The bits and pieces of the Iran-contra scandal that have slowly leaked out have presented an unsettling image of Ronald Reagan's closest advisers: scheming, overreaching aides deliberately misleading one another while keeping an already out-of-touch President in the dark about their secret operations. That impression was reinforced last week with the release of a Senate Intelligence Committee report based on three weeks of hearings the panel held last December.
The most complete reconstruction of Iranscam yet, the single-spaced 65-page report presents a readable, dispassionate account of Administration officials pointing fingers and offering conflicting stories about who knew -- and did --...