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Domino theory

The Cold War doctrine, described by John Kiriakou as Ronald Reagan's organising obsession in Central America, holding that if one country there fell to communism the rest would fall in sequence up to the American border — the stated rationale for backing the Contra rebels against the Sandinistas.

The domino theory is the doctrine John Kiriakou identifies as the intellectual starting point of the whole Iran–Contra chain.

Setting out the background to Nicaragua, he says that “as historians will tell you Reagan was absolutely obsessed with Communism and he promoted something called the Domino Theory the Domino Theory held that if one single Central American country fell to the Communists the other countries in Central America would fall like dominoes leading right up to the US border.”[1]

The operational consequence follows directly: “So Reagan and the people around him set out to stop the Communists from taking control of Nicaragua they did that by announcing their support for the Contra Rebels.”[1][2]

See also

References

  1. John Kiriakou, 2025-03-1200:32 on YouTube · Transcript
  2. John Kiriakou, 2025-03-1201:03 on YouTube · Transcript

Sourced from John Kiriakou's on-record public statements. See his profile for the full body of his interviews, podcast appearances, and short-form video.