<Tr> <Th> Staff </Th> <Td> 23 </Td> </Tr> <P> The Tower Commission was commissioned on December 1, 1986 by United States president Ronald Reagan in response to the Iran--Contra affair, in which senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo . The commission, composed of former Senator John Tower of Texas, former Secretary of State Edmund Muskie, and former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, was tasked with reviewing the proper role of the National Security Council staff in national security operations generally, and in the arms transfers to Iran specifically . </P> <P> The Commission's report, published on February 27, 1987, concluded that CIA Director William Casey, who supported the Iran - Contra arrangement, should have taken over the operation and made the president aware of the risks and notified Congress as legally required . The Commission's work was continued by two congressional investigative committees (both formed in January 1987). Shortly after forming the Tower Commission, President Reagan also named Lawrence Walsh as the independent counsel in charge of the Iran - Contra criminal investigation . </P> <P> The Commission report described its purpose in the following way: </P>

The tower commision placed much of the blame for the iran contra affair on