（原 文）

　　The Reagan administration's most serious foreign policy problem surfaced near the end of the president's second term. In 1987 Americans learned that the administration had secretly sold arms to Iran in an attempt to win freedom for American hostages held in Lebanon by radical organizations controlled by Iran's Khomeini government. Investigation also revealed that funds from the arms sales had been diverted to the Nicaraguan contras during a period when Congress had prohibited such military aid.

　　The ensuing Iran-contra hearings before a joint House-Senate committee examined issues of possible illegality as well as the broader question of defining American foreign policy interests in the Middle East and Central America. In a larger sense， the Iran-contra hearings， like the celebrated Senate Watergate hearings 14 years earlier， addressed fundamental questions about the government's accountability to the public， and the proper balance between the executive and legislative branches of government.

　　（参考译文）

　　里根政府最严重的对外政策问题在总统第二任期行将结束之际浮出水面。1987年，美国人得知里根政府曾秘密向伊朗出售武器，试图为那些美国人质换取人身自由，这些人质被伊朗霍梅尼政府所控制的激进组织囚禁于黎巴嫩。此外，调查也披露，这些武器交易中所得的款项被转移到尼加拉瓜反政府武装组织的手里，但在这一时期，美国国会早已禁止此类性质的军事援助。

　　随后所举行的参众两院联合委员会的有关“伊朗-反政府武装组织事件”听证会审议了有可能存在的非法问题，以及对美国在中东和中美洲对外政策利益进行界定这一更为广泛的问题。从某种较为宽泛的意义上说，有关“伊朗-反政府武装组织事件”的听证会，犹如14年前著名的参议员水门事件听证会那样，所涉及到的都是某些根本性问题，即政府应如何向公众负责，以及政府行政与立法部门之间如何才能达成某种恰如其分的平衡。农业发展。