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10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Edward P. Boland.md

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+---
+category: "Iran-Contra"
+tags:
+  - person
+  - contra-war
+summary: Edward P. Boland was the Massachusetts congressman who sponsored the Boland Amendments prohibiting U.S. military aid to the Contras.
+---
+Edward P. Boland was the Massachusetts Democratic congressman who sponsored the [[Boland Amendment|Boland Amendments]], the series of congressional provisions that prohibited the use of taxpayer funds for covert military operations against [[Nicaragua]]. The amendments, passed between 1982 and 1984, were named after Boland as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.[^1]
+
+### The Boland Amendments
+
+The amendments sought to rein in the Reagan administration's covert war by prohibiting the [[Central Intelligence Agency]], [[National Security Council]], or any other U.S. government agency from providing military aid to the [[Contras]]. The legislation directly led to [[Oliver North]]'s illegal efforts to fund the Contras through alternative sources, including [[Iran]] arms sales proceeds, Saudi contributions, and [[cocaine]] trafficking profits. The Boland Amendments exposed the tension between congressional oversight and executive branch determination to pursue the Contra war by any means necessary.[^2]
+
+### Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Glossary.
+[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 16.