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  • 8/3/2025
Gavin Hewitt investigates the charge that Oliver North used Terry Waite, a Church of England envoy and recently released Lebanon hostage, to cover up the Iran–Contra affair

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00:01Frontline is a presentation of the Documentary Consortium.
00:07Tonight on Frontline...
00:08I think you can imagine that after 1,763 days in chains...
00:18The untold story of hostage Terry Waite and Colonel Oliver North.
00:22North was, I'm sure, delighted to have discovered Terry Waite.
00:25In the mid-1980s, as Oliver North pursued his secret arms-for-hostage deals in the Middle East,
00:31he was using the humanitarian missions of Terry Waite as a decoy.
00:35He provided cover for North's operation because it made it much easier for North to conceal what was really going on.
00:42As far as the disclosures about arms, I mean, I want to say quite clearly and quite categorically,
00:48I knew nothing about that.
00:51Waite was duped. Waite was used by the U.S. government.
00:55in its effort to achieve freedom for the hostages.
00:58Tonight, the secret story of Terry Waite.
01:09With funding provided by the financial support of viewers like you.
01:16And by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
01:22This is Frontline.
01:25A special report.
01:34There is Mr. Waite.
01:35Back home after nearly five years away from Britain.
01:40Terry Waite was no ordinary hostage.
01:43He returned to Britain last week a national hero.
01:45The man who had sacrificed his own freedom in an idealistic quest to liberate American hostages in Lebanon.
01:54But Terry Waite has stepped out of captivity into controversy.
01:58The joy of his sudden release colored by new revelations about his connections to Oliver North and the Iran-Contra scandal.
02:05Terrible day for his return, still streaming rain at Lynham.
02:11During the past four years, BBC reporter Gavin Hewitt investigated the secrets of Terry Waite's relationship with Oliver North and the mystery of his capture.
02:21Why had the man who tried to free hostages become a hostage himself?
02:31Terry Waite worked for the Church of England out of Lambeth Palace in London.
02:35For nearly five years, Robert Runcie, the Archbishop of Canterbury, at the time of Terry Waite's capture, has agonized over why his personal envoy was taken.
02:50Had he been undone by his dealings with officials in Washington?
02:53Terry Waite had joined Lambeth Palace in 1980.
02:59His job was to advise the Archbishop on the Anglican Communion overseas.
03:04He was ambitious for the Church to play a more active role in the world's trouble spots.
03:10Terry is a very, very complicated man.
03:13He likes adventure.
03:15He likes to be, as it were, where the action is.
03:20And he has the gifts to do it.
03:22But I think more deeply than that, he...
03:26Terry is a humanitarian.
03:27And I think the thing that he talked about again and again and again was the belief that there was a possibility for those who believed in God to transverse cultures and differences, and that he could do something.
03:46It was Terry Waite's reputation for dealing with militant Islamic regimes that led to his being involved in trying to free American hostages held in Lebanon.
03:54In 1981, he had helped secure the release of three British missionaries from Iran.
04:01Four years later, he met with Colonel Gaddafi in his Bedouin tent.
04:04Although it was never clear what had finally influenced the Libyan leader, four Britons held in Tripoli were freed.
04:10And I would like you to please receive this small Christmas gift.
04:19In 1984, while he was still talking to the Libyans, Terry Waite received an appeal from the family of Benjamin Weir, an American Presbyterian minister held hostage in Beirut.
04:31Lebanon was in turmoil.
04:44During a decade of street warfare, the influence of one community had grown, the Shiite Muslims.
04:50The Shiites had been inspired by the religious fervor of Ayatollah Khomeini's Iran.
04:58A group of Shiites who opposed Western involvement in Lebanon began taking Americans hostage.
05:05Although they sometimes took orders from Iran, they had demands of their own.
05:11In dealing with these shadowy groups from Beirut, the United States was powerless.
05:15In 1985, the mood here in Washington and throughout the United States was one of anger and frustration.
05:26America held hostage was like a reoccurring nightmare.
05:30In response, the Reagan administration was to abandon normal diplomacy in favor of secret deals and covert operations.
05:38Terry Waite was to talk to representatives of the U.S. government.
05:41But some of those officials were to make up their own rules, thereby exposing him to risk and eventual captivity.
05:48It was through contacts in the Episcopal Church in the United States that Terry Waite was introduced to officials in Washington handling the hostage crisis.
06:14The Episcopal Church is part of the Anglican Communion and, like the Church of England, embraces high Anglicanism and born-again fundamentalism.
06:30In taking up the case of the American hostage, Benjamin Weir, Terry Waite needed to be briefed by American government officials.
06:44It so happened that many of the senior figures in the Reagan administration were Episcopalians.
06:51The Church contacted George Bush, the then Vice President and a lifelong Episcopalian.
06:57He suggested a meeting with his own staff.
07:04On May the 9th, 1985, Terry Waite, accompanied by Church officials, met Donald Gregg, National Security Advisor to George Bush and a member of the CIA for 17 years.
07:16He said the man they should deal with was Colonel Oliver North in the White House.
07:21At the time, Oliver North was a little-known official on the National Security Council staff with responsibility for counter-terrorism.
07:34He had become President Reagan's point-man on the hostage crisis.
07:41Unknown to Waite and the families, he was at this time also deeply involved in secretly supplying the Contras in Nicaragua.
07:54On May the 18th, 1985, Colonel North came to New York, to the Manhattan apartment of the presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
08:08There he was introduced to Terry Waite.
08:10It was the first of nearly 20 meetings, many more than has been reported.
08:15There were also countless phone conversations between the two men.
08:18During the next 18 months, Colonel North was to be Terry Waite's main contact within the Reagan administration.
08:27Ollie North had had a good religious upbringing himself, had been an altar boy, and was very accustomed to speaking in the language that was well understood by people of the church.
08:42And so they were able to communicate very easily on this grounds.
08:45The link between Colonel North and Terry Waite was a reserve naval chaplain and Episcopalian priest, Samir Habibi.
08:55Palestinian by origin, with extensive contacts in the Middle East, he had worked with Terry Waite on previous missions.
09:02As director of the church's relief fund, he had met with people in the administration.
09:06With a string of useful connections, Cannon Habibi served as Terry Waite's closest advisor in the United States, and had an intimate knowledge of his activities.
