The Supreme Court ruled in June 2008 that “Guantanamo Bay detainees have a right to challenge their detention in US civilian courts.”

See the BBC News video

Also interesting is Bush’s reaction, also BBC News video

- Sen. John Kerry.

Dateline Special, NBC, 10 minutes

This article is intended to be an easy introduction for the uninitiated. Many other websites already exist that talk about the evidence of such a scandal.  George Washington University’s National Security Archive has excellent resources. But I wanted to create something easily digestable.  So here it is…

1.  Documents relating to the John Kerry Senate Investigation into CIA-Cocaine allegations

2.  Video of Robert Bonner, ex-DEA head, on 60 Minutes, admitting the CIA sold drugs in the US

3.  Oliver North’s handwritten notes, written during Iran-Contra hearings, which state a certain CIA plane was used for drug runs.

4.  Video and documents relating to Mena, Arkansas, an airforce airfield allegedly instrumental in bringing the drugs into the US.

5.  Recent allegations of continued drug smuggling by the CIA and other US government agencies.

6.  Why would they do such a thing?

Gary Webb, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, rose to fame (some would say infamy) through a series of articles for the San-Jose Mercury News that connected the CIA, drug dealers, the rise of crack cocaine, anti-communist Contras in Latin America, and the Iran Contra scandal.

Iran Contra was about selling weapons to Iran to create a large slush fund in order to fight communism without Congress approval or oversight. The CIA evidently did the same thing with Cocaine.

Gary Webb’s articles that originally broke the story, with original audio testimony from its sources.

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1. SENATE INVESTIGATION

Senator Kerry led a Senate investigation to determine the validity of Webb’s reports. It found “individuals who provided support for the Contras were involved in drug trafficking…” and “one or another agency in the U.S. government had information regarding the involvement either while it was occurring, or immediately thereafter.”

“The Subcommittee found that the Contra drug links included:

• Involvement in narcotics trafficking by individuals associated with the Contra movement.
• Participation of narcotics traffickers in Contra supply operations through business relationships with Contra organizations.
• Provision of assistance to the Contras by narcotics traffickers, including cash, weapons, planes, pilots, air supply services and other materials, on a voluntary basis by the traffickers.
• Payments to drug traffickers by the US State Department of funds authorized by the Congress for humanitarian assistance to the Contras, in some cases after the traffickers had been indicted by federal law enforcement agencies on drug charges, in others while traffickers were under active investigation by these same agencies.”

Senate Committee Report on Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy chaired by Senator John F. Kerry

For a thorough reading of Kerry’s Investigation (including PDFs), please check the excellent report from The Memory Hole: “Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy” a/k/a the Kerry Report Transcripts.

.EX-DEA / CIA / MILITARY SPEAKING UP

2. EX-DEA HEAD ADMITS CIA COCAINE TRADE

Ex-DEA agents, ex-CIA agents, pilots, and law enforcement have all come forward to talk about it.

Robert Bonner, former head of the Drug Enforcement Agency, was questioned by Mike Wallace for a 1993 “60 Minutes” report.

American Drug War, 60 Minutes Interview with Robert Bonner

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60 Minutes: We understand what you’re saying. A ton of cocaine was smuggled into the United States of America….in cooperation with the CIA?

Bonner: That’s exactly what appears to have happened.

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3. OLIVER NORTH’S HANDWRITTEN NOTES FROM THE IRAN-CONTRA INVESTIGATION

“Honduran DC-6 which is being used for runs out of New Orleans is probably being used for drug runs into US”

- LtCol Oliver North 09Aug85

More documents can be found at The National Security Archive’s Oliver North File: diaries, email, and memos on the Kerry Report, Contras and Drugs. The National Security Archive is run by George Washington University.

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4. MENA AIRPORT FIELD, ARKANSAS

There have been countless allegations that Mena airport (Arkansas) had been a hotbed of drug trafficking via military planes. This is an entire story in itself. Here is a documentary – it seems hokey at first, but it contains many first-person interviews, audio recordings, and mainstream press on the subject.

Mena Connection: Compromised

When questioned about Mena, Bill Clinton (the Governor of Arkansas at the time), claimed it was a Federal issue (i.e. “it is not my operation”).

Bill Clinton, speaking in an interview on the subject of Mena (Realplayer)

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5. RECENT EVIDENCE OF DRUG SMUGGLING

A plane used by the CIA to take “enemy combatants” to Guantanamo went down in Mexico in 2008. The plane contained 5.5 tons of cocaine. The story is still developing, with zero mainstream American press (Mexican press has been covering it though).

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WHY DID IT ALL HAPPEN?

