Robert Parry reviews the latest evidence of a history-changing Republican dirty trick in 1980. (For earlier articles about the October Surprise mystery, go to “Archives” at the Home Page and click on ”October Surprise X-Files.”)
–How Two Elections Changed America
Secret Republican operations around elections in 1968 and 1980 set the U.S. on today’s troubled course, says Robert Parry. November 4, 2009
–The Crazy October Surprise Debunking
To protect the Reagan-Bush-I legacy, Republicans and Democrats created absurd October Surprise alibis, reports Robert Parry. November 6, 2009
–The October Surprise Crystal Balls
A sub-plot of the 1980 October Surprise mystery is how some Reaganites foresaw the U.S. hostage release, says Robert Parry. November 13, 2009
–Key October Surprise Evidence Hidden
A Russian report on the 1980 October Surprise case was apparently kept from the chief congressional investigator, says Robert Parry. May 6, 2010
–The Tricky October Surprise Report
A House task force deceived the American public in clearing Ronald Reagan of a treacherous scheme with Iran, reports Robert Parry. June 17, 2010
–The CIA/Likud Sinking of Jimmy Carter
With the October Surprise cover-up in shambles, the evidence points to a CIA-Likud plot against President Carter, says Robert Parry. June 24, 2010
–Rethinking Iran-Contra
The recent collapse of the long-running October Surprise cover-up shifts the history on the Iran-Contra scandal, writes Robert Parry. July 1, 2010
–Accusation of October Surprise ‘Lying’
Attorney Lawrence Barcella accuses journalist Robert Parry of “lying” about the October Surprise case, and Parry responds. August 5, 2010
–October Surprise Cover-up Unravels
Die-hard defenders of the October Surprise (1980) cover-up keep citing alibis that have long ago disintegrated, says Robert Parry. August 6, 2010
–Don’t Try These GOP Alibis at Home
When powerful Republicans are in a pinch, they can use crazy alibis that would make anyone else look guiltier, says Robert Parry. August 12, 2010
–Twenty Years Ago, a Lost Opportunity
Two decades ago, the U.S. political/media system had a chance to get Ronald Reagan’s history right, but didn’t, says Robert Parry. April 15, 2011
–Jimmy Carter’s October Surprise Doubts: Ex-President Jimmy Carter tells an interviewer that he isn’t sure what to believe about the longstanding suspicions that Republicans went behind his back in 1980 to stop him from freeing 52 American hostages in Iran, a failure that contributed to his political demise. But Robert Parry reports that there is a wealth of historical evidence. May 12, 2011
–Bob Gates’s ‘Business’ of Lying: As Defense Secretary Robert Gates prepares to retire in late June, he is routinely –lauded as a “wise man” committed to telling it like it is, even making a frank comment this week about how “most governments lie to each other.” But Gates’s own record for honesty is a deeply checkered one, reports Robert Parry. June 17, 2011
Inside the October Surprise Cover-up: The George H.W. Bush Library in Texas has just released thousands of pages of documents on the October Surprise mystery, revealing how Bush’s inner circle handled allegations that the Reagan-Bush campaign in 1980 struck a treacherous deal with Iran. It was a textbook case of controlling the narrative, reports Robert Parry. July 12, 2011
October Surprise Evidence Surfaces: Among newly released archival records is the first U.S. documentary evidence that William Casey took a trip to Madrid possibly related to the 1980 October Surprise conspiracy. Doubts that Ronald Reagan’s campaign chief went to Madrid fueled a media frenzy in 1991 to debunk allegations of a secret GOP deal with Iran, says Robert Parry. July 14, 2011
Keeping a Curious Bush Secret: One of the strange mysteries from the Reagan-Bush era is where did George H.W. Bush go on one Sunday in October 1980 when some witnesses placed him meeting with Iranians in Paris. More than three decades later, Bush’s supposed alibi remains a state secret, Robert Parry reports. August 12, 2011
Bush’s October Surprise File in Dispute: The enduring October Surprise mystery – whether Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign sabotaged President Jimmy Carter’s efforts to free 52 American hostages in Iran – has reached a possible turning point, whether details of George H.W. Bush’s activities on a key day will be released, reports Robert Parry. September 9, 2011
Taking a Bush Secret to the Grave: The National Archives has approved an appeal by journalist Robert Parry seeking release of a 30-year-old secret, the address where George H.W. Bush supposedly went on an October weekend in 1980 — when several witnesses put Bush in Paris meeting with Iranians. But it turns out the “alibi witness” is now dead. September 27, 2011
Unmasking October Surprise Debunker: The fake “debunking” of the 1980 October Surprise case in the early 1990s was driven by a few “journalists,” including Steven Emerson, who has been identified in a recent report as a “misinformation expert” spreading anti-Muslim propaganda, reports Robert Parry. October 30, 2011
This is an impressive series of reports – leading one day, I am sure, to one describing the ultimate resolution of the October Surprise scandal, a certainty given the persistence and professional attention to detail these pieces reflect. They are of historic importance, and I have not doubt whatsoever that future historians of our era will see them that way, honoring their author accordingly.