09:20He accompanied him to many of his meetings with senior administration officials, including Oliver North.
09:26The relationship with Ollie was unique.
09:31We fell close to him because, among other things, he belonged to our church.
09:37I had an excellent rapport with Colonel North.
09:40It's kind of an instinctive thing.
09:44He and I had similar paths in previous duties.
09:50I had served as a chaplain attached to the forces in Vietnam, and been in some of the areas that Colonel North had served in.
10:01So there was a commonality of concern about certain values that we felt existed.
10:08I remember him saying, we need to learn to trust each other, and trust comes with faith.
10:17And to have that kind of depth of faith, one needs to know the other person better.
10:23In 1985, there was great uncertainty within the Reagan administration as to what the kidnappers in Beirut really wanted.
10:30Although they were partly financed and controlled by Iran, they had one important demand of their own.
10:36Some of their relatives have been imprisoned in Kuwait, and they wanted them released.
10:42Seventeen men had been convicted of carrying out bombing attacks on embassies in Kuwait City.
10:48Three of them were Lebanese, related to influential Shiite families in Beirut.
10:53One of the prisoners was under sentence of death.
10:56The other two faced life imprisonment.
10:58The Kuwaitis at the time were taking a tough line on terrorism.
11:01During the summer of 1985, Terry Waite examined a number of ideas relating to the Kuwaiti prisoners.
11:10He made some exploratory contacts.
11:13However, before he set foot in Beirut, the Reagan administration, unknown to him,
11:18was implementing a secret hostage plan involving Iran.
11:21In August and September, America's ally Israel sold a total of 508 tow anti-tank missiles to Iran.
11:30The deliveries were made with the knowledge of senior U.S. officials, including President Reagan,
11:36despite his official ban on arms sales to Iran.
11:39Colonel North was told to prepare plans to receive the hostages.
11:43Within two days of the missile shipment, Presbyterian Minister Benjamin Weir was released.
11:52Officials were convinced others would also be freed.
11:56Four days after Benjamin Weir had given his first news conference,
12:00Terry Waite unexpectedly flew to New York.
12:03While not claiming credit for the release, he identified himself with it.
12:06I further established, through an intermediary, a contact with the captors in Beirut
12:15and have been in communication with them on a regular basis for the past months.
12:24While Terry Waite was working through his contacts,
12:27others had helped arrange the missile shipment to Iran.
12:30One of those was Michael Ledeen, a consultant to the National Security Council.
12:34He saw the shipment as a way of improving relations with Iran
12:38and has no doubt that it also secured the release of Benjamin Weir.
12:44The release of Benjamin Weir was achieved when the government of Iran
12:47instructed the Hezbollahis in Lebanon to release him.
12:52And I think that was, it was purely and simply an initiative by the Iranian government
12:56as part of the reciprocal test that was going on with the American government at the time.
13:01And I don't think anybody else or any other initiative played a role in the release of Weir.
13:06What do you think Terry Waite's role was in the release of Benjamin Weir?
13:11I don't think that Terry Waite had any substantive role in the release of Weir.
13:15I think Weir was released by the government of Iran
13:18as a result of the agreement that had reached with the government of the United States, pure and simple.
13:22How do you think it came about that Terry Waite identified himself with the release of Benjamin Weir
13:28four or five days after he had been freed?
13:31I think that North encouraged Waite to receive Benjamin Weir when he came out
13:36and I think that North may well have convinced Waite at that time
13:39that he was at least partially responsible for the release of Weir.
13:44But I don't think he was.
13:45References to Oliver North's meetings and contacts with Terry Waite are found in North's notebooks.
13:52Although sections were classified to protect Waite in captivity, we've seen some of the originals.
13:58There are frequent references to the Anglican envoy and his colleagues.
14:02They reveal that North quickly saw immense potential in a man
14:06whose humanitarian work had gained him access to groups beyond the reach of American officials.
14:11In November 1985, Terry Waite prepared to leave for Beirut,
14:18the remaining hostages having sent a letter appealing for his help.
14:22Waite had already boarded his Middle East Airlines flight
14:25when Colonel North and a State Department official flew in to see him.
14:29Displaying his White House credentials, North persuaded airport officials
14:33to arrange a meeting with Terry Waite on the tarmac.
14:37North showed him a photograph of a man,
14:39seen here in the middle of the picture with a gun,
14:41who American intelligence believed was Imad Mugnir,
14:45one of the Islamic militants behind the hostage-taking.
14:48Privately, North was interested in any information he might glean
14:52from Terry Waite's visit to Beirut.
15:00Terry Waite arrived in Lebanon to a fanfare of publicity,
15:04a high profile which he hoped would entice the kidnappers to deal with him.
15:07After four days, he had achieved what no other intermediary had done,
15:12direct contact with the captains.
15:14During the past days, I have had lengthy contacts.
15:20There is absolutely no doubt at all
15:22that I have got through to the right people
15:25and that a measure of trust has been established.
15:29You seem to be saying that you have had a face-to-face meeting with somebody.
15:33Do we understand that?
15:34Yes, I have had lengthy contact.
15:38Terry Waite's conduit to the captains was a Shiite doctor, Adnam Mruwe.
15:42Terry Waite inquired whether they were after money.
15:45The captains appeared offended at the suggestion
15:47and reaffirmed that their relatives imprisoned in Kuwait must be freed.
15:51On November the 18th, Terry Waite flew back to London
15:57where he was met by Colonel North at the Heathrow Penta Hotel.
16:01North was excited.
16:03He believed the visit had gained them invaluable intelligence
16:06on the location of the hostages,
16:08mainly through the tests which Terry Waite
16:10had innocently devised for the captors
16:13to prove they were genuine.
16:14He was carrying with him a Polaroid camera
16:19and a newspaper.
16:24And he gave the camera to the kidnappers
16:28and they came back 20, 30 minutes later
16:33with photos of four hostages.
16:36Considering that was the first direct contact with the kidnappers,
16:40how was that news received?
16:41This established that at that point
16:46the hostages or this group of hostages
16:50was in West Beirut.
16:52Previously we had had reports
16:54that they were in the Baka Valley,
16:56in South Beirut and elsewhere.
16:58This was the first report
16:59that they were in fact in West Beirut.
17:03In London, North and the other officials
17:06regarded the trip as a breakthrough.
