The Iran–Contra Scandal (Persian: ماجرای ایران-کنترا, Spanish: caso Irán-Contra), also referred to as Irangate,[1] Contragate[2] or the Iran–Contra affair, was a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administration. Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo.[3] The administration hoped to use the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the Contras in Nicaragua. Under the Boland Amendment, further funding of the Contras by the government had been prohibited by Congress.
The official justification for the arms shipments was that they were part of an operation to free seven American hostages being held in Lebanon by Hezbollah, a paramilitary group with Iranian ties connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The plan was for Israel to ship weapons to Iran, for the United States to resupply Israel, and for Israel to pay the United States. The Iranian recipients promised to do everything in their power to achieve the release of the hostages.[4][5] However, as documented by a congressional investigation, the first Reagan-sponsored secret arms sales to Iran began in 1981 before any of the American hostages had been taken in Lebanon. This fact ruled out the "arms for hostages" explanation by which the Reagan administration sought to excuse its behavior.[6]
The plan was later complicated in late 1985, when Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North of the National Security Council diverted a portion of the proceeds from the Iranian weapon sales to fund the Contras, a group of anti-Sandinista rebel fighters, in their struggle against the socialist government of Nicaragua.[4] While President Ronald Reagan was a vocal supporter of the Contra cause,[7] the evidence is disputed as to whether he personally authorized the diversion of funds to the Contras.[4][5][8] Handwritten notes taken by Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger on 7 December 1985 indicate that Reagan was aware of potential hostage transfers with Iran, as well as the sale of Hawk and TOW missiles to "moderate elements" within that country.[9] Weinberger wrote that Reagan said "he could answer to charges of illegality but couldn't answer to the charge that 'big strong President Reagan passed up a chance to free the hostages.'"[9] After the weapon sales were revealed in November 1986, Reagan appeared on national television and stated that the weapons transfers had indeed occurred, but that the United States did not trade arms for hostages.[10] The investigation was impeded when large volumes of documents relating to the affair were destroyed or withheld from investigators by Reagan administration officials.[11] On 4 March 1987, Reagan made a further nationally televised address, taking full responsibility for the affair and stating that "what began as a strategic opening to Iran deteriorated, in its implementation, into trading arms for hostages".[12]
The affair was investigated by the U.S. Congress and by the three-person, Reagan-appointed Tower Commission. Neither investigation found evidence that President Reagan himself knew of the extent of the multiple programs.[4][5][8] In the end, fourteen administration officials were indicted, including then-Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. Eleven convictions resulted, some of which were vacated on appeal.[13] The rest of those indicted or convicted were all pardoned in the final days of the presidency of George H. W. Bush, who had been Vice President at the time of the affair.[14] The Iran–Contra affair and the ensuing deception to protect senior administration officials (including President Reagan) has been cast as an example of post-truth politics.[15]
Religion played a decisive role in both governments of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
In Ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh was believed to have descended from the realm of the Gods. His role was that of an intermediary between them and the people of the empire. His obligation was to sustain rituals for the gods in order to maintain an order in the universe. Massive amounts of resources were also assigned to the creation of temples where these rituals were held.
In Mesopotamia, the King was considered as a religious leader. He exercised the cult with the help of specialists whose task was to serve as an intermediary between men and the gods. These group of specialists included a "supervising" priest for purification against demons, priests for the purification of the temple, and priests for appeasing the anger of the gods and its subsequent wrath.
Answer:
it creates a clear surrounding
Explanation:
<span> "Colombian Exchange." This is the exchange of the crops, animals and resources that went between the New and Old World.
From the Americas came peppers, maize, potatoes, tomatoes, snap beans,
lima, beans, and squash. Maize and potatoes became staple crops
throughout Europe. So much so that the Irish potato crop failed, the
result was famine.
From Europe, to the Americas came wheat, rye, barley, oats and millet.
The first two crops are used in bread, a mainstay today.
The horse was a European import. When adopted by the Native Americans, the result was the Great Plains cultures.
The Americans produced vast amounts of gold and silver. However the
material was obtained, the amount imported to Europe made economies
based on money possible. This allowed more trade.
Having somewhere to go and new opportunities invigorated Europe. People
could now seek their fortune or get a fresh start. Having a destination
also increased technological development of deep ocean ships.
There is a dark side to the exchange. When Europeans first came to the
Americas they inadvertently introduced a number of diseases. These
included forms of Tuberculosis, measles, cholera, typhus, and smallpox.
Oh all the exchanges between the Native Americans and the Europeans,
disease had the most impact.
Native Americans had little immunity to any of these imported diseases.
The migration route into the Americas had been through arctic regions.
The cold acted as a "filter" preventing some diseases from entering.
During their thousands of years of isolation, the inhabitants of the
Americas had avoided the disease that swept through the rest of the
world. However, this also meant that they had no immunity, protection
from these same illnesses. </span>
