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FOR THE BETTER PART of a decade, a Bay Area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to the Crips and Bloods street gangs of Los Angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to a Latin American guerrilla army run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, a Mercury News investigation has found.

From: Les Butler (les@calweb.com), Cameron Park, CA
Date: Tuesday, August 27, 1996
Comment: Enough lives have been lost in our search for a Manifesto Destiny type of political phhilosophy. If this is the truth, we should be ashamed as American's.

From: Bob Ragland (Rags@prostar.com), Seattle
Date: Tuesday, August 27, 1996
Comment: I've spent the better part of the last two days surfing various conferencing sites and online newspapers
trying to get a feel for how much exposure this scandal is getting and the answer is NOT MUCH!!

We have to raise hell!!! Watching the DNC cool Willie show makes me ill. We can't let them (rep+dem)
get away with covering this up!!

Write, phone or email (send the URL for this site) your Senators, Reps and their leadership.
Write and email your local news people!!!

Raise hell!!!

From: Robert Rodgers (rsr@msn.com), Bowie
Date: Wednesday, August 28, 1996
Comment: There's lots of allegations here, but no content. I notice that, for instance, to substantiate the story the sidebar contains pointers (e.g., to Reagan's orders to support the contras) but there is no actual evidence (except from an admitted criminal and drug dealer) connecting point A (the US government, the contras) to point B (the drugs).

On the other hand, the sleazy way in which the sidebar *implies* that there is a conenction (e.g., reagan's orders -- few people are going to read them and notice the lack of a connection) is usually indicative of having no leg to stand on.

Be interesting to see if anyone follows this up and provides the actual background data. If it's true, it's too bad that SJ Mercury handled it so incompetently.

From: James Gibbons (jgibbon@pacifier.com), Vancouver, WA
Date: Wednesday, August 28, 1996
Comment: When the Wall Street Journal (June 29, 1994; October 18, 1994) published stories about drug running in Mena the left wing called it a conspiracy theory. Yesterday, Tom Leykis put down a caller that lived in Mena during those times for spreading rumors about drug running. Now that a left wing author (I assume Webb is left but correct me if I'm wrong) discovered a west coast CIA-drug connection, it suddenly becomes important enough to investigate.

If either story is true, we have no where to turn for the truth. Both sides of government and the press are possibly corrupt. I don't think Clinton will investigate it because of his history in Mena.

This may all be conspiracy crap. I remember an issue of a Freak Brothers underground comic book from the 70's with a story on government drug running. Either it was true then or it was someone's acid trip on paper. I'm sure that there are some drug dealers that will say the CIA made them do it just to try to make a get out of jail deal.

I will admit, Webb's documentation is quite impressive. So is Roger Morris in his Partners in Power book on the Mena drug running. Terry Reed is another story, however. I most of all trust Sen. Kerry, and plan to read more of his documents soon. If this is true, we are all in deep trouble.

From: Davis Oldham (daviso@u.washington.edu), Seattle, WA
Date: Wednesday, August 28, 1996
Comment: I enthusiastically commend the MN for its reporting on
this issue. The mainstream press has largely ignored
the matter over the past 10 years (see Norman Solomon's
column at the Colombia Support Network's site,
http://www.igc.apc.org/csn/war.html, which you can find
at the weblinks page of this site). Kudos to the MN
for finally taking it on, thoroughly and determinedly.

I take issue with one comment early on in the first
article, however. Webb, whose reporting is generally
excellent, writes that the contra war is "barely a
memory" today. Perhaps for most American readers it is,
but for thousands of Nicaraguans living with its aftermath--
economic devastation, environmental destruction, lost limbs,
dead relatives, indelible memories of torture and atrocity--
it remains a palpable reality. To dismiss all this with a
phrase is to succumb to the narrow perspective that has
allowed the story itself to be ignored for too long. Just as
the Nicaraguan reality is deemed irrelevant, so for 10 years
the black community's experience and knowledge, and the marginalized
left press's reporting on this topic were deemed irrelevant.
It's time the mainstream press--even the courageous reporters
like Webb--got over themselves and stopped treating the rest
of the world as a footnote.

All in all, though, an excellent piece of work.

From: Joe Russo (Sunnsea@aol.com), Jersey City, NJ
Date: Thursday, August 29, 1996
Comment: Thank you Mr. Webb and Mercury News for publishing this series.
We should not be surprised, however. The so-called War on Drugs is nothing but a massive cover-up for all these activities at least si ce the Vietnam War....next time probe the bank accounts off-shore of Nixon, Reagan, Bush and Bennett....
It is refreshing to see some real courage in the media not just obessession with trivia....
It takes someone outside the Beltway these days to do the work....
I fear this series is only exposing the tip of a hugh iceberg....

