ALBERT HAKIM (6) - Profile
W. Mark Felt (AKA Deep Throat) never actually said, “Follow the money,” but if the quotation from All the President’s Men applied to Iran-Contra just as it had to Watergate, the trail would lead to Albert Hakim. Along with Maj. Gen. Richard Secord (Ret.), Hakim ran the Enterprise as a business, not a humanitarian organization. When Hakim was questioned by the committees, he had profited several-million dollars by helping turn money from Nicaragua into arms for Iran. Hakim’s testimony featured many notable statements—from his description of his “love” for Lt. Col. Oliver North to his plans for a war with Russia over Iran. Hakim justified using the Enterprise’s profits, which the committees argue should belong to the U.S., in order to fund $200,000 of death benefits for North’s family. Ultimately, Co-Chairman Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) castigated the private network of foreign policy pursued by the Enterprise. “When I look back,” Hakim responds, “I share your opinion.”
