Oliver North's Blank Check

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At one point North's activities on behalf of the contras began to worry Poindexter. Some of these covert operations were getting publicity, and North seemed unable to keep his activities under restraint. In May 1986, in a message titled "Be Cautious," Poindexter warned him that he was overreaching: "I am afraid you are letting your operational role become too public." McFarlane even suggested to Poindexter that North get out of the spotlight by going to Bethesda Naval Hospital for a disability review.

Shortly thereafter, Poindexter appeared to have decided to relieve North of the contra "account." North was wounded, but responded with an artful memo in which he played the chastened schoolboy, managing to sound contrite and defiant at the same time: "Since I returned a few minutes ago I have been told that even my luncheon with my sister yesterday is in question . . . I can understand why you may well have reservations about both my involvement in Nicaragua policy and even my continued tenure here . . . I want you to know that it is for me, deeply disappointing to have lost your confidence, for I respect you, what you have tried to do and have enjoyed working with you on a number of issues important to our nation."

Poindexter replied with a fatherly "Now you are getting emotional again," then added, "I just wanted to lower your visibility so you wouldn't be such a good target for the Libs." North continued his contra operations. "Ollie knew how to stroke John," recalls one fellow NSC staffer. "He was a master, let me tell you." North frequently played up to his superiors. In a note to McFarlane, he talked about the "tremendous pressure" on Poindexter, saying, "My part in this was easy compared to his. I only had to deal with our enemies. He has to deal with the cabinet."

Poindexter's indulgence of North was a principal reason the Iran-contra affair went so badly astray, according to the Tower commission. Although North made himself into the point man for Iranscam's excesses, the Tower commission blames Poindexter for failing to restrain his aide in carrying out what were, after all, presidential policies. "Poindexter's own bent for operations aided and abetted rather than compensated for North," Commission Member Brent Scowcroft told TIME. "There's nothing wrong with having a 'cowboy' working for you, but you have to keep the reins tight."

North still seems convinced that he was more of a selfless patriot than an out-of-control cowboy. On the day the Tower report was released, he was asked what he would like people to know about him as they go through the report. A born-again Christian, North replied, "I guess they ought to read the Eighth Beatitude of Matthew 5." That New Testament passage reads: "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." As Iranscam's investigations continue, however, North is more likely to be prosecuted for recklessness' sake.