Parry, Robert. Trick or Treason: The October Surprise Mystery. New York:
Sheridan Square Press, 1993. 350 pages.
Robert Parry was a reporter for the Associated Press in Washington from
1980-1987. He was the first to put Oliver North's name into print, and then
pursued the contra drug angle to the dismay of his editors. After three
years with Newsweek, which he also found frustrating, he began reporting for
the PBS Frontline show. This allowed him to trot around the globe with a
cameraman in pursuit of the October Surprise story. Many witnesses, some
flaky and some credible, have claimed that in 1980 the Reagan campaign cut
a deal with Iran regarding the release of the hostages. For someone like
Parry, who believes that the U.S. holds democratic elections and reporters
serve the public interest, this amounts to treason. For the rest of us, who
gave up voting long ago, it's pretty much a dog-bites-man yawner. The best
line in the book is when Alexander Haig tells Parry, "Come on. Jesus! God!
You know, you'd better get out and read Machiavelli or somebody else because
I think you're living in a dream world!"
This book suggests that forces are at work to muddy the record when
citizens get too curious. Flaky witnesses bearing half-truths are dispatched,
and the Parrys are kept chasing their tails. Now this is the real story. But
just try to prove it. As one spook put it, "It's not true if it can't be
proven." And good luck proving anything when the stakes are this high.
ISBN 1-879823-08-X
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