17:07In the hotel room, North laid out maps
17:11and aerial photographs
17:12and asked Terry Waite to point out where he had been.
17:16North then asked him whether on future missions
17:18he had carry a tracking device.
17:20He produced from his bag a belt
17:22with a locating device in the buckle.
17:25It was presented to Terry Waite
17:27as a way of protecting him,
17:29but for the Americans,
17:30it would also have assisted in locating the hostages
17:33if the Anglican envoy met with them.
17:37Terry Waite accepted the device from North,
17:39believing it could help in the treacherous streets of Beirut.
17:42It's not clear whether he ever used it.
17:46Oliver North, who has denied giving Terry Waite any device,
17:49has not, however,
17:50commented on this particular meeting in 1985.
17:53Eugene Douglas was President Reagan's ambassador-at-large for refugees.
18:01He was a close friend of both Terry Waite and Oliver North
18:04and knew of the London meeting.
18:06Hold on here, Rookie.
18:08He confirms that North did offer Terry Waite a device
18:11for his protection that day.
18:13The danger in the Middle East had risen so alarmingly
18:18and the concern for his safety
18:21and the anxiety that there would be yet another hostage
18:25led North, I understand,
18:30to propose that Terry take with him
18:35some means of being located.
18:39You put them on children
18:40if they're going into Herod's for the Christmas period,
18:43if you lose your child in Herod's,
18:45you can find him by an electronic device.
18:49And there was a hope that if Terry were somehow endangered
18:53and went off the track,
18:55if someone moved him to an area that he shouldn't be,
18:58even if it was only temporary,
18:59there might be some way of knowing where he would be.
19:03I think that was the idea,
19:04not that Terry would become a roving radio station
19:12like floats around or used to float around on the English Channel.
19:15But would not Terry Waite's wearing of a tracking device
19:20have also helped locate the hostages?
19:23Assuming that he was with the hostages?
19:27Yes, it would have.
19:29But in that world,
19:32in that transition world between overt and covert,
19:37you always weigh the risks.
19:40But that was one of the motives, wasn't it?
19:42On behalf of some people.
19:43Well, it is reasonable to assume
19:46that it was one of the peripheral or marginal
19:51or that's also a good result
19:54if we know where Terry is,
19:57that if he gets to the hostages,
19:59that we might have some idea of where they are too.
20:02Former American hostage Father Jenko
20:06had reason to know how dangerous such a plan was.
20:10At this point,
20:11I had been living in a clothes closet
20:12for about a month and a half.
20:14And one day they opened the clothes closet
20:16and he said,
20:18open your mouth,
20:18which I did.
20:19And you're blindfolded,
20:20so you don't exactly know what they're going to be doing.
20:23And he said,
20:24what are those?
20:25And I said,
20:25those are fillings.
20:27And he said,
20:28no, they're not.
20:29He says,
20:29those are some type of communication.
20:32That you give back to your government.
20:35And I says,
20:36they are not.
20:37You can't be serious.
20:38And I says,
20:39they are fillings.
20:39And they said,
20:40we'll give you half an hour to take them out.
20:42And they thought there was some kind of a transistor or something.
20:45Which was frightening
20:46because you don't know
20:47if they're going to really come in and do that.
20:49So you sit in the utter darkness,
20:50you know,
20:51for hours waiting for that.
20:53And when they didn't pull a tooth,
20:55I fainted,
20:56because I was still tying into that kind of a scene.
20:58Terry Waite was keeping dangerous company.
21:04In late November,
21:06the Americans approved another secret plan
21:08for Israel to sell
21:09a hundred hawk surface-to-air missiles to Iran.
21:13They expected four hostages to be released,
21:15and Colonel North urged Terry Waite
21:17to return to Beirut at once.
21:19He arrived back in Lebanon
21:29with a radio linking him to the U.S. Embassy.
21:32But the armed shipment ran into difficulty,
21:35and no hostage was freed.
21:37Waite met with intermediaries,
21:39but all he had knew to tell them
21:40was that having consulted,
21:41he was prepared to take up the cases
21:44of the Kuwaiti prisoners.
21:47But before he could leave Beirut,
21:49he was caught up in renewed fighting.
22:03While gunmen fought in the streets,
22:06Terry Waite was displaying coolness
22:08and some humour.
22:09What are you planning to do now?
22:11Take cover, I think.
22:22Everybody else okay in there?
22:24Everybody's fine.
22:25They're on the phone.
22:26Terry Waite flew from Beirut to New York City,
22:37where he briefed Colonel North.
22:39He was carrying letters from the captors' families
22:42for their relatives in Kuwait.
22:47Whether he realized it or not,
22:49Terry Waite was now walking a fine line
22:51between talking to the Americans
22:53and working for them.
23:01That evening,
23:02at the Bishop's apartment in Manhattan,
23:04the letters,
23:05which were unsealed and in Arabic,
23:07were opened and read
23:08in the presence of Colonel North.
23:09They were personal letters
23:11and contained no information
23:12about the American hostages.
23:14In early December,
23:18Terry Waite went to Geneva
23:19and held two informal meetings
23:21with Kuwaiti officials,
23:23thereby fulfilling his pledge
23:24to the captors in Beirut.
23:29Elaborate precautions were taken
23:31to keep the meetings secret.
23:33Terry Waite had to leave the hotel
23:34by a back entrance.
23:36For ten days earlier,
23:37the Kuwaitis had denied Terry Waite a visa,
23:40refusing to acknowledge any connection
23:42between the hostages
23:43and the Kuwaiti prisoners.
23:49It was only a short drive
23:50to the Kuwaiti embassy.
23:53The Kuwaitis made no concessions,
23:55agreeing only to improved contact
23:57between the prisoners
23:58and their families.
23:59In December,
24:11Terry Waite returned to Beirut
24:12to report back to the captors.
24:15He knew that as a result
24:16of his Geneva meetings,
24:17he had little news to offer,
24:19but he thought it was just possible
24:20that being Christmas,
24:22the captors might be prepared
24:23to make a gesture.
24:25It was not to be.
24:27The negotiations remain
24:30at a critical stage.
24:32As I have frequently said,
24:35they're difficult, dangerous,
24:37and require continued
24:39and sustained effort.
24:42Terry Waite went home to London,
24:44the mission of failure.
24:45Beneath the smiles,
24:47he had in fact been given
24:4824 hours to leave Beirut
24:50and warned not to return
24:52unless he had something
24:53more concrete to offer.
