The Nation - News from April 18, 1989

The ambassador to Lebanon at the time of the Iran-Contra affair said he had no significant role in the scandal and was involved only in getting a freed hostage out of the country. Reginald Bartholomew told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he had no advance knowledge that U.S. arms were swapped for the freedom of the Rev. Benjamin Weir, an American hostage who was released Sept. 14, 1985. “My role was restricted to logistical arrangements, at the request of the National Security Council,” to get Weir to safety as quickly as possible, Bartholomew said. Bartholomew has been nominated by President Bush to be undersecretary of state for security affairs, science and technology.