Dan Lasater in front of the Whitewater Committee (Realplayer)

The answer lies in this Realplayer interview, one of the most damning pieces of evidence that high-level government officials knew what was going on. The government truly believed that the negatives of selling drugs to American citizens was outweighed by the positives of funding anti-communism efforts. And I’m sure, selling to mainly black communities made the negatives a little easier to deal with….and even more covert. A win-win proposition indeed.

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MORE DOCUMENTATION

• The Memory Hole: “Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy” a/k/a the Kerry Report Transcripts.
• National Security Archive: Contras, Cocaine, and Covert Operations (run by George Washington University)
• “Dark Alliance,” by Gary Webb

UPDATE: The disparate sentencing between powder cocaine and crack cocaine was reduced in the United States. 1 gram of crack cocaine was equal to 100 grams of powder cocaine according to previous sentencing guidelines. The U.S. Sentencing Commission, after a review, deemed that discrepancy too great in December of 2007.

PBS has a great review and video – except for the fact that the PBS show does not mention that black communities were specifically targeted by the CIA for their cocaine-selling operations. (Based on arguments by a former DEA agent, the CIA knowingly transported and sold the cocaine, they knew the cocaine would be turned in crack, and they knew the medical and social effects of crack.)

Gary Webb in his own words

Gary Webb won a Pulitzer Prize for his work uncovering the connections between the CIA, cocaine, and Contras.  His work was later supported by various Senate committees and FOIA documents. [The original articles by Webb are here.]

Yet in his final days he could not find a journalism job in the US.  He was blacklisted.  Gary wrote a chapter in the book ”Into the Buzzsaw” on what the effects of the ”Dark Alliance” articles had on his life.  The entire chapter is respectfully reproduced at News Making News.  He should have gone to the BBC to work with Greg Palast.  

An article Webb wrote explaining the effects of the articles on his life is at Counterpunch.

In 2004, Webb allegedly committed suicide with a shotgun to the head. (The original report from the coroner’s office, the original Associated Press article, and The Sacramento Bee all claimed multiple wounds. The Associated Press and coroner later changed their stories to one gunshot wound.)  That same year, in a widely distributed listserv email, John Roland (a journalist for Constitution.org) claimed that when he brought up a possible government “suiciding,” Webb stated that “if he died it would not be suicide.”  So, multiple gunshot wounds, and a strong affirmation that he would not kill himself.  

There were even reports of Gary Webb being harassed and intimidated during his last days.  Ricky Ross was one of Gary’s sources.  He is currently in jail for crack cocaine trafficking, and is known as one of the biggest crack dealers in history.  Gary Webb told Ricky Ross of people following him, tapping his phones, and lurking near his house just before his death.  Gary told Ross flat out that it was the government, and that he was still working on the case.  The audio conversation with Ricky Ross, which includes the moment Ross finds out about Gary’s death, is available for listening here (mp3 file).

When he died, the LA Times’ obituary (PDF) had the gall to claim that his reports were still largely unsubstantiated. What the writers failed to mention were the many CIA reports and Congressional investigations that found direct evidence of Webb’s claims.

But a slandering obituary cannot keep years of hard journalism down. Webb is not yet a household name -but he might just become one.  The rights to Webb’s book Dark Alliance and a biography on Webb written by his friend were bought by Universal in 2008.  As reported by Variety, Universal is actually developing a Gary Webb film.  With notoriety and scandal comes death, and maybe a great film.

This speech, given in NYC in 2007, documents the dire need for investigative journalism in the United States.  Greg Palast, a BBC journalist, has direct, documented evidence in his book “Armed Madhouse” that the state of Florida knowingly disenfranchised thousands of voters.  

The felon list they used to decide whether someone could vote or not was 95 percent wrong.  Similar events also happened in New Mexico.  

Greg Palast and RFK, Jr., NYC 2007, Google Video, 1hr 4 minutes

Greg Palast delivers an incredibly informative and funny speech about voter fraud.  RFK, Jr’s speech was about the fall of investigative journalism in America after Reagan’s repeal of the Fairness Doctrine in 1988.

“The Big Idea”

2 hrs 37 min, google stream

“Busted: The Citizen’s Guide to Surviving Police Encounters”

45 min, Google stream

http://www.flexyourrights.org/

Bin Laden is still on the FBI’s most wanted list. However, there is no mention of 9/11. When questioned about it, Rex Tomb, Chief of Investigative Publicity for the FBI responded, “The reason why 9/11 is not mentioned on Osama bin Laden’s Most Wanted page is because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11.” [Thank you Project Censored for the tip on the FBI statement.]

This is totally consistent with previous statements by Osama – immediately after 9/11, he claimed to not be behind the attacks. Why would someone that really doesn’t give a fuck what America thinks lie and claim he wasn’t behind a specific attack? In the past he had been proud.