24:54It was the beginning
24:56of the captors' doubts
24:57about Terry Waite.
24:59It was after December
25:00that we really did not hear
25:01much about Terry's activity.
25:03So we would ask our guards,
25:05you know,
25:07where's Terry Waite in all this?
25:08Because, you know,
25:09they took the raid away from us
25:10in the end of January,
25:11I think it was.
25:12So we had no news at all.
25:13So we would ask,
25:14is Terry Waite still?
25:16And they would never give us
25:17any information
25:17whether or not he was or was not.
25:20But there was a certain feeling,
25:21I think we all picked up from them,
25:23that they moved back from Terry.
25:25And they didn't trust Terry.
25:29In Washington,
25:30Colonel North concluded
25:31that Terry Waite's efforts
25:33had temporarily reached a dead end.
25:35But North was turning again
25:36to selling arms to the Iranians.
25:38For that,
25:39he would continue to need Terry Waite
25:41as a cover for his operation,
25:43even though the Anglican envoy
25:44would continue to see his role
25:46as that of Mediator.
25:49Other branches of the U.S. government,
25:51including the CIA,
25:53were becoming interested
25:54in Waite's access to the captors.
25:56William Buckley,
25:57the CIA station chief in Lebanon,
25:59had been taken hostage,
26:00and the agency was desperate
26:02to free him.
26:05Stansfield Turner,
26:06former director of the CIA,
26:08says it was natural
26:09for the agency
26:09to look to Waite.
26:11I think you use people
26:13like Terry Waite.
26:14You use almost anybody.
26:16who has access
26:17and some reasonably good intention.
26:21You have to be very careful.
26:23I mean, you can trust a man
26:24like Terry Waite.
26:25Others you might try to employ
26:27in such circumstances
26:28have their own agendas,
26:30and you have to be cautious.
26:32Doesn't mean you wouldn't use
26:33any kind of a rogue
26:34if he could help you,
26:36if he could help get information
26:37or help get the release
26:39of those people.
26:40You just have to be judicious
26:42in how much you trust them
26:44and how much you let them
26:46twist your objectives,
26:48your agenda,
26:49to theirs.
26:50But as director of the CIA,
26:52you would quite happily
26:53have used people
26:54like Terry Waite?
26:55Yes.
26:57In 1985,
26:58Bill Casey,
26:59the then CIA director,
27:01set up a group
27:02whose task was
27:02to locate the hostages.
27:04One of its purposes
27:05was to provide
27:06the relevant intelligence
27:07for launching
27:08a rescue mission.
27:10It intercepted telephone traffic
27:12coming out of Lebanon,
27:13and a satellite
27:14was repositioned
27:15to photograph streets
27:16in West Beirut.
27:18In April 1986,
27:20the task force
27:21produced a paper
27:22with a series of options.
27:23Among them were
27:24Waite,
27:25Paying Ransom,
27:27and Using Force.
27:31The Waite option
27:32remains classified,
27:34but there was another scheme
27:35which was discussed
27:36by members of the CIA
27:37and the National Security Council.
27:40It would have relied
27:40on exploiting
27:41Terry Waite's contacts
27:42in Lebanon.
27:45From sources in Washington,
27:47we've learned
27:47of one specific plan
27:49in which Terry Waite
27:50would have been used
27:51as a key element
27:52in a rescue mission.
27:54The idea,
27:54which was discussed
27:55by Oliver North
27:56and others,
27:57took shape
27:57in late 1985
27:58and early 1986.
28:01Terry Waite
28:01would have been encouraged
28:03to return to Beirut
28:04and to persuade
28:05the kidnappers
28:05to grant him
28:06a pastoral meeting
28:07with all the hostages.
28:09His movements
28:10would have been tracked
28:11by a transmitting device
28:12which he'd have been wearing.
28:14As soon as it was confirmed
28:15that all the hostages
28:16were together,
28:18American special forces
28:19and their allies
28:20in the Lebanese capital
28:21would have moved in.
28:23Terry Waite,
28:24unwittingly,
28:25would have been used
28:26to set a trap.
28:27If he had managed
28:29to meet
28:29with the hostages
28:30and the kidnappers
28:31and was wearing
28:33a tracking device,
28:34it could have helped
28:35in the planning
28:36of a rescue mission.
28:38Well,
28:38hypothetically,
28:40it could have.
28:42And it might have,
28:44but that wasn't
28:45the point
28:46of having Terry
28:48presenting to Waite
28:50the opportunity
28:51of carrying with him
28:53a device for location.
28:55But there was
28:55a contingency plan,
28:56wasn't there,
28:57for him to be used
28:58in that way?
28:58There were discussions
29:02about many,
29:05many, many things.
29:06Would it be
29:08a formal contingency plan?
29:11No.
29:13But it was an option
29:15which was discussed
29:16by members
29:17of the administration?
29:19It was one
29:20of 500 topics
29:22that came onto a table
29:23during a discussion.
29:25That atmosphere
29:29of being willing
29:29to consider anything
29:31extended to President Reagan
29:32in the White House.
29:35In May 1986,
29:36he authorised
29:37a mission to Tehran.
29:38Oliver North
29:39and Robert McFarlane,
29:40his former
29:41national security advisor,
29:42flew secretly
29:43to the Iranian capital.
29:45The trip was intended
29:46to end
29:47the hostage crisis.
29:49One of those
29:50on the plane
29:51was Howard Teicher
29:52of the National Security
29:53Council's staff.
29:54The purpose
29:57of the trip
29:57was to deliver
29:58parts to Iran
30:01and simultaneously
30:02bring about
30:03the release
30:03of hostages
30:05being held
30:05in Beirut.
30:06This would have led
30:07to a high-level dialogue
30:09between the U.S.
30:10and Iranian
30:11government officials.
30:13Obviously,
30:14the transaction
30:14was not concluded
30:16and the mission
30:17was a total failure.
30:19Did Terry Waite
30:19ever know
30:20anything about
30:21that trip?
30:22To the best
30:23of my knowledge,
30:24Waite had no knowledge
30:25whatsoever
30:25of what was going
30:26on in Tehran.
30:30Although Terry Waite
30:31wasn't informed
30:32about the mission
30:32to Tehran,
30:33he did make
30:34an undisclosed
30:35trip to the Middle East.
