Misguided Morality: Ethics and the Reagan Doctrine
The Iran-contra affair demonstrates once more how strong moral convictions can lead to foreign policies of questionable legality and morality. In particular, it raises larger questions about the morality of the so-called Reagan Doctrine, of which aid to the contras is one expression. The Reagan Doctrine principle that the United States should support "freedomfighters" attempting to overthrow "Marxist-Leninist" regimes in the Third World was first enunciated in President Ronald Reagan's 1985 State of the Union address: