---
aliases:
- Robert McFarlane
- Bud McFarlane
born: 1937-07-12
category: Intelligence & Government
created: 2026-05-17
died: 2022-05-12
location: Washington, D.C., USA
summary: Ronald Reagan's national security adviser who in January 1985 advised FDN
  leader Adolfo Calero that it might be time to consider cutting losses on the Contra
  project.
tags:
- Person
- Politician
- 1980s
- ContraWar
- IranContra
title: Robert McFarlane
updated: 2026-05-17
---

Robert "Bud" McFarlane served as President [Ronald Reagan](/people/ronald-reagan/)'s national security adviser during the period when the [Contras](/organizations/contras/) reached their lowest ebb, both on the battlefield and in the battle for U.S. public opinion during the winter of 1984–85.[^1]

### Advice to FDN Leadership

In January 1985, as the [FDN](/organizations/fdn/) spent its last batch of [Central Intelligence Agency](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) money and Contra forces retreated from Nicaragua into Honduras, McFarlane told FDN leader [Adolfo Calero](/people/adolfo-calero/) that perhaps it was time to start thinking about "cutting both our losses and theirs." The administration's prestige was riding on the Contras; Reagan had compared them to the founding fathers of the American Revolution during a speech. The FDN's only ray of hope was to withdraw from battle and lie low until spring, when Congress agreed to let the administration make one more pitch for funding.[^1]

### Context

McFarlane's pessimistic counsel came after twelve months of consecutive public relations disasters for the Contra project, including the CIA's seeding of [Nicaraguan](/places/nicaragua/) harbors with mines, a bombing at [Eden Pastora's](/people/eden-pastora/) jungle headquarters, the public exposure of a CIA-printed terrorism manual, and the passage of a stringent [Boland Amendment](/events/boland-amendment/) in October 1984 that cut off all U.S. government funding for the Contras.[^1]

[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 10: "Teach a man a craft and he's liable to practice it"