30:37Precisely at the moment,
30:38North expected
30:39the hostages
30:39to be released.
30:46It wasn't in fact
30:47until two months
30:48later in July
30:49that a second hostage
30:51was freed.
30:54Father Jenko's release
30:56came only after Iran
30:57had been privately
30:58promised
30:58promised that
30:59more spare parts
31:00would be delivered.
31:02In the name of the Lord,
31:03and of the Son,
31:04and of the Holy Spirit,
31:05the grace of our Lord
31:07Jesus Christ,
31:08the love of God,
31:09and the fellowship
31:09of the Holy Spirit
31:10be with you all.
31:11And also to you.
31:14Father Jenko,
31:15a Catholic priest
31:16with the Servite Order,
31:17now conducts Mass
31:18in the heart of Wall Street.
31:20He is deeply grateful
31:21to Terry Waite
31:22for risking his life
31:23for people like himself.
31:24The glory of Christ,
31:25the glory of Christ,
31:26the glory of Christ.
31:27But since the revelations
31:28about the trading
31:29of arms for hostages,
31:30he is puzzled
31:31over the reasons
31:31for his release
31:32and Terry Waite's
31:33sudden arrival
31:34in Damascus.
31:35Then that evening,
31:36Terry shows up
31:37and he said he came in
31:39from,
31:40he was waiting for me
31:41in Jordan.
31:45And what did he say?
31:47Well, he said that
31:48he was waiting
31:49for me in Jordan
31:50and it was an interesting
31:51thing because he said
31:52to me,
31:52you believe that,
31:53don't you?
31:54Well, at that point
31:54in my life,
31:55I would have believed
31:56anybody,
31:56but I just wondered
31:57why the question
31:58was even being asked.
31:59You know,
31:59we have asked him
32:00to come to help us.
32:01You know,
32:01why shouldn't I believe him?
32:03But it's a question
32:05that always bothered me.
32:06Why did it bother you?
32:08I don't know.
32:08It's just,
32:09it was just the wrong question
32:12at the wrong time,
32:14I suppose.
32:17Father Jenko's puzzlement
32:19refers to his arrival
32:20in Damascus,
32:21having just been freed
32:22in Lebanon.
32:23At the time,
32:24Terry Waite was in Jordan,
32:25but North was most anxious
32:27for him to be seen
32:28with the freed hostage,
32:30even though he had played
32:30no significant role
32:32in his release.
32:33He arranged Terry Waite's visa
32:35in his travel to Damascus.
32:36Straight through here.
32:38I am very delighted
32:38to see Terry Waite,
32:41who has followed this matter
32:42for so long.
32:44I have high hopes
32:45for the release
32:46of my three brothers
32:47and fellow prisoners
32:49and other hostages.
32:50Thereafter,
32:53Terry Waite was
32:54in every picture.
32:57He escorted Father Jenko
32:58in meetings
32:59with United States officials,
33:01then later to Lambeth Palace
33:04and afterwards
33:05to the Vatican.
33:08Sir, I thank you
33:09very much for you.
33:10Terry Waite always said
33:12that it takes many levers
33:13to free a hostage
33:14and that it's difficult
33:15to know which was
33:16the deciding factor.
33:18Involved in Father Jenko's release
33:20was Robert Oakley,
33:21the State Department's
33:22then head of counterterrorism.
33:25I think it's pretty clear
33:27from subsequent revelations
33:31as well as from
33:32what was going on at the time
33:33that Terry's role
33:34was a supportive
33:35or secondary role.
33:40He was in direct contact
33:42occasionally with the captors,
33:46which was something
33:47that no one else
33:47had been able to do.
33:50And to what degree
33:52this direct contact
33:54facilitated the release
33:56of hostages
33:58is hard to say,
34:02but it obviously
34:03was not the dominant factor
34:04because the dominant factor
34:05were the instructions
34:06coming from Tehran.
34:08The Iranians were getting things
34:09in exchange
34:10for the release of hostages,
34:11whether they were Americans
34:12or other nationalities.
34:14This was the dominant factor
34:17in the release,
34:18but Terry was there.
34:21It also was convenient
34:22in that people tended
34:23to focus their attention
34:24upon Terry Waite
34:25rather than upon
34:27other sorts of negotiations
34:28or dealings
34:30that were going on
34:31with respect to the release
34:32of the hostages.
34:33North told me
34:34that the reason
34:35Terry Waite
34:36had been going to Lebanon
34:38and conducting discussions
34:40with the Islamic Jihad
34:41was because North
34:43had asked him to.
34:44It became apparent
34:46that Waite served
34:48an unwitting cover role
34:52for the covert dialogue
34:54and operations
34:55that North was running
34:56behind the scenes
34:57as a way to distract
34:59people's attention
35:00from the real channel,
35:02which was North's channel
35:03to the Iranians.
35:04In his office
35:06at Lambeth Palace,
35:07Terry Waite
35:08had few people
35:09to advise him
35:09on the potential hazards
35:11of his relationship
35:12with Oliver North.
35:14His inner circle
35:15consisted of
35:16Canon Habibi
35:17in the United States
35:18and other contacts
35:19passed to him
35:20by North.
35:23Lambeth Palace
35:23only knew
35:24the barest details
35:25about his activities.
35:27After he became
35:27a hostage himself,
35:29they had to reconstruct
35:30his diary
35:30from the stubs
35:31of airline tickets.
35:33In dealing with a man
35:34like Oliver North,
35:35no one in the church
35:36had any experience.
35:38How close was
35:39the relationship
35:40between Terry Waite
35:41and Oliver North?
35:42I think in some ways
35:44it was close.
35:47That was more
35:47a meeting
35:48of two very strong
35:50personalities,
35:51two deeply committed
35:53people.
35:54And you have to understand
35:55how I mean that,
35:56that whatever you may think
35:58about Oliver North
35:59and what he did,
36:00the wisdom of what he did,
36:02there really should be
36:03no grounds for doubting
36:05that Oliver North
36:06thought he was doing
36:06the right thing.
36:07He was deeply committed
36:08to his country,
36:09to his cause,
36:10to the cause of freedom,
36:12and to the release
36:13of the hostages.
36:14That kind of intensity,
36:15that emotional intensity,
36:17that was one of
36:18Oliver North's
36:18most endearing characteristics
36:19and remains so
36:20to this day,
36:21is also one of
36:23Terry Waite's
36:24most pronounced characteristics.
