European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 13, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By con5tantjne c. Memos for the Washington polm any americans who saw Oliver North s televised testimony in july 1987 found him highly intelligent articulate persuasive and patriotic All with a Down to Tarih Persona Bleness Ihal made him credible unless he receives a presidential Pardon they May soon have the Opportunity 1o learn Morg about i to telegenic sex Marine As the Iran con Ira Case proceeds through Iho legals Slem. There is a Good Deal More to learn North had been on the National Security Council stall Sirica 1981.1 first met him in 19s3 alter a was assigned responsibility Lor Csc Liaison Wilh the nicaraguan contras. Since the Cia operations directorate the spy Sida of the Agency managed the then Legal u a. Support of the contras North developed close relationships Wilh that group i oin cd the Cia in 1931 and became the senior person for latin America on Iho analytical Side and North was always irl endly to me. In october 1983. T began to . To anyone who did t work directly Wilh him Oliver North appeared a Model Marine disciplined dedicated thorough. Bull he Lew of us who worked closely with Ollie North on Iho inside came to see there was another Side to the Man a Side that not Only undermined an important foreign policy whorl but which eventually endangered Ronald Reagan s presidency. The Early signs were Small but suggestive. When of lice conversation turned to colleagues whom he saw As rivals or obstacles Ollie Otten Lound some insidious Way to discredit them. About one he said Well he. Was an academic. He did t know How to make the bureaucracy work " about a senior defense official he said repeatedly to has no influence because Cap Weinberger does t listen to  the Tower commission report published notes from Ollie to two of his Bosses National Security advisers Roberl Bud Mcfarlane and John Poindexter in which Ollie reported allegations that one of his colleagues a potential competitor. Might be earning Money irom the Sale of weapons to Iran passing Iho unflattering Rumor along seemed in character Lor Ollie North one of my earliest recollections of North involves sitting in his office and hearing him Tell a caller Henry Kissinger is Here visiting me and i have to go Back to  i did a Quick and rather poor Kissinger Imi Lalion saying loudly " a. Otlie we Haf Gotlop finish Dis  i assumed that Otlie was pulling his Carter s tear bul i soon Learned to see these jokes differently. By late 19841 had reluctantly conceded that North was regularly exaggerating and reshaping events and was increasingly seeking Loi press people through personal  for example North once told me Complete Wilh highlights of the conversation about a dinner he d had with then ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick. I later asked her if a certain subject had come up during that dinner. The ambassador looked Blank. I be never had dinner with Oliver North she said. Eventually other colleagues and i decided thai when Ollie told us about his dinner with Jeane Kirkpatrick his weekend spent writing the Kissinger commission report Wilh one of us celebrity members and later is alleged conversation Wilh Nancy Reagan these were simply rather childish examples of an Over Acline ego .,.- but Ollie s self promoting words turned into self. Serving actions As in the Case of what i came to Call Olfe s memo  the Csc executive secretariat would distribute incoming action memos on Central America to me and if the Issue involved the contras or military matters a. Copy would go to North. The procedure would be Tor the latin american group to prepare the action memo and show it to Ollie Lor comments or concurrence. One morning in ate 1383,1 saw that a Memahan gone to Mcfarlane with my. Name on it mine and Ollie s."0h," North said when. I asked i called you at 10 30 last night but you weren t in your office and this had to get  very Clever. I told him that it an urgent matter could not. Have wailed until the next morning at 7 for my review he should simply have had the while House operator Call me at Home or via my Beeper he agreed. But then it happened again and again. Jacqueline Tillman a staff colleague concluded that the other Side North did not understand the politics of Central America. Alter several run ins with him Tillman s View of Otlie grew harsher. I be worked Here at the Csc for some weeks now Wilh Olfe North she to do her voice which Wilh emotion and i be concluded that not Only is he a liar but he s delusional Polo hungry and a danger to the president and the country. He should not be working on  the summer o 1984 Tillman told me a disturbing Story. A journalist Friend of hers had described in colourful detail certain events that occurred during Secretary of state George Shultz s Light to Nicaragua in june 1984. In a casual office Chal she had related Iho events to Ollie. Aboul two weeks later Ollie told her the same stories end said that a journalist who had been on Shutlz s plans had related this to him. Startled Tillman reminded Ollie that she had. Originally old him this Story be Ollie insisted Lor about 20 minutes that this had been his rather than her experience. When she told me about this she was worried for him Ollie seemed to be having trouble distinguishing Between his fantasies and of Clive reality. In late 1985, according to Robert Reilly a skilled. " while House colleague Ollie claimed to have received a congratulatory phone Call irom Max Rabb the  ambassador to Italy on the capture of the Achilla. Lauro terrorists. A Lew Days later Reilly met with Rabb in Europe and mentioned that he knew Oliver North at the Csc the ambassador looked Blank and said who is Oliver Northa. ,. In late 1986, news reports carried recordings of Oliver North claiming in briefings to citizen groups that he frequently met alone with president Reagan. The while House promptly issued a statement that com jarjuary.1985 to november 1986, North had been in 19 meetings with the president but never alone. Testimony in the Iran Contra hearings and reports said Ihal Ollie frequently told pro Reagan activists about Oste Nihls one on one conversations with Reagan Fawn Hall his Secretary later told the Iran Centra investigating comr Hildaa that. Ollie had never met alone with the president. -. Like the rest of us Csc co Teague Chris Lehman Lound it hard to change his positive impressions of. Ollie North. Lehman told me that As  1986, he had dinner with Ollie and sat a rapt believer As North recounted a tale of his personal conversation with the president about the hostages in  Lehman later made an Apt analogy Ollio s like a Chain saw. He can do constructive work if supervised bit Tat / Loose he can Cut a tragic Swath but it seemed Ihal Mcfarlane and Poindexter gave North Ever Freer refer exercising Ess and less supervision. Despite the misgivings of his colleagues North s superiors seemed interested neither in guiding nor controlling him nor even in listening to any advice about him,., ,. -. Tragically the More authority North was Given by Mcfarland and poin Droxler the More his flaws came to dominate his Good Side. He seemed to deceive in a far More serious Way misleading his colleagues and superiors about important facts about views of other officials and about his own actions. " for example the Jawed commission report shows that North wrote pol Dexler saying that assistant. Secretary of state Elli Oll Abrams agreed that he. " -. North should Telephone the president by Costa Rica. Later North wrote to pol Dexler i recognize that i was Well beyond my charter in dealing with a head of state shia Way and making threats. But under the./, circumstances and with Elliott s concurrence it " seemed like the Only thing we could  Poindexter illustrated is own bad judgment by writing to North you did the fight thing but let s try to keep it quiet.". Both Abrams and the . Ambassador to Costa Rica Lold the Tower commission that North had not been authorized to make such a Call and that they doubted to had done so. Some of the Media coverage about North s background written since he attained National prominence contained information that none of us at the Csc had known. Some of these describe earlier instances of personal exaggeration others report that North compromised secrecy by bragging in court about his exploits. The Washington times first broke the . In. 1974, North was relieved of training duly in Okinawa and sent to Bethesda naval Hospital to be treated Tor emotional distress. A North always seemed impatient with and insensitive to. The need Lor a competent Well thou Gnu out political strategy. North was moving about in. So Many. Directions on so Many de tads of projects that he Ollen could not locus in a though Tull Way on How to obtain the Overall desired result. His desire Lor taking credit usually precluded any affective teamwork the truth is North often did not gel results. This is illustrated dramatically by his tailing to assure that a proper $10-Milllon donation from a third country Paga 14. The stars and stripes tuesday Dei