1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 28
Summary
George W. Cave died Aug. 14 in Olney, Maryland, at 97 after a CIA career spanning more than 20 years in the Middle East and Pakistan.
In 1986, William Casey brought the retired officer back under contract to help negotiate the release of seven Americans held hostage in Beirut by Iranian-backed militants.
That effort became part of the Iran-Contra scandal, in which the United States secretly sold arms to Iran and diverted proceeds to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua despite a congressional embargo.
A rare Persian speaker, Cave had served twice in Tehran, kept contacts after retiring in 1980, and later said he joined the operation reluctantly because of concerns about intermediary Manucher Ghorbanifar.