Now here are some more suggestions for futre investigations:

1) Didja ever notice how the urban riots of the 60's began in WAtts in '64 and then came to end in '68 (expect for a few sporadic outbursts in Miami and Houston)...did CIA and Nixonian elements have anything to do with these?

2) Didja ever notice how the '68 riots at t the Demo. convention really involved only a relative handful of cops and rioters (may 100 to 150 max. but because of the way the
TV cameras were positioned, it appeared like all of da Loop was in flames....check out the ABC-TV documentary on this whihc ran in the early 80's it analyzed the films and tapes produced at the time and had other tapes filmed at wide angles showing how small the "police riot" really was....Nixonian dirty tricks?

3) Will someone please research Kenny O'Donnell's claim in his book "Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye" about JFK's executive order to start pulling out troops from Vietnam beginning in Late 1964 but which was mysteriously rescinded by Johnson just three days after the Assassination....surely there must be documnetaiton on this if such an order was issued and then rescinded....

Thank you again for the series!

From: Bob Bondi (bondi@ix.netcom.com), Seaside
Date: Thursday, August 29, 1996
Comment: All people put in prison for
crack/cocaine use should be released
immediatly. The CIA shuold be
investigated. Ollie North re-prosecuted
with the new evidence.

From: Benjamin (benjamin@rosenet.com), Portland
Date: Thursday, August 29, 1996
Comment: This incident is yet another case where the CIA has gone beyond its charter and intention - to provide knowledge and data for national security. It should be an EAR (HUMINT), not a fist, or a disease to our country.

The CIA has clearly shown that we have a rogue clandestine power in our government that does not have the welfare of our people in its best interests.

I demand that the CIA be disassembled and abolished. The politicians and officials and unofficials who are responsible for the atrocities listed here should be made accountable and given no lenience. I have no patience and no respect for these operations and the people who have carried them out. It is a matter of national security that they be defeated.

As to the need of an intelligence gathering agency - there is little doubt of its importance even in the post cold war world. However, the rot runs so deep that exorcising the demons by fire seems far more plausible than healing via superficial crowd pleasing band-aids of reform.

I say we should start over. We should abolish the existing powerbase. We should look for new talent who have the welfare of every American citizen in their very best interest.

From: Tim Henningsen (timh@everett.com), Seattle
Date: Thursday, August 29, 1996
Comment: The prospects for any justice here is nearly
unattainable. The corners of the CIA that promote
and fund this type of behavior are so entrenched
that there will never be any real answers.
The drug trade is a dirty business for both those who
try to enforce and those who promote it.
It makes us ask questions like,"Where does
all that product go when these huge bust are made?"
The agents,dealers,producers and informants
all have their own agenda. No informant should
ever be trusted. The only thing we can do is
teach our children the evils of substance abuse.
Regardless of who was pushing what, we must remember
that there was a demand also.

From: Michael Hoffman (michael@cybtrans.com), Palo Alto, CA
Date: Thursday, August 29, 1996
Comment: GOVERNMENT FOUND GUILTY OF CREATING THE ENTIRE CRACK DEALING SCENE

U.S. GOVERNMENT FOUND GUILTY OF CREATING THE "DRUG EPIDEMIC" AGAINST WHICH THE GOVERNMENT'S OWN "WAR ON DRUGS" IS DIRECTED

The Self-Destruction Of The War On Drugs: It was bound to happen, now it is happening. The WOD is now exploding

How can the government justify the totalitarian War On Drugs when it turns out that the *number 1* dealer and supplier is the government itself? The whole thing stinks, is fishy, and collapses.

I predict that the WOD will continue escalating until it blows up of its own lack of foundation.

The government is the drug dealer that it protects us against. Total corruption. Total hypocrisy. Totally surreal.

This article is only about crack -- but the entire WOD is *precisely centered* around LA crack. The very epicenter and Origin, the Genesis, of the "drug epidemic" -- that is, the LA crack scene -- is very high level government pushers in charge of "national security".

In the movie Brazil, the government turns out to be the very terrorists that it cites as justification for the totalitarian state. Soviet-style posters warn to "Mind That Parcel!" These parcels turn out to be government-manufactured "terrorist" bombs, probably. In our real world, these mysterious parcels from the government turn out to be kilos of government-supplied cocaine. Mind That Parcel, CIA.

