Green & Red Podcast: Eugene Hasenfus, Iran-Contra, and American Subversion as Foreign Policy (G&R 445)

Date: December 5, 2025
Hosts: Bob Buzzanco & Scott Parkin

Episode Overview

In this episode, co-hosts Bob Buzzanco and Scott Parkin revisit the legacy and far-reaching implications of the Iran-Contra affair, prompted by the recent death of Eugene Hasenfus, a central figure in exposing the covert American operations in Nicaragua. Through a mix of personal recollection, deep historical context, and wry commentary, they connect the scandal’s threads through U.S. foreign policy from Jimmy Carter to today’s political climate, exposing the consistent use of illegal intervention, covert operations, and the cyclical nature of American empire.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Carter and Reagan’s Foreign Policy

• Carter’s Covert Operations:
  • Initiated covert support for Afghan Mujahideen and opposition to Soviet-backed governments (05:00).
  • Began funding opposition to Nicaragua’s Sandinistas, laying the groundwork for the Contras.
  • Connected to post-revolution Iran, where the U.S. froze assets and embargoed arms (05:54).
• Rise of the Sandinistas:
  • Sandinistas took power in Nicaragua in 1979, replacing the brutal Somoza dictatorship.
  • American reaction was aggressive: “Of course the American political class and the media immediately raised the alarms—these are communists and they're puppets of Cuba.” —Bob Buzzanco (05:27)

2. Reagan’s Escalation and the Roots of Iran-Contra

• Aggressive Rhetoric and Policy:
  • Reagan’s “new Cold War” approach painted the Sandinistas as existential threats (07:02).
  • Describes US efforts to delegitimize and destabilize socialist governments, even those recognized for their social programs (08:00).
• Congress Pushback:
  • Boland Amendment and public opposition limited direct aid to Contras:
    “Democrats passed laws like the Boland Amendment… public opinion polls were overwhelmingly against US involvement.” —Bob Buzzanco (09:36)

3. The Contradictions of U.S. Policy

• Supporting Both Sides in the Middle East:
  • U.S. sold arms to Iran while backing Iraq in their bloody conflict (13:00).
  • “When I would tell this… my students would be like, mouths… Oh my God, really?” —Bob Buzzanco (12:12)
• Workarounds: Contras and Illegal Funding:
  • Reagan instructed staff to “do whatever you have to do to keep these folks going, body and soul together.” —Bob Buzzanco (10:51)
  • Oliver North’s central role as Reagan staffer running the illicit operation (13:22).

4. Covert Operations, Death Squads, and U.S. Training

• CIA & Military Involvement:
  • Training and organizing Contras in Honduras; death squads become a model exported to Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond (21:47).
  • “CIA was training the Contras in Honduras… Honduras, the USS Honduras. Like basically the US owned the country.” —Bob Buzzanco (22:11)
• School of the Americas:
  • U.S. provided counterinsurgency and assassination training at Fort Benning, Georgia, now Western Hemispheric Institute for Security (23:10).

5. Media, Whistleblowers, and the Hasenfus Catalyst

• Role of Eugene Hasenfus:
  • Hasenfus, shot down in Nicaragua in 1986, exposed the covert network — the “Contra supply operation” (27:23).
  • “He had done jump school when he was in the Marines. But it opens up this whole inquiry… it eventually just completely blows up.” —Scott Parkin (27:23)
• Journalistic Exposés:
  • Seymour Hersh broke early stories; Gary Webb later detailed CIA’s role in cocaine smuggling fueling the crack epidemic in LA (29:34).
  • “The United States was actually trans-shipping cocaine to raise money for the Contras…” —Bob Buzzanco (28:57)

6. Cover-Ups, Hearings, and Non-Accountability

• Shredded Documents and Show Trials:
  • Fawn Hall and Oliver North’s symbolic destruction of evidence: “Hall was hiding documents in her boots.” (30:23)
  • Congressional and independent investigations (Tower Commission, Lawrence Walsh)—14 senior officials charged, most later pardoned by George H.W. Bush (32:22).
  • “North just dominated it. Right. The Democrats, he just put them in their place. And he became this national hero after this.” —Bob Buzzanco (34:27)

