BACKGROUND Meet the new kid on the block Afloat On Tainted Sea Is Ledeen's Story Yaintefr Acadern The Reform Jewish Day School OPEN HOUSE Wednesday, August 23, 1989 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM Meet our teachers. . . See our classrooms Special children's activities and refreshments Classes begin with Kindergarten and First Grade and will grow one grade each year. Call Now! 661-1000, ext. 275 Maple-Drake JCC 6600 West Maple Road • West Bloomfield Yavneh Academy admits students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin. VIP VA • itr All twee ano cnaracters (S) and (g19157 DC Comics 'Inc BUY-SELL-TRADE YOUR FAVORITE DC COMICS AT: MOAN--SAT 11 AM-SPIA SUN 12-S 548-TZ 13 TIME TRAVELERS COMICS CARDS i COLLECTASLES Michael Ledeen, enmeshed in the Iran Contra scandal, is convinced that it was a worthwhile action that went sour. JAMES D. BESSER Washington Correspondent A s scandals go, it was not a particularly satisfying one. Despite early hints of illegal conspiracies by top officials of the Reagan administration, the Iran-Contra affair brought down no govern- ments, dragged no top of- ficials to ignominious defeat. To a country schooled in scandal by the "smoking gun" of Watergate days, there was a frustrating lack of clari- ty to the entire Iran-Contra saga, a deflating sense of anti-climax. This indistinct quality defines the role of Michael Le- deen in this peculiar episode in American foreign policy. According to the official in- vestigations, Ledeen was lit- tle more than an in- termediary among higher- level administration officials, Israel and Manucher Ghor- banifar, the shadowy mid- dleman in the complex transaction. Some observers, especially in the press, took a dramatically different view of Ledeen's activities. According to one theory, he was part of a vast "disinformation" cam- paign planned and executed by Israeli agents. "Ledeen is the kind of person who thinks that the shortest distance bet- ween two points is a tunnel," said a writer in Covert Action, a publication devoted to highly critical analyses of U.S. intelligence activities. His image as a cloak-and- dagger enthusiast, he says, stems more from the blood- lust of the press — and from a growing distrust of Jews in high places. "It's been a combination of some of the nastier rumors, plus the Pollard case, plus the current behavior of the Israeli government and their inabili- ty to make a convincing case for anything," he said in a re- cent interview. "This has put a cloud over Jews in govern- ment. Indeed, it's been tougher for pro-Israel gentiles than it was five years ago." Political Pragmatist Fashion, Services Fabulous Treats! SUCH Orchard Lake Rd. North of Maple. West Bloomfield 34 FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 1989 Michael Ledeen is an in- tense looking man with an abrupt manner and a visible impatience with what he sees as ethical hand-wringing. He is given to long historical digressions, a bit of baggage from his academic past. But mostly, he speaks in the tough-minded lexicon of the political pragmatist. He offers no apologies for his work on behalf of the Reagan white House; indeed, he conveys the impression that the very no- tion that he should apologize for his Iran-Contra activities is just another symptom of a nation that has lost its abili- Michael Ledeen: Says press and public misunderstood. ty to think realistically about a world filled with diplomatic and military hazards. "I have always described myself as a Scoop Jackson Democrat," he says. "In the area of foreign policy, I have what are now considered quite conservative views. On the domestic side, I'm a trade union supporter; I'm in favor of urban renewal. So my views are very mixed." Ledeen earned a doctorate in modern European history, and at various times has worked as a history professor and a reporter — including a stint as Rome correspondent for The New Republic. In the late '70s, he served as editor of the Jewish Institute for Na- tional Security Affairs newsletter. He has published eight books, ranging from his current analysis of the Iran- Contra affair Perilous Statecraft — to academic works on Italian history. He is also a champion bridge player; in 1975, he coached the Israeli national bridge team. Today, he frequently uses bridge analogies to describe problems in government and diplomacy. "One of the reasons I find foreign policy so interesting is the flow of infor- mation," he says. "As in bridge, there are times when you want to limit the flow of information to your partner to conceal it from your op- ponents. That is one of the basic foreign policy pro- blems." In 1977, Ledeen became editor of the Washington Quarterly, a publication of the Georgetown University Center for Strategic and In- ternational Studies. It was a momentous move; while working for CSIS, he developed close ties to Henry Kissinger and Alexander Haig. When Haig became Ronald Reagan's first secretary of state, Ledeen signed on as a special adviser. When Haig left the State Department, Ledeen resigned as well, on- ly to sign on as a consultant to the administration, in the areas of European policy and terrorism. As a consultant, Ledeen gradually became more in- volved in the nexus of ac- tivities that led to the con- voluted plan to trade arms for hostages, and surreptitiously to provide the help for the Nicaraguan Contras that Congress had denied. "I had written a book on Iran, on the fall of the Shah's government," Ledeen says, "and I was interested in the idea that it was time for the United States to become more engaged in Iran." But American policy- makers were poorly informed about the volatile political situation in Iran. The Islamic revolution had shattered the American intelligence net- work there. In some ways, Le- deen suggests, U.S. in- telligence officials almost seemed intent- on ignoring Iran. The CIA officer in charge of Iranian affairs, Le- deen says, was a man whose specialty was Latin America. Ledeen made a fateful sug- gestion: why not go to the Israelis for information? Israel had maintained its con- tacts with Teheran — in part because of the continuing arms traffic between Israel and Iran. And Ledeen was just the man to broach the subject of Iran with the Israelis. He had a personal relationship with Prime Minister Shimon Peres, going back to his days as special adviser to Haig.