Uncritical minds are short-sighted about this revelation of CIA drug-dealing. They change their attitude toward the CIA (they are shocked to find that it is corrupt) but they uncritically keep their same attitudes about drugs and the WOD that has been hammered into them by unknown PR powers (drugs = evil, WOD = good).

More critical thinkers see that this implication of the government in promoting drugs *completely* collapses every aspect of the WOD into one huge farce. The *whole gig* is off. This is not just a new element in the WOD -- rather, the entire WOD collapses as a circular: One arm of the government promotes drug use, and the other incarcerates for drug use. Around they go, a demonic enslavement machine fueled by robbing free citizens of their most precious possession, freedom.

From: Michael Hoffman (michael@cybtrans.com), Palo Alto, CA
Date: Thursday, August 29, 1996
Comment: This thread is presumably in response to the question posed at the top:

"Should the government have limits on who it hires as an informant or
cooperating witness? Where do you draw the line?"

I think the government should not have limits on who it hires as an informant or cooperating witness. However, it should set up a proper and moral arrangement with these people, not encourage them to commit crime while fighting crime.


This is the first major news to be published on the Web since the CDA (Citizens for Decency Amendment?) that tried to censor the Web down to a conservative child's level. The WOD involves the Web in that the Web can break the WOD by introducing a new element: reasoned discussion and individuals' points of view rather than government and corporate PR agents' points of view.

The WOD is really *driven by* power and money, not health and morality. To end the WOD you must treat it as a thoroughly corrupt power-driven establishment.

The Web is the only place you can find individuals and thinkers having a reasoned discussion about drugs. Do not underestimate the power of the Web! The WOD cannot go on as before, in the face of the Web.

The phrase "War on Drugs" must really be interpreted " 'War', on drugs", as in "The Idea of War, Drugged". This usage of the term "War" has been distorted into an altered state.


Add LSD to heroin and cocaine as drugs that Uncle Sam has pushed onto the citizens.

Jay Stevens - _Storming Heaven_
_Acid Dreams: LSD, the CIA, and the American Dream_
Article in the zine _High Frontiers_ (now _Mondo 2000_) -- 60s into 90s issue (about 1987)

These books and the article argue that the government in the 60s was worried about the political activism of hippies and youth, so promoted and pushed recreational drug use as a distraction. Hippies and New Agers lost in wishful fantasy and escapism are no political threat.

From: John Gant (gg1190@main.worldreach.net), Norfolk Va
Date: Thursday, August 29, 1996
Comment: As an American who is also a black man I have been in my mind
a beleiver in my nation. Even with racisim as big a problem as it
is I remain a beliver in the american dream. However I am
a realist also. A look at history will prove to most
that we are under attack from outside.
This does not stop here for if you look you will see also that when
something happens to us such as this then in time it
also happens to the white community. This is normally when they stand up to protest
loadly. Example school bussing we thought that young black children would
get good educations mixed with whites
who knew they would through the children of poor whites unable to afford
private school in with us and let us all find the lowest common denominator.
We as citizens need unity among us all black ,white or who ever
we are in this together. sorry for the comes across but I am very angry
This is my country to....

From: Lawrence (dilworl@cvg.baxter.com), Los Angeles
Date: Thursday, August 29, 1996
Comment: This has been known in the African American community for years. Have you ever heard the saying or gester "We don't have any planes ro boats to bring the dope in America". I remember when cocaine started getting big. All I wanted to be when I grew up was to be big time, Making a thousand dollars a day. The police was taking dope dealers money instead of taking them to jail. The office would ask the dealer if he wanted to go to jail or give up the days earnings. I remember the people calling on the police for help. The answer Cheif Gates, the Batta Ram, K-9's, and the Choke hold. the poeple of LA stopped asking for help from it's self and started asking for help to get the police off thier backs. i just wish they would leave us alone. Viruses, Hangings, Slaviery, Rap of Slaves, welfare, Jim Crow Laws, and now this. GOD BESSED AMERICA BUT HE FORGOT ABOUT US.

From: Bob Stanton (sparky@cwo.com), Sacramento
Date: Friday, August 30, 1996
Comment: Just to share, I sent this today, and hope everyone is doing something similar:

"Dear Mr. President,

The San Jose Mercury News published an article called "The Dark Alliance" which can be found on the web at
http://www.sjmercury.com/drugs/

This very well-documented story shows the pivotal role that the CIA played in setting up Nicarauguan nationals with a crack cocaine and arms distribution ring on the West coast that eventually went nationwide. It seems that the CIA was the driving force behind the crack cocaine epidemic that still haunts our inner cities and fills our prisons. All for the sake of Central American Democracy.

