Men of Zeal

By William S. Cohen

Book Overview

Photographs, chapter notes, index. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670822523
• ISBN13: 9780670822522
• Release Date: September 1988
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 381 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.

Customer Reviews

For Afficianados of Iran/Contra

Iran/Contra is surely the gold standard of Washington scandals. A hilarious saga of venality and government dysfunction, Iran/Contra centered on a cabal of White House ultra-patriots and private arms dealers who sold weapons to Iran (even though it supported terrorism) and diverted the profits to the Nicaraguan contras (even though Congress had banned U.S. aid). Their ultimate goal was to set up an off-budget covert action capacity that could escape Congressional oversight; they also wanted to skim millions of dollars for themselves. In the end, their hare-brained scheme empowered terrorists, humiliated the United States, and almost brought down Ronald Reagan, who escaped impeachment only because he didn't know what was going on in his own White House. If Stanley Kubrick had ever made a movie about Washington scandals, it would have been Iran/Contra. "Men of Zeal" was written by two Senators, a Democrat and a Republican, who served on the Congressional Committee that probed Iran/Contra. Their book is not a comprehensive, chronological history of the scandal, and it was written before many extra details were disclosed in criminal trials. Instead, the authors focus on the Congressional hearings and on the spies, crooks, and zealots who gave testimony. Incredibly, the central figure in the plot, a Marine officer named Oliver North, almost derailed the investigation. He was a fantasist and serial liar, yet TV audiences thrilled to his defiant pose as a gung-ho Marine and flag-waving patriot. "Ollie-mania" swept the nation, hate-mail poured in on the Committee, and conservative Republicans jumped to attack the investigation as an encroachment on Presidential power. Ominously, the episode revealed that Republican loathing of Democratic control of Congress had turned into a loathing of Congress itself. No one came out of Iran/Contra looking good, least of all the American public, which clearly knew nothing about the U.S. constitution. "Men of Zeal" is well-written, wise, and filled with insights into the political culture of Washington DC; anyone nostalgic for Reagan's brain-dead style of governance should read it for a reality-check. The authors are admirably candid about the tactical mistakes made by the investigators (such as giving North substantial control over the manner of his appearance before the Committee). However, their book has a narrow focus and no one lacking basic background knowledge of Iran/Contra could really appreciate what they write. Readers looking for a full history of Iran/Contra should consult Theodore Draper's classic "A Very Thin Line."