Tower Of Judgment

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On the Day of Judgment, according to ancient religious tradition, all secrets will be revealed and all hidden sins bared. The report on Iranscam that a presidential commission is due to make public Thursday will not quite measure up to that standard. But as the torrent of leaks and revelations last week made clear, the document will lay open all manner of embarrassing foreign policy secrets and possibly point to some indictable misdeeds as well. As publication day approached, an almost palpable sense of fear settled over the , White House. Some aides went so far as to speculate that, depending on how Ronald Reagan and his lieutenants react, Feb. 26 could turn out to be a secular analogue of Judgment Day. Said an apprehensive Reagan assistant of the report: "We've got to be careful. If we mishandle this, that's all she wrote."

The three-man commission, headed by former Republican Senator John Tower of Texas, was appointed by Reagan to look into the operations of the National Security Council. But to the consternation of the White House, the commission has broadened the scope of its inquiry to probe a wide variety of questions stemming from the arms deals with Iran and covert efforts to support the Nicaraguan contras. Among the disclosures that preceded the report's release:

-- The President himself has given the Tower commission conflicting testimony on a key question: Did he approve in advance the 1985 Israeli shipments of American-made arms to Iran? In his first interview with the commission last month, Reagan gave the impression he had. But in a second interview, on Feb. 11, Reagan insisted that, after searching his memory and consulting with White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan, he could not recall granting authorization.

A source close to Regan gave TIME this explanation: the President watched former National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane testify before a congressional committee on TV and was impressed with his explanation of the rationale for the Iran deals. During Reagan's first appearance before the Tower commission, the President was asked a broad question about McFarlane's version, and replied that he saw things the same way. Regan realized that the President's testimony seemed to confirm McFarlane's claim that Reagan had authorized the 1985 shipments. Regan then went over his notes and asked the President whether he had any recollection of approving the shipment. Reagan did not, said this source, and told the commission as much during his second interview. Said a source close to the commission: "The President didn't seem to think it was a big deal."

To others, the switch pointed to dismaying presidential fuzziness, if not outright deceit, about a vital matter of foreign policy. Scoffed one Senator: "The President can't remember which version is true and which is the cover story." The lawmaker added that Reagan's memory has noticeably deteriorated; just before his prostate surgery in January, he approved a major intelligence "finding," but two weeks later could not remember it.