Editing Boland Amendment (section)

==Background==
During the early years of the Reagan administration, a [[Nicaraguan Revolution|civil war]] raged in [[Nicaragua]], pitting the communist [[revolutionary]] [[Sandinista]] government against [[Contras|Contra]] rebel groups. The Reagan Administration and the [[Central Intelligence Agency|Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)]], led by [[William J. Casey|William Casey]], covertly supported the Contras through funding and military training.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Salehyan |first=Idean |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt7z6bx |title=Rebels without Borders: Transnational Insurgencies in World Politics |date=2009 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-7754-6 |jstor=10.7591/j.ctt7z6bx }}</ref> Public knowledge of routine human rights abusees committed by the Contra rebels led to the passage of the Boland Amendment by Congress, which cut off any appropriated funding for the Contras that would be used for the purpose of overthrowing the Nicaraguan government. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Hunt |first=Andrew |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1x675t8 |title=We Begin Bombing in Five Minutes: Late Cold War Culture in the Age of Reagan |date=2021 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |jstor=j.ctv1x675t8 |isbn=978-1-62534-577-6}}</ref>

The Boland Amendment, proposed by [[Edward Boland]], was a compromise because the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] did not have enough votes for a comprehensive ban. The Amendment gained traction due to widespread opposition among the American public to funding the Contras as opposition to funding the Contras hovered around two to one.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sklar |first=Holly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IbFXs7_LutMC&dq=%22Holly+Sklar%22+Contra+funding+%22trend+of+two+to+one.%22&pg=PA192 |title=Washington's War on Nicaragua |date=1988 |publisher=South End Press |isbn=978-0-89608-295-3 |language=en}}</ref> It covered only [[appropriation (law)|appropriated funds]] spent by [[intelligence agencies]] (such as the CIA). Some of Reagan's national security officials used non-appropriated money spent by the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] (NSC) to circumvent the Amendment.<ref>{{Cite report |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep11953.7 |title=The Iran-Contra Affair |last=Douville |first=Alex |date=2012 |publisher=Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College |pages=87–148}}</ref> No court ever made a determination whether the Amendment covered the NSC. Supporters of the NSC actions claimed that the Boland Amendment violated the [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]] by violating the separation of powers principle, while opponents claimed that the Amendment passed in the constitutionally proscribed manner and the principle of separation of powers was not a legal defense.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Timbers |first=Edwin |date=1990 |title=Legal and Institutional Aspects of the Iran-Contra Affair |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/20700112 |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=31–41 |jstor=20700112 |issn=0360-4918}}</ref> Congress later resumed aid to the Contras, totaling over $300 million. The Sandinistas were voted out of power in 1990 with the election of opposition leader [[Violeta Chamorro]] over the Sandinista candidate, [[Daniel Ortega]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Salehyan |first=Idean |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt7z6bx |title=Rebels without Borders: Transnational Insurgencies in World Politics |date=2009 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-7754-6 |jstor=10.7591/j.ctt7z6bx }}</ref>

The Boland Amendment prohibited the federal government from providing military support that would be used to overthrow the [[Government of Nicaragua]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Timbers |first=Edwin |date=1990 |title=Legal and Institutional Aspects of the Iran-Contra Affair |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/20700112 |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=31–41 |jstor=20700112 |issn=0360-4918}}</ref> It aimed to prevent CIA funding of rebels opposed to the revolutionary [[Junta of National Reconstruction|provisional junta]]. The Amendment sought to block Reagan administration support for the Contra rebels, but the amendment was narrowly interpreted by the Reagan administration to apply to only U.S. intelligence agencies, allowing the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] (NSC), which is not labeled an intelligence agency, to channel funds to the Contra rebels.<ref>{{Cite report |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep11953.7 |title=The Iran-Contra Affair |last=Douville |first=Alex |date=2012 |publisher=Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College |pages=87–148}}</ref> To block the funding through the NSC, the amendment was changed to prohibit any funds for military or paramilitary operations.<ref name=rev>{{cite web|url=http://teaching.arts.usyd.edu.au/history/hsty3080/3rdYr3080/IranContra/Design/Campaign.htm|title=The Truth is Stranger than Fiction|publisher=University of Sydney|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231031609/http://teaching.arts.usyd.edu.au/history/hsty3080/3rdYr3080/IranContra/Design/Campaign.htm|archive-date=2006-12-31}}</ref><ref name=Draper>{{cite book|author=Theodore Draper|title=A Very Thin Line: The Iran-Contra Affair|pages=17–27, 51|publisher=Hill and Wang|location=New York}}</ref>