Hoops and Coups

November 1986. Republican president. Democratic control of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Some of the same players from twenty years ago.

Some not.

Team captains Ronald Reagan and Tip O�Neill shake their heads affirmatively as the referees talk to them. It is a cool, pleasant Fall evening here at the Watergate Sports Arena in beautiful, downtown, Washington, DC, but the game will be a hotly decided contest between the two top American basketball teams, leading all comers for years.

Here we go. The ref puts the ball up and the game is underway as O�Neill, in a blue jersey, tips the basketball away from his redshirt opponent, Robert Gates. There�s a little history to this competition.

October 23, 1983. Beirut. Two hundred forty-one Americans and fifty-eight French die in a marine barracks, the result of an attack by an Iranian suicide bomber.

Reagan grabs the ball. He dribbles around O�Neill and swings down the parquet.

June 18, 1985. The White House.

America will never make concessions to terrorists�to do so would only invite more terrorism�nor will we ask nor pressure any other government to do so. Once we head down that path there would be no end to it, no end to the suffering of innocent people, no end to the bloody ransom all civilized nations must pay. [President Ronald Reagan]

Reagan is centered inside the foul line. He pushes around another blue defender�who is that�it�s number twenty-three, Ted Kennedy. Reagan fakes a go at the basket. Backs off. Looks around.

July 8,1985. President Reagan denounces Iran as part of a "confederation of terrorist states." He states that Iran committed "outright acts of war" against the United States.

July 18, 1985. President Reagan approves plans to make overtures to the Iranian government through arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar, personal friend of Iran's Prime Minister, Hussein Mousavi.

August 1985. President Reagan sells anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles to Iran.

Reagan bounce passes the ball to Gates. Back to Reagan. To Bush.

George H.W. Bush, Vice President, heads the Presidential Task Force on Terrorism. He attends high-level meetings where the sale of arms to Iran and the illegal funding of the Nicaraguan Contras is discussed. Though others in the meeting object to the arrangement, there is no record of objections by Bush.

Bush holds the ball. Dribbles in place. Slowly moves down the court. Turns to rally his fans.

Today I am proud to deliver to the American people the result of the six months effort to review our policies and our capabilities to deal with terrorism. Our policy is clear, concise, unequivocal. We will offer no concession to terrorists, because that only leads to more terrorism. States that practice terrorism, or actively support it, will not be allowed to do so without consequence. [Vice President George H.W. Bush]

Bush passes back to Reagan. He moves right again, denying the defenders. Seeing a red jersey even further off to the right, he bounces a pass to North. North shoots. And it�s in. It�s a three-pointer. The fans go wild.

August 27, 1986. President Reagan signs a federal law banning arms sales to terrorist nations.

September 1986. Shipments of arms to Iran continue. Money made on the arms deal is illegally channeled through Oliver North, Assistant Deputy Director for Political-Military Affairs. North heads the operations of a clandestine agency, coordinating secret sales of weapons to the government of Iran. He uses these profits to buy weapons for the Contra army in Nicaragua�the Iran-Contra affair.

Kennedy feeds in to Lawrence Walsh, a sub. Walsh moves quickly down the court. He stops just short of the foul line and drums one in.

November 13, 1986. President Reagan admits to the American public he has sent weapons to Iran. Reagan and his vice president, George H.W. Bush, are under investigation for their part in selling arms to Iranian terrorists.

November 21, 1986. North shreds documents all night, leaving few for investigation. Emails are deleted wholesale.

Gates puts the ball in to Reagan. Reagan is surrounded by blue jerseys. He�s desperately turning left and right but Walsh slaps the ball out of Reagan�s hand. Starts to run with it. Bush is right there.

December 1986. Robert M. Gates becomes the CIA's acting director of central intelligence.

Gates steals the ball from Walsh. He�s down the lane. He drops the basket in. The fans love him.

Gates later denies awareness of Oliver North�s illegal activities. Senior CIA officials claim they had informed Gates that North had diverted funds from the Iranian arms sales for the benefit of the Contras. The independent counsel for the Iran-Contra investigation (1986-93), Lawrence Walsh, later writes that Gates �denied recollection of facts thirty-three times.�

The media reports Bush�s attendance at the five meetings where illegal Contra payments were discussed. There is talk of impeachment

Walsh feeds in to O�Neill. O�Neill heads downcourt, spins around and shoots. The ball rolls around the rim. Rolls around the rim� around the rim�and falls� out. Poindexter tips it to Bush. Bush is ahead of the pack. Looks around.

In his testimony before Congress, North, guilty, yet manages to charm the country.

North blocks out the sole defender, Walsh. Bush shoots. It�s in the basket. Red jerseys are all over him. The game is theirs.

November 1988. George H.W. Bush is elected president!

May 4, 1989. Oliver North is convicted of three felony counts.

September 16, 1991. Charges against North are dismissed on the grounds that North�s public testimony may have prejudiced his right to a fair trial.

November 2000.

It�s a new game. The 2000 NSA Finals get underway, and Rove tips the ball to red jersey number two, Bush. This is George W. Bush, the son of former player, and now coach, George H.W. Bush.

George W. Bush is elected president.

Bush dribbles past Gore�s blue jersey. Passes to Dick Cheney.

March 19, 2004. The White House.

Any sign of weakness or retreat simply validates terrorist violence, and invites more violence for all nations. [President George W. Bush]

November 2004. George W. Bush is re-elected.

Rove now has the ball. Back to Bush. He sends the ball to Cheney. Uh, oh. Bush viciously elbows John Kerry. The referees did not see it. Bush�s fans cheer. Cheney drifts right by John Edwards�shoots. It�s in. The huge, new Halliburton, DC Stadium goes wild. With two minutes and seven seconds left, it looks more like a victory for the red jerseys every moment.

November 7, 2006. Democrats gain control of the Senate and the House.

November 8, 2006. President Bush nominates Robert M. Gates the new Secretary of Defense.

Wait a minute. It�s awfully close, but it looks now like the blue jerseys will come through with a win. Three seconds left and Gates puts the ball into play with a long pass to Bush. Pelosi is in his face. Bush shoots. He misses.

November 2008. President Bush and his vice president, Dick Cheney, are investigated for their part in giving arms to Iraqi terrorists. There is talk of impeachment. In Iran, the United States is attacked by guns it sold to Iran. In Iraq, the United States is attacked by guns it gave to Iraq�In Afghanistan�

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Dr. Paul Aaron's publications include: "White Flower" and "Our Blessed Love Enduring." "Catastrophizing" was performed by the Deep Dish Theater Company at the Cornucopia House Cancer Support Center in 2003.

In 1971, Dr. Aaron began teaching Yoga and meditation. In 1972 he became the owner of Manna Fest Station, a natural foods macrobiotic restaurant. The Journals of Manna Fest Station are in his plans to publish next year. Organic gardening is still the way of his family�s kitchen table and he continues teaching in the fields of Nutrition and Meditation.

Graduating cum laude from Logan College of Chiropractic in 1983, Aaron practiced Chiropractic and Acupuncture until the point that Democracy and writing demanded all his attention.