by the openly declared mission of the Nicaraguan Marxist regime to spread revolution throughout the region. The Reagan administration's policy was to arm and train right-wing insurgent militias called the Contras.


However, Congress wanted no part in the president's directive. All direct funding of this illegal insurgency was officially prohibited through the Boland Amendment -the name given to three U.S. legislative amendments between 1982 and 1984, all aimed at limiting US government assistance to the Contras militants.