Cocaine & the Contras - Robert Parry & Gary Webb

[reprehensor]

Run time: 05:04 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUWVmcIQi9g   Posted on YouTube: March 12, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: March 12, 2008 By DU Member: reprehensor Views on DU: 776

 
The Reagan-Bush I era is remembered for a lot of things, and this should be one of the major ones. Hypocritically tough on drugs, under the watch of these Conservative icons, crack cocaine became an epidemic in this country, and reporter Gary Webb linked the CIA to the epidemic. For the most part, the CIA performs Covert Operations at the behest of the President, in support of executive policy decisions.

In 1996, Webb had a groundbreaking story released in the San Jose Mercury News. You can read the re-published original story here;
http://www.narconews.com/darkalliance/

This video was filmed a few months after his story broke, and what should have been a paradigm-shifting event turned into the biggest career mistake of Webb's tragically shortened life. Appearing with Webb is Robert Parry of Consortium News.com.

Here is the full video, in Four parts;

Part One of Four:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4014940824188902302&hl=en

Part Two of Four:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8562609315164744648&hl=en

Part Three of Four:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3209686665409184055&hl=en

Part Four of Four:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3075506208381555606&hl=en

(This footage is provided courtesy of justicevision.org - please buy a DVD and support the hard work of Ralph Cole.)
http://justicevision.blogspot.com/

[bagrman]

1. Back then the Coke usta come in to Mena Ark. and the guns would leave

from there. Ollie North was a regular at the local dinner. The investigation into this was allowed to die on the vine after The Clintons came into power, as he cut funding to it. Nice.

[Enthusiast]

5. This kind of illegal

This kind of illegal bullshit continues to this day under the Bush CIA. No wonder they are taking no action to quash poppy production in Afghanistan.

[bagrman]

9. Same old tricks. To much money to be made, not to get in on it.

[Hart2008]

2. Mena, Arkansas, where the Bush's and Clinton's interests met. n/t

[Gonnuts]

3. Our Government is the Worlds Leading Drug Supplier

In every country there are Drug Lords, whether they supply, smuggle, wholesale they are a major force within the countries they operate in, to think that the United States doesn't have it's own Drug Lords when we are the biggest user of illegal drugs is illogical. The main reason we will never see a reduction in drug use within this country even after all the effort and money spent on this so-called "war on drugs" is because the very people in charge of enforcing the law are the Drug Lords.

When John Gotti was asked by a reporter just how much influence the Mob had in the illegal drug trade Gotti answered very little because they couldn't compete with the government.

[defendandprotect]

12. Exactly, drugs have been the quivalent in $ of oil and gold ---

the elite aren't going to ignore that ---

[wildbilln864]

4. k&r! nt

:hi:

[frylock]

6. just finished reading webb's "dark alliance"

recommended read for anyone who's interested in the subject.

[JohnyCanuck]

7. K&R n/t

[JohnyCanuck]

8. You know what they say,

the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Britain is protecting the biggest heroin crop of all time
By CRAIG MURRAY (a former British ambassador to Uzbekistan /JC)

SNIP

Our economic achievement in Afghanistan goes well beyond the simple production of raw opium. In fact Afghanistan no longer exports much raw opium at all. It has succeeded in what our international aid efforts urge every developing country to do. Afghanistan has gone into manufacturing and 'value-added' operations.

It now exports not opium, but heroin. Opium is converted into heroin on an industrial scale, not in kitchens but in factories. Millions of gallons of the chemicals needed for this process are shipped into Afghanistan by tanker. The tankers and bulk opium lorries on the way to the factories share the roads, improved by American aid, with Nato troops.

How can this have happened, and on this scale? The answer is simple. The four largest players in the heroin business are all senior members of the Afghan government – the government that our soldiers are fighting and dying to protect.

When we attacked Afghanistan, America bombed from the air while the CIA paid, armed and equipped the dispirited warlord drug barons – especially those grouped in the Northern Alliance – to do the ground occupation. We bombed the Taliban and their allies into submission, while the warlords moved in to claim the spoils. Then we made them ministers.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=469983&in_page_id=1770&in_page_id=1770&expand=true

[leveymg]

10. K&R for Gary and Parry!

Two of the last real American journalists. Long may you both live!

[formerfed]

11. Goes A Hell Of A Lot Deeper Then This

It wasnt just the CIA... the only reason they got linked was because at that time the CIA were "allegedly" the only agency acting outside of the US. There was a "handoff" once things came into this country.

[pauldp]

13. Amazing. Two incredibly brave men. One now gone. Let's keep this kicked.

Most Americans still have no clue twenty years later.