36:26He feels deeply
36:27about things
36:29and about people
36:30and if he feels deeply,
36:32he feels it is his
36:33obligation
36:34to act
36:35within the realm
36:36of the world
36:37he is living in.
36:41Hostage affairs
36:42were transforming
36:43Terry Waite
36:43into a personality
36:44and that too
36:45concerned some
36:46of his friends.
36:47Indeed,
36:48those who met him
36:48were surprised
36:49at how he had come
36:50to view
36:50his own role.
36:52Indeed,
36:53I once asked him,
36:53I once asked him,
36:54I said,
36:54what is it
36:56that you do,
36:58Terry?
36:59And he said,
37:00I am the
37:03Archbishop
37:03of Canterbury's
37:05Kissinger.
37:07How did that
37:07strike you?
37:09It was an
37:09extraordinary statement,
37:10I thought.
37:14It,
37:14again,
37:16it conjured up
37:17a man
37:17that had certainly
37:18no shortage
37:19of confidence
37:20in his own
37:23capabilities
37:24in his own
37:26knowledge
37:28of world affairs
37:29in his own
37:31ability
37:32to engage
37:33in extraordinarily
37:34difficult
37:35negotiations.
37:36How well
37:37do you think
37:38Terry Waite
37:39understood
37:39the world
37:40in which he found
37:41himself operating?
37:42Well,
37:43at the beginning,
37:43I think he understood
37:44it very well
37:45altogether.
37:46As time went on
37:48from 83,
37:5084,
37:5085,
37:51but certainly
37:51as the hostage
37:52crisis deepened,
37:52I think he
37:54found it very
37:55difficult
37:55to understand
37:57the layering
37:58of the
37:59public world
38:01of diplomacy,
38:02public relations
38:04propaganda,
38:04but I think
38:05he had great
38:06difficulty
38:06coming to
38:07grips
38:07with the
38:08compromises,
38:09if not the
38:10duplicity of the
38:11black world,
38:12of the covert world,
38:13that had come
38:14by that time
38:15to be the
38:16paramount world,
38:17at least in
38:18Beirut and much
38:18of the Middle East.
38:23On August
38:23the 8th,
38:241986,
38:25Cannon Habibi
38:26and his
38:26assistant went
38:27to Kennedy
38:28Airport to
38:28meet Oliver North,
38:29who was
38:30returning from
38:30Europe.
38:31The plane
38:32was late.
38:37When he
38:37arrived,
38:38the entire
38:38party crowded
38:39into Cannon
38:40Habibi's
38:41Buick and
38:41dashed to
38:42LaGuardia.
38:44Colonel North
38:45needed to
38:46return to
38:46Washington at
38:47once, but
38:48discovered
38:48there were
38:49problems
38:49with the
38:49flights.
38:50So instead,
38:51they went
38:52to the
38:52nearby
38:52Marriott
38:53Hotel.
39:10North gave
39:11the impression
39:11of a man
39:12running out
39:12of time.
39:13He was
39:14carrying
39:14communications
39:15equipment in
39:16an attempt
39:16to keep
39:17track of
39:17his network.
39:19A new
39:19channel to
39:20the leadership
39:20in Iran
39:20was opening
39:21up, and
39:22he was
39:22secretly
39:22planning to
39:23continue
39:23trading in
39:24arms.
39:25While not
39:25mentioning
39:26this, he
39:27urged Terry
39:27Waite to
39:28renew his
39:28efforts on
39:29behalf of
39:29the prisoners
39:30in Kuwait.
39:33On October
39:34the 31st,
39:351986, another
39:36500-toe missiles
39:38were flown from
39:38Israel to
39:39Iran.
39:42Colonel North
39:42expected that at
39:43least two hostages
39:44would be freed.
39:46Terry Waite was
39:47once again expected
39:47to be the public
39:48face of the
39:49operation.
39:51According to one
39:51of North's
39:52chronologies, which
39:53remains classified,
39:54he asked that
39:54Terry Waite be in
39:56Beirut, November 2nd,
39:57just in case.
39:58Mr. Waite was
39:59contacted by NSC North
40:01and was assisted by
40:02Department of Defense
40:03U.S. military
40:04helicopters in his
40:05travels to Beirut.
40:09Terry Waite duly arrived
40:11in Cyprus.
40:12He phoned the
40:12news agency
40:13Associated Press and
40:14told them to expect
40:15developments.
40:16The press alerted
40:17saw him using
40:18American military
40:19helicopters between
40:20Cyprus and Beirut.
40:23Oliver North was
40:24also spotted at
40:25Cyprus Airport,
40:26despite attempts to
40:27conceal himself.
40:28For the first time,
40:29correspondents began
40:30to question what was
40:31behind the release
40:32of the hostages and
40:33what exactly were
40:34Terry Waite's links
40:35to the Americans.
40:41Terry Waite had flown
40:42in an American
40:43military helicopter
40:44on several occasions
40:46on what, until that
40:47point, had been
40:48secret missions to
40:49Lebanon.
40:50We may sit back and
40:52say, well, of course
40:52the Americans would
40:53help him without
40:55necessarily compromising
40:56him.
40:57But the fact is that
40:58if you know anything
40:59about the people in
41:03Islamic Jihad, the
41:04extremists, if you
41:05like, the Islamic
41:06radicals, the
41:07fundamentalists, call
41:09them what you will in
41:10Lebanon, then you
41:11would know that for
41:12Terry Waite to have
41:14even been seen near
41:15an American military
41:16helicopter as part of
41:18his mission would
41:19compromise him in
41:20their eyes.
41:22And there was evidence
41:23that he had flown on
41:24several occasions in
41:25that helicopter and
41:26indeed met Colonel
41:28North, and I think
41:29that compromised him
41:30totally.
41:33Terry Waite returned
41:34from Beirut with one
41:36hostage, David
41:37Jacobson.
41:38But Waite hadn't met
41:39with the captors.
41:40Neither were there any
41:41negotiations.
41:44The man assigned to
41:45coordinate the release
41:46was Robert Dutton.
41:48He also was involved in
41:49resupplying the Contras
41:50in Central America.
41:51He saw Waite's role as
41:53handling public relations.
41:56As it turned out, Terry
41:58was the front man.
