Shultz Wants Iran-Contra Facts Put on Table Quickly : Sees No Need to Build Confidence of NATO Allies

Secretary of State George P. Shultz said today that Reagan Administration officials should “get things out as rapidly as possible” about secret U.S. arms shipments to Iran and diversion of funds to Nicaraguan rebels.

Shultz told a news conference in winding up a two-day meeting with NATO foreign ministers that he had not found it necessary to rebuild the ministers’ confidence in the United States and its handling of foreign policy.

But he said the facts of the weapons purchase and the secret fund should be “set out on the table” for the American public and all the world to see.

The secretary said President Reagan wants full disclosure, and compliance with his wishes would facilitate the conduct of U.S. foreign policy, including the pursuit of agreements with the Soviet Union to reduce nuclear weapons.

‘Complicated Task’

“We have a very complicated and difficult task of governing to do, as always, both domestically and internationally,” Shultz said. “Let’s get at it, and that’s the strategy.”

He noted that Reagan dismissed Adm. John M. Poindexter as his national security adviser and made other changes. “Basically, the President has said let us handle this by being open and prosecuting when necessary,” Shultz said.

Poindexter and Marine Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, a deputy who was also ousted, declined to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee, invoking their Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

CIA Director William J. Casey testified about some aspects of the matter but said his knowledge was limited.

Law Affords Protection

Shultz said under American law people have the right not to testify against themselves. “That’s their decision,” he said.

But he added that “I agree very much with the President’s strategy and desire to see the facts of the matter set out on the table.”

Registering his differences with Poindexter, North and possibly Casey, he added, “I agree very much with the President’s desire to get things out as rapidly as possible, and I hope in one way or another it will be possible to do that.”

Shultz told the House committee Monday, before embarking on a weeklong “rebuilding” mission to London and Brussels, that he had opposed the Iranian purchase and knew “zero” about the surreptitious contra fund.