PS – and we’re looking forward to more – whenever I see October Surprise in a consortiumnews email, I immediately hit the link and start reading..
Even though my only sure income is “Social Security”, this has inspired me to make a donation to help assure such vital public information.
Keep up the good work.
in regard to the Iran Contra debaucle, there are many “contractors” still
running contraband post-I-C era and making quite a business of it today.
The War on Drugs has become a ligitimate government backed business. It’s the biggest ruse since the October Surprise. Retired Intel.
Lady in Portland
I have read your site often, and much I like. Your Reagan interests and those of HW Bush interest me.
I believe it can reasonably be demonstrated with proof from the public record, i.e. inferring from what people say or don’t say or the facts are, rather than what they blurt out that the bombing of PA103 was jointly carried out by the US’s CIA and Iran’s Pasdaran in accordance with an agreement made in Glion Switzerland between the two countries to give Iran its one and only one revenge according to the tenets of traditional Iranian justice called qesas, for the provably deliberate shooting down of IR655, the Iranian Airbus done by the US with two intentions. To get Bush into the White House an unattractive candidate in a dull year in a khaki election and shut down Reagan’s radical foreign policy which Bush, an old CIA hand (he had been DCI), detested.
Robert Parry has done, as always, a superb job of reporting. Naturally, no one in the mainstream media will bother to re-examine the October Surprise case, certainly not with the fevered intensity they applied to Whitewater or the Lewinsky scandal.
In the early ’90s, Gary Sick – a former Naval officer and National Security deputy during the Carter Administration – tried to get the conversation going through op-ed articles and his book, “October Surprise.” PBS’ FRONTLINE put together a chilling documentary on the subject. Hardly anyone cared!
Admittedly, however, I was not too shocked when I learned of William Casey’s involvement; most sleazy operations bore his imprint. Nor was I surprised about the role played by George H.W. Bush, and his subsequent lies concerning his whereabouts. (I didn’t think he went to Paris for the wine!)In a family that has thrived on deception, this was par for the course. Iran-Contra and the 2000 “election” further bear this out.
Well, the end result feeds the fantasy that fear of Ronald Reagan got the hostages out. Suitable for those who wrestle with the complexities of talk-radio.
Thank you, Robert Parry and family!
[...] The New ‘October Surprise’ Series [...]
It is rather curious that we never read anything related to “october surprise” coming from the Iranian government people. This would have been very interesting to have some feedback from these people. If there was any, I never found books or written material covering their part of the story.
former elected president of Iran Bani Sadr wrote a book where he said he suspected that his ouster was due to his opposition to dealing with the Republicans concerning the October Surprise
When Ahmadinejad was “elected,” there were some of the “hostages” who swore that he had been one of their captors — they had no doubts. This was “in the news” for a few days, as I remember, and then the whole issue just disappeared. I never heard any results of any genuine investigation, official or otherwise. The whole thing just “disappeared.” What’s with that? Still curious.