http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran-Contra_AffairThe Iran-Contra Affair (also known as "Irangate") was a mid-1980s political scandal in the United States. President Ronald Reagan's administration sold arms to Iran, an avowed enemy. At the time, Americans were being held hostage in Lebanon by Hezbollah, a militant Shi'a organization loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini. The US government claimed that using the arms would influence Iran to release the hostages. At the same time, Iran, which was in the midst of the Iran-Iraq War, could find few nations willing to supply it with weapons. However, the arms shipments began before the first hostage was taken, and ended a long time after the last hostage was released. The U.S. diverted proceeds from the sale to the Contras, right wing guerrillas engaged in an insurgency against the elected socialist Sandinista government of Nicaragua. Both the sale of weapons and the funding of the Contras violated stated administration policy as well as legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled Congress, which had blocked further Contra funding...Not that the US is the only country; it's a shame the US doesn't bother to take its position in the world more seriously.