Investigation puts spotlight on president’s truthfulness on going to war: The C.I.A. leak case has brought renewed scrutiny of the Bush administration’s decision to go to war in Iraq, and there are historical parallels to the Reagan administration’s foreign policy during the Iran-Contra scandal, according to Vanderbilt University Professor of History Thomas Alan Schwartz. During the Reagan presidency, arms were sold to Iran, with the proceeds being sent to the Contras who were fighting the Sandinista government of Nicaragua. Both the arms sale and the funding of Contras violated administration policy and legislation passed by Congress. Now the C.I.A. leak investigation reopens the debate on whether the Bush administration told the truth on the reasons for going to war in Iraq. Once again, a major foreign policy debate has spilled over into legal proceedings, Schwartz said. “Second terms have been rocky for American presidents since Richard Nixon, seriously crippling their ability to pass major legislative initiatives. The absence of a Republican heir to the presidency, an unusual phenomenon in U.S. politics, also makes President Bush more vulnerable to criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.”
Schwartz, author of Lyndon Johnson and Europe: In the Shadow of Vietnam, teaches and writes about the history of American foreign relations and contemporary American foreign policy. Much of his research has focused on the role of the president in the leadership of the Western alliance and alliance politics. He is writing a biography of Henry Kissinger. To arrange an interview with Schwartz, call 615-322-2706 or email him at thomas.a.schwartz@vanderbilt.edu.
Media contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, 615-322-NEWS
annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu