Editing Iran–Contra affair (section)

==Tower Commission==
{{Main|Tower Commission}}
On 25 November 1986, President Reagan announced the creation of a Special Review Board to look into the matter; the following day, he appointed former Senator [[John Tower]], former Secretary of State [[Edmund Muskie]], and former National Security Adviser [[Brent Scowcroft]] to serve as members. This [[Presidential Commission (United States)|Presidential Commission]] took effect on 1 December and became known as the [[Tower Commission]]. The main objectives of the commission were to inquire into "the circumstances surrounding the Iran–Contra matter, other case studies that might reveal strengths and weaknesses in the operation of the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] system under stress, and the manner in which that system has served eight different presidents since its inception in 1947". The Tower Commission was the first presidential commission to review and evaluate the National Security Council.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Louis |last=Fisher |title=Foreign Policy Powers of the President and Congress |journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |volume=499 |year=1988 |pages=148–159 |doi=10.1177/0002716288499001012|s2cid=153469115 }}</ref>

[[File:Photograph of President Reagan receiving the Tower Commission Report in the Cabinet Room - NARA - 198581.jpg|thumb|left|President Reagan (center) receives the Tower Commission Report in the White House Cabinet Room; [[John Tower]] is at left and [[Edmund Muskie]] is at right, 1987.]]

President Reagan appeared before the Tower Commission on 2 December 1986, to answer questions regarding his involvement in the affair. When asked about his role in authorizing the arms deals, he first stated that he had; later, he appeared to contradict himself by stating that he had no recollection of doing so.<ref name="tcr-time">{{Cite news|magazine=Time|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963668,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308070426/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963668,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 March 2008|title=Tower of Judgement|author=Church, George J|access-date=22 April 2008 | date=1987-03-02}}</ref> In his 1990 autobiography, ''[[An American Life]]'', Reagan acknowledges authorizing the shipments to Israel.{{sfn|Reagan|1990|p=501}}

The report published by the Tower Commission was delivered to the president on 26 February 1987. The commission had interviewed 80 witnesses to the scheme, including Reagan, and two of the arms trade middlemen: [[Manucher Ghorbanifar]] and [[Adnan Khashoggi]].<ref name="tcr-time"/> The 200-page report was the most comprehensive of any released,<ref name="tcr-time"/> criticizing the actions of Oliver North, John Poindexter, Caspar Weinberger, and others. It determined that President Reagan did not have knowledge of the extent of the program, especially about the diversion of funds to the Contras, although it argued that the president ought to have had better control of the National Security Council staff. The report heavily criticized Reagan for not properly supervising his subordinates or being aware of their actions. A major result of the Tower Commission was the consensus that Reagan should have listened to his National Security Advisor more, thereby placing more power in the hands of that chair.