November 25, 1986 saw the beginning of the scandal that became known as Iran-Contra, which has been mostly forgotten about today. (But a congressman named Dick Cheney was making notes.)
“The Iran-Contra affairs are not a warning for our days alone,” [Theodore] Draper presciently wrote at the time. “If the story of the affairs is not fully known and understood, a similar usurpation of power by a small strategically placed group within the government may well reoccur before we are prepared to recognize what is happening.”
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the National Security Archive at Washington University recently received reports about the involvement of President Reagan and Vice President Bush in the affair and has posted them online here.
Note: The title is a quote of Konrad Adenauer who’s mostly forgotten too.
Dick Cheney, eh? He learned from the masters, didn’t he?