7. Aftermath and Lessons for Today

• Destruction of Democratic Projects:
  • The Sandinistas eventually lost power amidst economic devastation, continued US pressure, and orchestrated destabilization (36:59).
  • Peaceful transition: “What did those brutal, horrible communist terrors do when they lost that election?... They gave up power.” —Scott Parkin & Bob Buzzanco (36:59-37:01)
• Continued Patterns:
  • U.S. impunity in violating international law; regularization of pardons for criminality at the highest levels (“inside the United States, government officials could break the law and it wouldn't be a problem” —40:24).
  • Modern echoes: Trump’s unique dangers are extreme but “skids were greased” by previous eras (42:14).
• Perennial Playbook:
  • “When you see what Israel is doing today, or what’s happening in Ukraine, or Sudan, or Syria, or a million other places—it’s an old story. It’s an old playbook.” —Bob Buzzanco (38:29)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the U.S. as Global Subversive Force:
  “Covert operations is not missionary work.” —Kissinger, quoted by Bob Buzzanco (16:49)
• On the Real Threat:
  “The biggest problem with Cuba is—it never surrendered. It's still there. The threat… is the threat of a good example.” —Bob Buzzanco (38:32)
• On Congressional Accountability:
  “This is the last time the Democratic Party actually took a strong stand on anything.” —Bob Buzzanco (09:09)
• On Pattern Recognition:
  “We're not really those guys. But I think it is important to note that this repeats. This is repeating itself.” —Scott Parkin (39:45)
• On Oliver North’s Role:
  “He wasn’t apologetic, he was apoplectic. He was defending it… he absolutely manipulated and controlled those hearings.” —Bob Buzzanco (33:00)
• On Hasenfus’ Accidental Legacy:
  “You changed the world in some ways you didn't expect.” —Bob Buzzanco (45:35)

Timestamps of Key Segments

• Background: U.S. in Afghanistan and Latin America – [05:00 – 06:39]
• Reagan Administration and the Contras – [07:00 – 11:15]
• Contradictions: U.S. Arms to Iran & Iraq – [12:10 – 13:22]
• Deep Dive: Death Squads, CIA Training, School of the Americas – [21:47 – 24:07]
• Eugene Hasenfus and the Media Breakthrough – [27:23 – 29:20]
• Contra Cocaine Connection: Gary Webb & Legacy – [29:34 – 30:14]
• Congressional Hearings and Cover-up – [30:23 – 34:27]
• Impact on Nicaragua and Beyond – [36:59 – 39:03]
• Modern Parallels & Enduring Patterns – [39:03 – 42:14]
• Popular Culture: Miami Vice and Snowfall – [43:22 – 44:56]

Additional Context & Reflections

• The episode is steeped in the hosts’ lived experience of the 1980s solidarity and anti-intervention movements, offering a personal-political lens on how U.S. imperial strategy recycles itself.
• References to pop culture (Miami Vice, Oliver Stone movies, Snowfall) highlight how these covert wars bled into broader cultural consciousness.
• Both hosts note the timeliness, connecting 1980s impunity and circumvention of law to the practices of the Trump era.
• The conversation is wry, self-aware, blending cynicism about U.S. institutions with reverence for activism and historical memory.

Summary Takeaway

The Iran-Contra affair, brought into the open by the downing of Eugene Hasenfus, is not just a history lesson—it's a blueprint for ongoing American foreign policy, marked by covert intervention, disregard for law, and the regular crushing of progressive movements in the global south. From Carter to Reagan to today’s presidents, the machinery of subversion turns on, as do efforts by activists and journalists to expose it. The patterns remain, and as the hosts suggest, the only way to “learn” from this history is to recognize it and organize against its repetition.