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Robert McFarlane was a former USA Marine colonel who served in Vietnam and later became a key figure in USA foreign policy and the Iran-Contra Affair. He was an aide to Senator John Tower and had connections to Central Intelligence Agency circles through Robert Gates.1
Robert McFarlane was part of a group of Central Intelligence Agency-connected officers gathered by Miles Copeland who were unhappy with the Jimmy Carter administration. This group, along with William Casey, decided that the Jimmy Carter administration was incapable of dealing with the Iran issue.1
Robert McFarlane was involved in secret negotiations with Iran concerning the USA hostages. He, along with Earl Brian, arranged a meeting with Mehdi Bazargan in Tehran in January 1980. He also attended the Madrid meetings in March and May 1980, where he accompanied William Casey and Robert Gates, discussing future USA-Iran relations and arms supplies.1
Robert McFarlane had a special relationship with Rafi Eitan, then counterterrorism adviser to Menachem Begin 1. Rafi Eitan built a network within the USA to obtain information about Palestinian terrorists, and Robert McFarlane introduced Rafi Eitan to his friends, including Earl Brian, who had significant intelligence connections. Much information reaching the Senate Armed Services Committee found its way to Rafi Eitan desk.1
Robert McFarlane was a key player in the Oliver North-Amiram Nir second channel arms operation. He, along with Oliver North and John Poindexter, agreed to run this second channel, despite the existing Iran-Israel Joint Committee. Amiram Nir met with Robert McFarlane in Washington D.C. and threatened him with exposure if he did not cooperate with the new channel.1
Robert McFarlane was involved in the leaking of the Jonathan Pollard story to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to discredit the Iran-Israel Joint Committee. He was referred to as "Mr. X" in the subsequent hearings and was accused of providing computer access codes of intelligence reports to Rafi Eitan in Israel.1
In May 1986, Oliver North, Robert McFarlane, and Amiram Nir traveled to Tehran disguised as Irish technicians, carrying TOW missiles and Hawk missile spare parts. They were detained, and the military equipment was confiscated.1
Robert McFarlane was forced to resign from the National Security Council at the end of 1985 after William Odom proved to George Bush that Robert McFarlane was an Israel mole working for Rafi Eitan. He later attempted suicide during the congressional hearings into the Iran-Contra Affair, possibly fearing his role with the Israel would surface. He was convicted of lying to USA, but his conviction was later thrown out.1
Footnotes
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Ben-Menashe, Ari. Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War") ↩︎