Very Thin Line

Working largely from congressional testimony and private depositions, Draper ( Abuse of Power ) reconstructs the Iran-Contra affair, showing how a handful of little-known officials, in defiance of the law and without the knowledge of any other branch of government, took control of U.S. foreign policy. The study adds thinly to what we already know about President Reagan's (and then-vice-president Bush's) knowledge of and involvement in the arms-for-hostages deal and the diversion of funds, but Draper's scholarly efforts deepen our understanding of other major elements of the affair: for example, the exclusion of secretaries of State and Defense Schultz and Weinberger after January 1986, the role of CIA director William Casey, and the administration's attempt to shift blame for its Iran policy to the Israelis. This is the fullest and most authoritative account to date of the usurpation of power by a small, strategically placed group of insiders--lieutenant colonel North, admiral Poindexter et al.--and is also an instructive exploration of the line that separates the legitimate from the illegitimate exercise of power. Photos. BOMC alternate. (June)