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Is the Iran-contra affair a good research topic?

Out of the following topics, I picked the Iran-Contra affair:

Neutrality legislation 1930s
Marshall Plan 1949-1951
Bricker Amendment 1950s
Taiwan Straits Crises 1950s
Iran 1953
Argentina 1950s and 1970s
Guatemala 1950s and 1990s
Philippines 1980s
Dominican Republic 1965
Chile 1970-1975
Angola 1975
Panama Canal Treaty 1978-79
El Salvador 1980s
Iran-Contra (Nicaragua) 1980s
Lebanon 1982-83
Persian Gulf War 1990-91
Kosovo 1999
Somalia 1990s
Panama War 1989
trade with China (see me for dates)

Is this a nice, juicy topic? I would have to consult the congressional quarterly publications for research (mandatory). Journal articles, books, newspapers are also on the list for research criteria. I have to relate the affair to congressional involvement vs. presidential involvement. Should I stick to this topic? Any suggestions in research?

Did Ronald Reagan commit his Iran-Contra crimes before or after he went insane?

Iran-Contra, Reaganomics, Star Wars Defense : which was Reagans biggest failure?

I hear people vomit Ronald Reagans name all the time and I wonder why they don’t talk of these three issues that truly define the man . ..

Iran-Contra: Ronald Reagan ordered sale of fire-arms to Iran during an embargo with the country, and plead guilty to it before a commission

Reaganomics: The trickle down theory of economy, where if we give taxcuts and more money to the wealthy, they will provide more for the poor . . . Which didn’t work . . Poverty levels grew higher under Ronald Reagan

Star Wars Defense: a missile program to protect america from the nuclear threat, after much rhetoric and money spent on the program, nothing ever materialised and was ever created except payouts for defense contractors

Other failures include: Just Say No to Drugs, which actually did nothing to the increasing use of drugs . . . Wages and home-ownership both fell under Reagans administration . . And it produced George H.W. Bush for one term

Can someone look over my arguement for the Iran-Contra Affair?

I’m proving that it had positive effects (please don’t convince me they didn’t.. I know, this was just my assignment)

-Bringing home the U.S. hostages was the ultimate objective of the Iran-Contra Affair. One attempt at liberating the 6 individuals had already failed.
-A radical group, called the Hezbollah, was holding these citizens. In their 1985 Manifesto, this organization blatantly stated that force would be the number one resource for achieving their goals. Out of their 3 primary aims, expelling Americans from Lebanese lands happened to be one.
-Thus, the U.S. was able to save these lives by replacing peace talks with more realistic and drastic measures.

-Also, in ultimately supplying Iran with arms, the U.S. obviously had it considered that this would result in the fueling of the Iran-Iraq war that was going on at the time.
-By exhausting both sides, the war, with the additional force of U.S. interference, weakened both Iran and Iraq by magnifying the weakening affects of war.
-At the time, both nations were a threat to various countries, such as Israel, which was labeled as the “enemy of Islam” by Iran.
-So, by lessening the power of both nations, the world was spared from violent confrontations, which would have been possible, if the countries had been left with more resources after the U.S.-encouraged war.

-Finally, in providing monetary aid to the anti-communist Contra group in Nicaragua, the U.S. played a crucial role in avoiding another repeat of the Cuban Missile Crisis, including the potential for a Third World War.
-In being an unindustrialized nation, seeking change, Nicaragua, and in turn, South America, were susceptible to adapting a socialist regime.
-In minimizing the communist threat to North America, investment in the Nicaraguan Contra group was part of an effort to avoid the surrounding of North America in a geopolitical sense.
-During a time of cold war, and having already faced a scare of nuclear war, it is logical to believe that this strategic move on the part of the U.S. aided in the effort to maintain a balance of power and peace in the world.
-With this in mind, it is clear that the Iran-Contra Affair had multiple positive effects.

McCain Featured In Iran-Contra Group’s Newsletter?

A newsletter from 1984 provides more embarrassing evidence of John McCain’s relationship with the U.S. Council on World Freedom, a group that was involved in funding militant anti-communists and espoused some anti-Semitic views.

McCain’s face graces the front page of the group’s “World Freedom Report,” published on Dec. 15, 1984, a copy of which was obtained from the research library at the University of Kansas. The front page also features a reprint of an article McCain penned that same month for Reader’s Digest.

McCain served on the advisory board of the Council on World Freedom, which funded and provided arms to what the Associated Press described as “ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America.” The group also “aided rebels trying to overthrow the leftist government of Nicaragua. That landed the group in the middle of the Iran-Contra affair and in legal trouble with the Internal Revenue Service, which revoked the charitable organization’s tax exemption.”

When McCain’s connection to the Council for World Freedom received its first blast of press attention earlier this month, his campaign suggested to the Politico that McCain “disassociated himself” from the group in 1984 “when questions were raised about its activities.”

But the group’s tax filing in 1985, covering the previous year, lists McCain as a member of the council’s advisory board. And in October 1985, a States News Service report placed McCain “at a Washington awards ceremony staged by the council.”

Moreover, in 1986, McCain himself told the Phoenix New Times that his reason for leaving the group merely had to do with a lack of time.

Asked by the AP this year about McCain’s alleged efforts to distance himself from the council in both 1984 and 1986 (when McCain had to ask to have his name removed from the group’s stationary), founder John Singlaub said: “That’s a surprise to me. … I don’t ever remember hearing about his resigning.”

Though the group’s founder also said it was possible that McCain had asked to resign and he hadn’t heard about the “housekeeping” details, the Council’s unearthed newsletter from late 1984 would seem to support Singlaub’s — and not McCain’s — memory of the events.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/24/mccain-featured-in-iran-c_n_137626.html

* How can McCain continue to question the associations of anyone when he has some of the shadiest in the world?
Lyle G – what does that even mean? Do you even know anything about the Contras? They were death squads, led by fascist maniacs. They were fighting a “left-leaning” government. THat does not mean communist or socialist. I n fact they were democratically elected. And do you know how we funded them? By selling weapons to Iran!
So what the hell is wrong with you then?