Oliver North

Oliver Laurence North (b. October 7 1943) is an American Conservative political commentator. He achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps, and rose to national prominence because of the Iran-Contra Affair, during which he was a key official in the clandestine selling of weapons to Iran in order to earn money for the Contras during U.S. President Ronald Reagan's administration.

Political legacy

North was a figure of great controversy, with supporters enjoying his impassioned defense of his actions, and opponents disapproving of his breaking the law.

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Despite North's history (and indeed, in some cases, because of it), he receives support from some conservatives. Some believe that North was used as a scapegoat for the Iran–Contra Affair, and that other top government officials in the Reagan administration laid the blame on him. Some hold the view that North's goal of defeating communist expansion was just, and the way he tried to achieve it is irrelevant. Some appreciate his advocacy of conservative political causes.

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North's critics argue that in a democracy and a nation of laws, one man cannot act above the law regardless of how righteous he believes his goals to be. Some point out that his activities substantially contributed to an attempted overthrow of a sovereign, democratically elected government, and to terrorism.

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