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1980 October Surprise proven

B

BH

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Former lieutenant governor of Texas Ben Barnes has come forward and admitted he and a former governor of Texas named John Connolly spoke to Iranians and sought for them to keep the hostages hostage until the 1980 election and they would be rewarded for it John Connolly was the same Connolly Lee Harvey Oswald injured when he was killing President Kennedy.
 
Well thank goodness this was the only time a Republican candidate negotiated with our "enemies" in order to gain an advantage over his opponent in an election.
 
BH said:
Former lieutenant governor of Texas Ben Barnes has come forward and admitted he and a former governor of Texas named John Connolly spoke to Iranians and sought for them to keep the hostages hostage until the 1980 election and they would be rewarded for it John Connolly was the same Connolly Lee Harvey Oswald injured when he was killing President Kennedy.
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Ben Barnes is a Democrat. Why did he do that?
 
Derec said:
BH said:
Former lieutenant governor of Texas Ben Barnes has come forward and admitted he and a former governor of Texas named John Connolly spoke to Iranians and sought for them to keep the hostages hostage until the 1980 election and they would be rewarded for it John Connolly was the same Connolly Lee Harvey Oswald injured when he was killing President Kennedy.
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Ben Barnes is a Democrat. Why did he do that?
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The OP summary's details don't quite match the linked article. According to the article, Barnes isn't saying he did it; he's saying Connally did it. (Also, in case it makes a difference, Barnes isn't saying Connally spoke to Iranians. Barnes and Connally were meeting with Arab leaders; Barnes says Connally asked the Arabs to pass the message along to Iran.)

As for Connally's motivation, he'd switched parties a few years before. He was angling for a cabinet post at the time so presumably he did it to curry favor with the anticipated incoming administration.
 
Bomb#20 said:
Derec said:
BH said:
Former lieutenant governor of Texas Ben Barnes has come forward and admitted he and a former governor of Texas named John Connolly spoke to Iranians and sought for them to keep the hostages hostage until the 1980 election and they would be rewarded for it John Connolly was the same Connolly Lee Harvey Oswald injured when he was killing President Kennedy.
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Ben Barnes is a Democrat. Why did he do that?
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The OP summary's details don't quite match the linked article. According to the article, Barnes isn't saying he did it; he's saying Connally did it.
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I agree with you, but I think it could also depend on what exactly the "it" is or the "that" is. If we were to tweak the question just a little bit, there's still an essential question regarding party loyalty. Namely, Barnes appears to have been an accessory merely by being present with the Democrat-turned-Republican Connally. Why would he go with him, why would he stand by and say nothing as a Democrat? Maybe more details will come out about this.

Bomb#20 said:
(Also, in case it makes a difference, Barnes isn't saying Connally spoke to Iranians. Barnes and Connally were meeting with Arab leaders; Barnes says Connally asked the Arabs to pass the message along to Iran.)
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Agree again. I think we need some more information, like who were these Arabs, what would be in their interest to keep it secret, and were they allied to the Iranians in some way? Without this detail on the connection, I am a little bit skeptical about this part of the story. But then again, Barnes is risking his reputation and legacy by coming out with this info...

Bomb#20 said:
As for Connally's motivation, he'd switched parties a few years before.
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Yup.

Bomb#20 said:
He was angling for a cabinet post at the time so presumably he did it to curry favor with the anticipated incoming administration.
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This is true and it is interesting that he was in fact offered a cabinet position, Secretary of Energy. He turned it down for some reason "personal requirements," and so I wonder if there were too many conflicts of interest with his legal firm or if he felt he wasn't qualified or what. He was also angling for VP or Presidency before that and so maybe he felt Sec of Energy wasn't the right path to those positions in the future.
 
I read on Wikipedia that they went to Egypt, SA, Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. I think it is plausible that Syria could have relayed the information to Iran.

Here's a snippet to consider about Syria and Iran in 1980(s):
1. Hafez al-Assad sent Khomeini a gold-illuminated Koran in 1979.

Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad, who had never had warm relations with the Shah of Iran, was quick to embrace the Iranian Revolution of 1979. He sent the Ayatollah Khomeini a gold-illuminated Koran and congratulatory telegram in which he proclaimed support for the revolution, which he said served the interests of both Arabs and Muslims. He was the first Arab leader to recognize the new regime. The move proved fortuitous for him, as Syria entered an era of relative isolation later that year, losing its strategic partnership with Egypt to the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, and entering an era of hostility with Baathist Iraq after Saddam Hussein accused Syria of aiding a coup plot against the Baghdad government.

2. Two wars cemented the alliance.

When Saddam Hussein invaded Iran in September 1980, Syria was the only Arab country that supported Iran. Syria provided arms, guided Iran regarding Iraq’s Soviet-made equipment, shut down an Iraqi oil pipeline that crossed Syrian territory, and sabotaged an Arab League meeting in Amman at which King Hussein of Jordan sought to rally support for Iraq.

When Israel invaded Lebanon and attacked Syrian forces in 1982, Assad turned to Iran, which mobilized Lebanese Shiites to take up arms in the Lebanese Civil War against the multinational peacekeeping force comprised of American, French, British, Italian, and Israeli forces. Iran’s allies officially formed Hezbollah, or “Party of God” in 1985. Syria still ensures Iran access to its Hezbollah allies.
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