funds from Congress at a later date. Although this cap was a compromise of sorts between the Reagan Administration and Congress, it would definitely put the contra program in jeopardy. In compliance with the law, large numbers of staff from the CIA and the Defense department were withdrawn from Central America. In the wake of the Boland I Amendment and the cap on spending, Robert C. McFarlane, Reagan’s National Security Advisor, suggested soliciting support from other third world countries. CIA director, William Casey agreed and made several suggestions as to who should be approached. Contact was then made to solicit said funds. When a one million-dollar contribution was received in 1984, McFarlane turned to Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North of the National Security Council to set up bank accounts to move these monies into contra hands. Later when the Reagan’s Administration was unable to convince Congress to do away with the twenty-four million-dollar cap on contra aid, North was informed that President Reagan wished “the NSC staff had to keep the contras alive body and soul.” North was instrumental in setting up a covert network, which provided support to the contras. Initially these efforts, were merely a broadening of the efforts to solicit funds from other sources. North also provided the contras with counsel and support. He was instrumental in bringing the retired United States Air Force Major General Richard V. Secord in this operation as an arms broker. North worked with McFarlane to obtain the cooperation of Honduras. Honduran support was essential as many of the contra encampments were in Honduras. Later support from Costa Rica would be gotten on the behalf of the contras. Also, it was North along with Fernandez and Fiers who engineered the plan to use Enterprise to transport secrete shipments to the contras. The sale of arms to Iran was initiated with the dual goal of bettering relati...
