S8 Ep279: THE ORIGINS OF THE INVESTIGATION AND THE ALLEGATIONS OF ARI BEN-MENASHE Colleague Craig Unger. Unger details how the "October Surprise" investigation began, sparked by a 1991 op-ed from form

THE ORIGINS OF THE INVESTIGATION AND THE ALLEGATIONS OF ARI BEN-MENASHE Colleague Craig Unger. Unger details how the "October Surprise" investigation began, sparked by a 1991 op-ed from former National Security Council member Gary Sick. Unger, then working with Esquire and later Newsweek, collaborated with investigative reporter Bob Parry to uncover the truth. A key but controversial source was Ari Ben-Menashe, a rogue Israeli intelligence operative who claimed that Bill Casey met with Iranians in Madrid in July 1980 to negotiate a delay in the hostages' release in exchange for arms. Ben-Menashe further alleged that George H.W. Bush traveled to Paris in October 1980 to finalize the deal. Although these sources were often dismissed as disreputable, Unger argues that investigating illegal arms dealing necessitates speaking to operatives within that shadow world, despite the risk to a journalist's career. NUMBER 3