---
born: 1925-09-29
category: Iran-Contra
died: 1991-04-05
location: Houston, Texas
summary: After the Iran-Contra Affair scandal broke, Tower was appointed to head a
  presidential commission of inquiry into the affair.
tags:
- Person
- IranContra
- CIA
- Military
---

[John Tower](/people/john-tower/) was a [U.S.](/places/united-states/) Senator and a prominent figure with connections to [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) circles. He served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.[^1]

[Tower](/people/john-tower/) was introduced to [Rafi](/organizations/rafi/), then counterterrorism adviser to [Menachem Begin](/people/menachem-begin/), in 1978. Eitan sought to build a network within the [United States](/places/united-states/) to obtain information about Palestinian terrorists. [Tower](/people/john-tower/) and his senior aide, [Robert McFarlane](/people/robert-mcfarlane/), developed a close relationship with Eitan, and much information reaching the Senate Armed Services Committee found its way to Eitan's desk.[^1]

[Tower](/people/john-tower/) was involved in the secret negotiations concerning the [Iran-Contra Affair](/events/iran-contra-affair/). He was present at a meeting in [Santiago](/places/santiago/), [Chile](/places/chile/), in late 1986 with [Carlos Cardoen](/people/carlos-cardoen/), [Robert Gates](/people/robert-gates/), and [Gen. Pieter Van Der Westhuizen](/people/pieter-van-der-westhuizen/) (South African Military Intelligence), where the [U.S.](/places/united-states/) reaffirmed its intention to maintain arms channels to [Iraq](/places/iraq/).[^1]

[Robert Maxwell](/people/robert-maxwell/) claimed that when [George H.W. Bush](/people/george-hw-bush/) was head of the [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) in 1976, [Tower](/people/john-tower/) approached Maxwell to connect him and Bush secretly with various [Soviet](/places/soviet-union/) intelligence people. Maxwell delivered, and [Tower](/people/john-tower/) became his friend for life, later being appointed a director of Maxwell's Macmillan publishing company in the [U.S.](/places/united-states/).[^1]

[Tower](/people/john-tower/) approached [Maxwell](/people/robert-maxwell/) to market the [PROMIS](/programs/promis/) software on behalf of the [CIA](/people/robert-gates/) group. He also personally gave [Yitzhak Shamir](/people/yitzhak-shamir/) permission to use [U.S.](/places/united-states/) funds as a guarantee for Maxwell's publishing empire.[^1]

After the [Iran-Contra Affair](/events/iran-contra-affair/) scandal broke, [Tower](/people/john-tower/) was appointed to head a presidential commission of inquiry into the affair. The [Tower Commission](/organizations/tower-commission/)'s conclusions were largely seen as a cover-up, focusing only on a minor part of the sales and making no mention of the ongoing original arms channel. [George H.W. Bush](/people/george-hw-bush/) later nominated [Tower](/people/john-tower/) for defense secretary, but he was not confirmed by [Congress](/places/united-states/).[^1]

[Tower](/people/john-tower/) died in a plane crash in Georgia in early 1991.[^1]

[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.