I am appalled, outraged, and sickened, all at the same time. Mostly sickened.

The "War on Drugs" is such a huge farce in its own right. The fact that our government is also a drug supplier is just too sick for words.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS.

Sincerely,

Bob Stanton
Sacramento, CA"

Would anyone like to talk about other peaceful, non-paranoia-inspired ways to get the word out on this? Please email me.

From: william burnette (billburn@bellatlantic.net), Takoma Park,Md.
Date: Friday, August 30, 1996
Comment: The government has always proven that the ends justify the means,but is that to say that the public has no right to decide those means. In the end we all pay the price of the pied-piper.How many Americans can we afford to lose so that a few can be satisfied in their beliefs.The justice here is not in man,but in what God holds in store for these very savages.Thanks for enlightenment,we do have some people who do really care about all people.

From: Gary Webb (garywebb@aol.com), Sacramento, CA
Date: Sunday, September 1, 1996
Comment: Sorry I haven't been here much, but I've been making sure (via radio mostly) that people on the east coast and midwest find out about this thing. It's rather amazing to me how cowardly the media can be when it comes right down to it.
This story is still finding its way across the country. People on the East Coast are largely unaware of it.
One thing I have been asked constantly is, "What can I do about this?" Well, if you're computer-literate, you can do quite a bit without breaking a sweat.
The one writer who e-mailed Clinton has the right idea. All of the people in Congress have e-mail addresses. Let 'em know what YOU want them to do.
I've covered politicians for a long time and I know that the one thing that really makes them uncomfortable is when average citizens (as opposed to lobbyists or PR agents) begin demanding answers. I've got a hunch Congressional hearings are in the offing here and if enough people want a national, public airing of this intelligence disaster, they'll get one.

One thing I did want to respond to directly is the writer who claimed there wasn't any "proof" of CIA involvement in this thing. That's like saying there's no proof of General Motors involvement in making Chevrolets.
I also heard a great line while I was doing a radio show in Florida yesterday: Now we know what CIA really stands for: Crack In America.

From: Drexel Delaney (Drexel_Delaney@Xerox.Com), Los Angeles
Date: Sunday, September 1, 1996
Comment: They have done this, they have done that, and trust me, they will do more. It's time to draw the line. It's time to stand up. It's time to take responsibility for your own actions, thoughts, and choices. Just because the drugs, behaviors, habits, life-styles, mental suggestions are imported into our Black environments, does not mean that we are required to partake of them. Yes they bring all of this garbage into our communities, but we don't have to get involved in it. We do have choices. we just don't make the choice that is the most life supporting. This responsibility is ours. We must learn to make the correct choice. The choice that is most life suporting, and supported by the forces of Nature. I was involved with all that we are talking about. The garbage was presented to me, and I Made the choice to get involved with it. I was not forced, or tricked. I made the choice myself. As easy as I made the choice to get involved with the garbage, I also made the choice to no longer participate in the garbage. We have choices. We may not be free, We may not be rich, but, We do have choices. It's is truly our RESPONSIBILITY, to make sure we are making the right choice.

From: robert lewis (bobdevo@Aol.com), akron, ohio
Date: Sunday, September 1, 1996
Comment: If you remember, during the Iran-Contra hearings two individuals interrrupted Col. North's testimony by yelling "Ask Ollie North about the cocaise coming into US Air Force Bases. The two were restrained and arrested - and from what I understand wound up doing 18 months in a Federal slammer - while Ollie got off scot-free on technicalities.
Anyway, I am very thankful someone has finally blown the lid off of this sordid but of AmericaN history. We can only hope that Deutch will actually try to get to the bottom of this - but let's not bet on it.

From: robert lewis (bobdevo@Aol.com), akron, ohio
Date: Sunday, September 1, 1996
Comment: If you remember, during the Iran-Contra hearings two individuals interrrupted Col. North's testimony by yelling "Ask Ollie North about the cocaise coming into US Air Force Bases. The two were restrained and arrested - and from what I understand wound up doing 18 months in a Federal slammer - while Ollie got off scot-free on technicalities.
Anyway, I am very thankful someone has finally blown the lid off of this sordid but of AmericaN history. We can only hope that Deutch will actually try to get to the bottom of this - but let's not bet on it.