ABOUT THE BOOK

Annotation
A key Iran-Contra participant fires back at his accusers and reveals the real story of Irangate. As the man who organized the sale of arms to Iran and funneled the proceeds to the Nicaraguan Contras, Secord played a pivotal role in the biggest political battle of the decade. Now he tells all, and reveals as well details of the secret war in Laos and other covert operations. 15 photographs.

Description from The Reader's Catalog
From organizing the secret war over Laos through his days working with presidents Bush and Reagan in the covert arms deals, Secord has played a central role in American politics. This memoir frankly assigns praise and blame to many of his powerful colleagues, including LBJ, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Ollie North. "Only in Washington did I discover the bureaucratic art of 'forgetting,' and I have to admit I never developed a taste or aptitude for it"--from Honored and Betrayed

From The Publisher
When Richard Secord appeared before a special select committee of Congress investigating Iran-Contra, his testimony riveted the nation. As a retired major general in the U.S. Air Force, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, and the man who had been the Shah of Iran's most intimate U.S. military advisor, Secord had been the obvious choice for operations chief in charge of President Reagan's top secret Iran Initiative and covert Contra supply effort. What Secord hadn't known when he agreed to help Ollie North and CIA director William Casey was that he would soon find himself embroiled in the biggest political scandal of the decade. Now, in his provocative autobiography, Honored and Betrayed, Richard Secord fires back at his accusers and reveals the inside story of "Irangate." The book tells how Iran-Contra worked and the true roles played by the men involved, from those at the highest levels - including President Reagan, then-Vice President Bush, Secretary of State Schultz, National Security Advisors McFarlane and Poindexter - to the shadowy intermediaries and secret agents in the jungles of Central America and the streets of Tel Aviv and Tehran. But Irangate is only part of General Secord's story. His no-holds-barred autobiography charts the meteoric career of a highly dedicated, fierce individualist whose disdain for "politics" and bureaucratic foot-dragging and devotion to getting the job done were the keys to his brilliant success in the military and political spheres. Ironically, the same qualities led to his undoing. Drawing on personal experiences spanning three decades, Secord offers us the ultimate insider's view of some of the most momentous hot and cold war operations of our time. Secord's induction into the shadow world of covert affairs began as a young pilot in 1961 when he was one of a handful of U.S. "advisors" who fought in the Air Force's covert Project Jungle Jim in the war-torn republic of Vietnam. In 1966, he was detailed to the CIA

Reviews
From Booknews
Secord''s recollections of a career of covert affairs is surprisingly candid and revealing, commingling politics, combat, and clandestine intrigue. A story well-told and well worth knowing. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

FROM THE BOOK

Table of Contents
THE MAKING OF A HOT-WAR WARRIOR
Duty, Honor, Country
To Fly and Fight
Vietnam Before the Crowd
Winning the War Nobody Heard of
CIA Station Laos
Disaster at Site 85
CRUSADES IN THE PUZZLE PALACE
Merry Christmas, Uncle Ho
Iran Before the Fall
The Raid That Never Happened
Where No GI Has Gone Before
HIGH NOON IN THE COLD WAR
CBS Strikes Back
``Hello Dick, This Is Ollie...''
Iran Redux
Bear Any Burden..
...Oppose Any Foe
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Appendices
Index

Excerpt from The Reader's Catalog
About two hours later, after Tom Green had returned, President Reagan called Ollie. Despite all that had happened, North actually came to attention when he picked up the phone--a completely spontaneous, touching, and, I think, telling gesture on Ollie's part. Colonel Chauvin, say goodbye to the Gipper.|The President told North he was "a national hero."|"Well, Mr. President," Ollie answered, "I'm just sorry that my attempts to serve you have turned out as they have."|"Let me talk to him," I asked. Ollie glanced at me but continued listening to the President.|"Let me talk to him!" I said loudly, hoping to be heard on the other end. It was not a request.|Ollie hung up looking proud and drained.|Jesus, I thought. I was so mad I could hardly speak. All the President had to do was make one ceremonial, hypocritical phone call and Ollie was floating on cloud nine.

Reviews
Booknews, Inc. , February 1, 1993
Secord's recollections of a career of covert affairs is surprisingly candid and revealing, commingling politics, combat, and clandestine intrigue. A story well-told and well worth knowing. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

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