Iran-Contra ScandalThe Cold War piqued the interest of the entire globe. Every threat, policy and action that has taken place has had far greater ramifications than could ever be imagined. The world was nervous because it feared its own destruction, after the introduction of nuclear warfare at the end of World War II, another world war could bring about the end of the Earth. This fear ran through the hearts and minds of citizens of both the United States and the Soviet Union, but it is the citizens of other countries who had to pay the consequences. The "race" between the United States and the Soviet Union to become the world's leading superpower has not always remained as calm as many like to believe. Many regions of the world were held responsible for fighting the ideological war that would separate the two world powers. One region that has always been very active in warfare since the beginning of time is the Middle East. Fighting has remained a standard of life that many Middle Eastern countries have come to live and die with. When ideological warfare came to the Middle East, the primary target became Iran. At the time, Iran held the region's greatest wealth from oil revenues, and the United States feared that its communist neighbors would try to take over Iran and gain additional funding and support. One of the most crucial moments of the end of the Cold War was the Iran-contra affair. “Iran-Contra policies focused on two regions of the world that cast shadows of doubt in the public mind, and were difficult for the government to portray in positive terms; Central America and the Middle East. Central America conjured images of another Vietnam, of the United States slowly being sucked into a Third World anti-communist guerrilla war for little tangible gain. Iranian initiatives revived memories of other foreign policy nightmares, most obviously the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979-1980, which highlighted the potential impotence of American power in the Middle East.”[1] Now the United States was attempting to take back the hostages. Iran selling them weapons and then backtracking and giving the profits to the Contra rebels of Nicaragua for their rebellion against the Sandinista government. This illegal and therefore secret operation was not only a failure, but also brought relations between the United States... to the center of the paper... operation, when open action would not have been sufficient, politics was then taken clandestinely and hidden from the eyes of Congress." Presidency. Actions were taken that had been hidden from Congress, the system of checks and balances was deliberately circumvented, and Congress, along with several administration officials, were deceived into supporting a secret and possibly illegal weapons transfer. "[26] "Congressional opinion was based on the belief that the United States had been held hostage by terrorist cells and had violated its publicly stated position of not settling with terrorists. immunity agreements and subsequent pardons, no one is yet serving any sanctions for involvement. However, and perhaps more importantly, the Iran-contra affair has raised many concerns about the limits of executive power and the capabilities of government programs that go beyond the knowledge and scope of the congressional understanding..