Editing Iran–Contra affair (section)

===George H. W. Bush's involvement===
On 27 July 1986, Israeli counterterrorism expert [[Amiram Nir]] briefed Vice President Bush in Jerusalem about the weapon sales to Iran.<ref name="apnews.com; 2 December 1988">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Iran-Contra Figure Killed in Plane Crash |url=https://apnews.com/article/232b2fe85361772091c0e48651f1b509 |work=apnews.com |date=2 December 1988 |access-date=5 November 2020 |archive-date=12 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412120333/https://apnews.com/article/232b2fe85361772091c0e48651f1b509 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In an interview with ''The Washington Post'' in August 1987, Bush stated that he was denied information about the operation and did not know about the diversion of funds.<ref name="The Washington Post; 6 August 1987">{{cite news |last=Broder |first=David S. |author-link=David S. Broder |date=6 August 1987 |title=Bush Asserts Vindication in Iran Affair |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/08/06/bush-asserts-vindication-in-iran-affair/edd22f72-7177-4c22-a25a-dbba3b1524ad/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=5 November 2020 |archive-date=31 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131213520/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/08/06/bush-asserts-vindication-in-iran-affair/edd22f72-7177-4c22-a25a-dbba3b1524ad/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Bush said that he had not advised Reagan to reject the initiative because he had not heard strong objections to it.<ref name="The Washington Post; 6 August 1987"/> The ''Post'' quoted him as stating, "We were not in the loop."<ref name="The Washington Post; 6 August 1987"/> The following month, Bush recounted meeting Nir in his September 1987 autobiography ''Looking Forward'', stating that he began to develop misgivings about the Iran initiative.<ref name="Los Angeles Times; 6 September 1987">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Bush Barred From Iran Talks, He Writes |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-06-mn-6282-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=6 September 1987 |access-date=5 November 2020 |archive-date=21 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421063300/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-06-mn-6282-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He wrote that he did not learn the full extent of the Iran dealings until he was briefed by Senator [[David Durenberger]] regarding a Senate inquiry into them.<ref name="Los Angeles Times; 6 September 1987"/> Bush added the briefing with Durenberger left him with the feeling he had "been deliberately excluded from key meetings involving details of the Iran operation".<ref name="Los Angeles Times; 6 September 1987"/>

In January 1988 during a live interview with Bush on ''[[CBS Evening News]]'', [[Dan Rather]] told Bush that his unwillingness to speak about the scandal led "people to say 'either George Bush was irrelevant or he was ineffective, he set himself outside of the loop.{{' "}}<ref name="NPR; 6 December 2018">{{cite news |last=Welna |first=David |date=6 December 2018 |title=George H.W. Bush's Mixed Legacy in a Reagan-Era Scandal |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/12/06/674079779/george-h-w-bushs-mixed-legacy-in-a-reagan-era-scandal |work=NPR |access-date=14 November 2020 |archive-date=31 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531031324/https://www.npr.org/2018/12/06/674079779/george-h-w-bushs-mixed-legacy-in-a-reagan-era-scandal |url-status=live }}</ref> Bush replied, "May I explain what I mean by 'out of the loop'? No operational role."<ref name="NPR; 6 December 2018"/><ref>{{cite interview |last=Bush |first=George |subject-link=George H. W. Bush |title=Text of Dan Rather's Interview With George Bush |interviewer=[[Dan Rather]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/01/27/text-of-dan-rathers-interview-with-george-bush/7ae836b4-c06a-45b1-8138-24efbd59a944/ |work=CBS Evening News |date=25 January 1988 |access-date=14 November 2020 |via=The Washington Post |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116090018/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/01/27/text-of-dan-rathers-interview-with-george-bush/7ae836b4-c06a-45b1-8138-24efbd59a944/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Although Bush publicly insisted that he knew little about the operation, his statements were contradicted by excerpts of his diary released by the White House in January 1993.<ref name="NPR; 6 December 2018"/><ref name="The New York Times; 16 January 1993">{{cite news |date=16 January 1993 |title=Excerpts From the Portions of Bush's Diaries Released by the White House |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/16/us/excerpts-from-the-portions-of-bush-s-diaries-released-by-the-white-house.html |work=The New York Times |at=sec. 1. p. 8 |access-date=14 November 2020 |archive-date=15 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115010519/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/16/us/excerpts-from-the-portions-of-bush-s-diaries-released-by-the-white-house.html |url-status=live }}</ref> An entry dated 5 November 1986 stated: "On the news at this time is the question of the hostages... I'm one of the few people that know fully the details, and there is a lot of flak and misinformation out there. It is not a subject we can talk about..."<ref name="NPR; 6 December 2018"/><ref name="The New York Times; 16 January 1993"/>