41:59He was the gentleman that
42:01all the international press
42:02called.
42:04He wrote the statements
42:05that were released after
42:07they were reviewed by all
42:08the various parties to
42:09make sure that we were
42:11making sure that nothing
42:12in those releases would
42:13in any way harm or
42:14affect the situation as
42:19it was for the hostages
42:21that were already being
42:22held.
42:23And you don't think he
42:23was uneasy at all at
42:24being a front man?
42:28No, I don't think he
42:29was.
42:29He's very good at it.
42:30If he was uneasy, it
42:31certainly didn't show.
42:32I mean, he, I've spoken
42:35about him to other
42:35people and as I saw him,
42:37he was as big as the
42:37world.
42:38I mean, he's a big man
42:39and he talks big and
42:41he's just a very
42:42wonderful man who took
42:44that role very well.
42:46It almost came
42:46naturally to him.
42:49By the time David
42:50Jacobson arrived in
42:51Germany, a Beirut paper
42:53had leaked details of
42:54North's secret trip to
42:55Iran.
42:56There was even
42:56speculation that arms
42:58had been traded for
42:59hostages.
43:00Not that such questions
43:01mattered to David
43:01Jacobson in his
43:02moment of freedom.
43:04I know you're just
43:06all eager to talk and
43:07to have questions for
43:08us to answer.
43:11I, today, wanted this
43:13to be my day of joy
43:14with my kids.
43:20Terry Waite, aware
43:21that the revelations
43:22were both harmful to
43:23his reputation and the
43:24remaining hostages,
43:26warned against
43:26speculation.
43:27Quite frankly,
43:28speculation, as far as
43:31I'm concerned, is so
43:33dangerous because it's
43:36a further, is putting
43:38further risk to the
43:39lives of hostages in
43:41the Lebanon.
43:42There are a lot of
43:43people trying to make
43:44political capital.
43:46There are a lot of
43:46people trying to
43:47sabotage honest and
43:49straightforward efforts.
43:51There are a lot of
43:51people muscling in on
43:54this whole thing for a
43:56variety of reasons best
43:57known to themselves.
44:00Three weeks later, the
44:01arms for hostage scandal
44:02broke wide open when the
44:03administration revealed that
44:05profits from the arms sales
44:06had been diverted to the
44:08Contras.
44:09President Reagan had no
44:10alternative than to fire his
44:11most trusted aides.
44:13Lieutenant Colonel Oliver
44:15North has been relieved of
44:16his duties on the National
44:17Security Council staff.
44:19I'm deeply troubled that the
44:21implementation of a policy
44:22aimed at resolving a truly
44:24tragic situation in the
44:26Middle East has resulted in
44:27such controversy.
44:29You still maintain you
44:30didn't make a mistake,
44:31Mr. President?
44:31Hold it.
44:31Did you make a mistake in
44:32sending arms to Tehran, sir?
44:34No, and I'm not taking
44:36any more questions.
44:40Oliver North's career was
44:42in tatters.
44:44But where did North's fall
44:45leave Terry Waite, who had
44:47worked so closely with the
44:48Colonel from the White
44:49House?
44:51In being publicly associated
44:53with the hostage releases,
44:54how aware was Terry Waite,
44:56that other factors besides his
44:58own efforts were leading to
44:59the hostages being freed?
45:01I think to a certain extent
45:03he must have been aware
45:06because he knew himself to
45:11what extent he had made
45:13contact, what those discussions
45:15had been, and whether or not
45:17those discussions were
45:19responsible suddenly for a
45:20hostage turning up in Damascus
45:23or somewhere else.
45:26And in those cases, he was
45:28being inserted after the fact.
45:29So certainly he must have known.
45:32Those who were closest to North's
45:34White House operations agree
45:36that Terry Waite knew he was
45:37turning up in the Middle East
45:38at North's direction.
45:40That's now acknowledged by
45:42Terry Waite's closest colleague
45:43in the United States.
45:44Colonel North would receive
45:47information from his Iranian
45:48contacts as to when a hostage
45:50was due to be freed, and it was
45:52his tips which guided Terry
45:53Waite's movements.
45:55Oliver North would say, or
45:57Ali would say, conditions look
45:59good at this time, that there's
46:01some very positive things
46:02happening.
46:02Obviously, we knew that he had
46:04access to information that the
46:06National Security Council has of
46:08the United States, being the
46:09President's personal staff, and not
46:11the intelligence agency per se, that
46:14we didn't have.
46:15I would convey that information
46:17to Terry.
46:18Now, Terry maybe arranged to go
46:19to South Africa, which he was
46:20doing on several occasions, and he
46:22would revamp those and do a trip
46:24closer to the Middle East, whether
46:25it was Rome or somewhere else,
46:27where he'd be in a closer
46:28position to be able to, if the
46:30information that comes from
46:31various sources tend to be out
46:33right, and it was appropriate for
46:36Terry to be President, he would
46:37go.
46:39Terry Waite, of course, realized
46:41that the Americans were pursuing
46:42other options.
46:44What he has always denied is that
46:45he had any knowledge that they
46:47were trading arms for hostages.
46:49As far as the disclosures about
46:52arms, I mean, I want to say quite
46:53clearly and quite categorically that
46:56I knew nothing about that, and in
47:01all my conversations with the
47:03hostage takers, the question of
47:07arms was never on my agenda.
47:10I never discussed it and never had any
47:12dealing with that.
47:14My job, standing as an independent
47:16negotiator in the middle, is to meet
47:19with a lot of people, but to be in
47:21control of my own agenda and to be
47:23able at the end of the day to look
47:25anybody in the eye and say my dealings
47:28were honest and honorable, and if other
47:31people have tried to use me or attempted
47:33to use me, that, I'm afraid, is their
47:35problem.
47:37But Terry Waite felt his reputation had
47:39been tarnished.
47:40He told friends he could only re-establish
47:42his independence by taking the dangerous
47:45step of returning to Beirut.
47:48Waite was clearly put at greater risk
47:50once the revelations of the Iran
47:54initiative were made public.
47:57Waite, I think, should have been
47:58advised by the U.S. government
48:00that, for better or for worse, he had
48:04played a role, unwitting though it may
48:06have been, in America's efforts to
48:09secure freedom for the hostages and
48:11sell arms to Iran.
