The Iran Contra scandal still stands as a testament to the results of a zealous government overreaching its mandated limits and interfering with international law. The U.S. “containment” policy against communism was bolstered and expanded by the “Reagan Doctrine” of supporting every democratic regime against communists, which changed the goal in Nicaragua to the overthrow of the Sandanista regime. America would not fight in support of the Contras, at least not on the scale of Vietnam, but would strengthen them with sophisticated weaponry.

On this day, November 23, in 1981, President Ronald Reagan allocated to the Central Intelligence Agency $19 million to provide military aid for Nicaraguan guerrillas fighting Sandinista government. This was the beginning of the Iran-Contra affair.

As word leaked out of U.S. involvement in support of the Contras, two amendments (Boland I and II) were passed in Congress to restrict funding for the activities. The Reagan White House then turned to a third party source: they would sell weapons to Iran, at inflated prices, and steer the excess to the Contras. A series of clandestine organizations, involving the highest ranks of the Reagan administration were set up for that purpose. This was not only a clear violation of the Congressional Boland amendments, but of international law.