McFarlane: A Central Figure

When the joint House-Senate inquiry into the Iran- contra affair resumes today, the witness will be Robert C. McFarlane, President Reagan’s national security adviser from October, 1983, to December, 1985, and a central figure in the scandal.

McFarlane was the top White House policy-maker when the Iran arms-for-hostages project was conceived in the summer of 1985. He also was in charge when Lt. Col. Oliver L. North began operating his secret supply pipeline to the rebels inside Nicaragua in 1984. Even after leaving the White House, McFarlane remained involved in the Iran affair, flying to Tehran in May, 1986, for talks with the Iranians.

When the projects were exposed last November, a distraught McFarlane admitted knowing that North had funneled Iran arms profits to the contras, but said he had not told the President. Later, he admitted helping to falsify a White House history of the Iran venture that minimized Reagan’s role and omitted word of the contras’ diverted millions.

McFarlane took an overdose of Valium last Feb. 10 in an apparent attempt to take his own life but recovered fully.