48:13Well, I think that what Terry wanted to
48:15do, one of the motivations that led him
48:17to return was simply to establish the
48:19fact that he was and had been and always
48:22had been an independent negotiator.
48:24I spent several nights telling him not to
48:27do it.
48:28I was very concerned, and just for his
48:31safety, and I said, I really don't want
48:35you to go.
48:35And he said, I really must go.
48:46Terry Waite arrived in Beirut, ignoring
48:48the advice of the British Foreign Office.
48:51They believed he had been dangerously
48:52compromised.
48:54But Terry Waite seemed driven by both a
48:57genuine commitment to the hostages and
48:59the need to show he could still operate
49:00without American backing.
49:05During his last trip, he held out hope of
49:07progress on the captors' main demand, the
49:1017 prisoners in Kuwait, an impression he
49:13gave to Sheikh Fatlala, the spiritual leader
49:15of one of the Shiite groups.
49:17As was revealed in his last telephone call,
49:20Terry Waite did have plans to go on to
49:22Kuwait.
49:24Hello, Terry.
49:25Hello.
49:26Can you hear me?
49:27Yes, I can hear you.
49:28Yeah.
49:30During the conversation which Canon Habibi
49:32recorded, Terry Waite urged his friends to go
49:35ahead and finalize the arrangements for his
49:37visit to Kuwait, something he believed the
49:40Kuwaitis had agreed to.
49:42If we can do something on the other front, I think
49:44do us some enthusiasm.
49:45For Canon Habibi, it was to be the last contact with
50:03Terry Waite before he disappeared.
50:05On January the 20th, 1987, at about seven in the evening, Waite
50:22received an important message.
50:24He left the Riviera Hotel with his Druze bodyguards.
50:31Suddenly, after over a year, the captors apparently wanted to see him again, holding out the promise
50:37of a meeting with two of the American hostages.
50:39Ominously, while he was in Beirut, the Kuwaitis issued a statement saying they would make no
50:46concessions.
50:47The statement not only undermined his mission, but cast doubt on whether they really were
50:52going to receive him.
50:53In the end, Kuwait would hold on to the prisoners until Iraq invaded over three years later.
50:59In the fading light, they drove to the clinic of Dr. Adnam Rueh.
51:05Terry Waite asked his guards to leave him.
51:08The doctor, suspiciously, was called away.
51:11When he returned 20 minutes later, Terry Waite had disappeared, one more Western hostage.
51:18The captors no longer saw him as a church envoy, but as a spy for America.
51:22The Islamic Jihad interlocutors who he had dealt with obviously felt betrayed by him and
51:31felt a desire to demonstrate that they were not willing to be duped by someone.
51:37So when Waite unwisely returned to Beirut, having not been warned, having not been advised
51:45that it was a dangerous, reckless thing to do, he was punished by those whom had trusted
51:52him in the past.
51:55Meanwhile in Washington, North was revealing that lies had been one of his weapons in the
52:00hostage affair.
52:02And you've admitted that you lied to the Congress, is that correct?
52:05I have.
52:06And you've admitted that you lied in creating false chronologies of these events, is that
52:11correct?
52:11That is true.
52:12When I heard Oliver North say what he did, it caused me personal grief because I said to
52:20myself, well, that's not the only not that I got to know.
52:24When, and Lord Pondexter put it in a broader view, I felt a little bit more comfortable
52:29that I wasn't getting the whole truth.
52:32I had to ask myself, do you think, do you think he was lying to me or.
52:36Do you think, do you think he was lying to you?
52:38I don't think he ever lied to us, no, because I don't think we were in a position where he
52:41would specifically give us an untruth.
52:43But in not telling you the whole truth, do you think he exposed Terry Waite to danger?
52:51That's a question that I have spent a lot of time thinking about.
52:55And to say that I did not, and to answer it sort of simplistically would be, would not
53:00be fair to Terry or to Colonel North or to our relationship.
53:04Any relationship has its dangers.
53:06Terry Waite, myself, others were all deceived, lied, and used by the U.S. government in its
53:13effort to achieve freedom for the hostages.
53:15You're quite right.
53:17Waite was duped.
53:18Waite was used.
53:20I don't believe he was aware of what North was doing surreptitiously with the covert arms
53:25sales to Iran or other actions that North was involved with.
53:30The, the end justified the means.
53:33People were taken advantage of, ruthlessly exploited, and when the operation fell apart,
53:42no effort was made by the U.S. government to come to the aid of those who had worked for
53:47it in one capacity or another.
53:49Everyone was left to fend for themselves, whether it was politically expedient or not.
53:55We were, we were sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.
54:00Three weeks before Terry Waite's release, Oliver North spoke for the first time about the
54:06Anglican envoy.
54:07Do you yourself feel any guilt as regards how you dealt with him?
54:13Guilt?
54:14I, I, I have a hard time with the, with the use of the word.
54:17Do you feel any responsibility about the fact that an envoy who you worked with ended up
54:24as a hostage?
54:25I feel, uh, uh, an incredible sadness that a man that I know personally, a man for whom
54:34I have enormous regard for his courage and his selflessness on behalf of his fellow man,
54:41has been for years chained to a dungeon in Beirut.
54:44Do you feel any responsibility for that?
54:50I, I would just assume, leave it at that.
54:55Ladies and gentlemen, enough for the moment.
54:59Once again, my gratitude to you, my thanks to you, and I hope that I shall have the opportunity
55:07at a later date of speaking in greater detail and perhaps a little more personally.
55:15Thank you very much.
55:18A week after his release, Terry Waite remains secluded from all the questions.
55:24In time, he has promised to give some of the answers.
55:27They will be eagerly awaited, particularly by Oliver North.
55:31Thank you very much.
56:01Thank you very much.
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57:26This child died primarily of a fatal blow to deliver...
57:29...the life and death of Adam Mann.
57:31You know, it's frustrating to see kids continue to be abused
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57:37Who killed Adam Mann?
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57:53there's been someasan coming on,
57:54which is really tight,
57:55so it's not a failure that is being forced from him to be abused.
57:56They were able to shoot on me.
57:57Let us know in the U.S.
57:58and do the same thing for you,
57:58in my opinion.
57:59This is very good news.
57:59Now, Oh, and though it is true for you,
58:00that was not going to be a place for you,
58:01but you may not be a place for you to be a event.
58:02What a tribute?
58:02All right.