The evidence presented by the US government for his involvement in 9/11 are two videos in which he claims to have masterminded the attacks. However, there are several reports claiming the videos are inconsistent with other bin Laden videos: he uses the wrong hand to write compared to the official FBI profile of him, he wears gold rings (forbidden for Muslim men), and the white portions of his beard under his lip are definitely shaped differently. A separate Swiss Study also claimed that other Osama Bin Laden audio tapes were faked.

Add to that, a video where Bush is claiming that he doesn’t even care about the whereabouts of Bin Laden – and this was only 6 months after 9/11.

White House press conference, 1 min 30 sec

But what if Bin Laden was killed?

Benazir Bhutto interview with David Frost for Al-Jazeera, 3 min

Little Country Lost has a hugely informative post on the possibility of Bin Laden’s death. Among the things I learned from the blog, many sources said Bin Laden died in 2001 due to lung complications. The Pakistan Observer, French media, Israeli Intelligence, Egyptian press, even FOX news reported it!

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Selected Timeline:

November 25th, 2001- Bin Laden gave his last known public speech

December 26, 2001 – Articles stating he died appear in Egyptian and Pakistani press

December 28, 2001 – President Bush publicly announces “Our mission is more than Bin Laden”

January 28, 2002 – Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf tells CNN that he believes Osama Bin Laden to be dead

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Please see the Little Country Lost post on the subject for more information.

Sky News (UK)

122 Minutes

This should be required viewing in American history classes.

Greenpoint, Brooklyn is home to the largest oil spill in Americ.  It is 50% larger than the imfamous Exxon Valdez incident  (it is termed only a “slow seepage” by EXXON). The “seepage” happened over decades on Newton Greek (where Manhattan Avenue meets the water for you locals). The oil has yet to be cleaned up, and has been linked to increased cancer and illness in the Greenpoint area.

VBS (Vice Magazine’s TV Station) has done a good piece on this:

VBS – TOXIC Brooklyn (1 of 7)

IPS News did a great article on it, as did NY Magazine.  Sadly, most New Yorkers have not heard about this yet.

“Coconut Revolution”

52 minutes, google video stream

Directed by Dom Rotheroe, funded by Soros Documentary Fund

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Winner:
FICA Festival of Environmental Film, Brazil
BEMA Richard Keefe Memorial Award – WWF
Golden Kite, Best Documentary, Mar del Plata, Argentina
Silver Kite, Best Film for Young People, Argentina

Runner up:
BEMA (British Environmental Media Awards) Best Documentary
Amnesty International Awards, Best Documentary
One World Media Awards 2001, TV Documentary

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Coconut Revolution shows the island of Bougainville fighting a revolutionary war for control of their own resources.

Bougainville has tremendous reserves of both copper and gold, and it has been at the hands of European colonialists for centuries.  BBC Bougainville Timeline (only up to 2007)

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BOUGAINVILLE LEADERS

Francis Ona, leader of the Bougainville revolution

Kabui, future president of Bougainville

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ECO ADVANCEMENTS & SELF-SUFFICIENCY

While at war, the people were closed out for outside contact. The island’s people ingeniously devised ways to cope:

* Fueling trucks and boats with only hand-refined coconut oil – 15 coconuts per litre

* Designing hydroelectric systems to power lights using old car parts

* Growing all their own food organically

* Building guns out of old cars

* Reusing/recycling everything

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AFTER THE FIGHTING

Bougainville President Kabui (shown in the documentary) and Papa New Guinea signed an agreement with UN mediation in 2001. The parties agreed to giving Bougainville some increased autonomy, but still remaining a part of Papa New Guinea. Papa New Guinea claimed a referendum could be held in 10 or 15 years to totally recede. Papa New Guinea still owns a 20% share of the mining on the island, according the an ABC article.

The Autonomous Government of Bougainville was formed. Peace returned to Bougainville. However, the island went back to using petrochemical fuels. But I imagine that many of the rural poor still continue using vegetable oil as diesel fuel.

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THE INVINCIBLE DEAL & KABUI’S DEATH – WHAT THE FUCK?

Watch “The Killer Deal,” from ABC Australia, 22 min

Click “Flash Video” after the link

Full Transcript to the Video

In 2008, Bougainville’s President Kabui announced a deal with a Canadian company (Invincible Resources, headed by an Australian), to sell 70% of Bougainville’s mining, fishing, and forestry rights – for only………..wait for it……………..$8 million dollars. Pause. Breathe. All without Parliament approval or foreknowledge.

Kabui also added a provision in the deal that he would get money for a $200,000 heart surgery he needed. And its about to get weirder.

On June 6, 2008, a women’s group decided to throw a little get-together to talk about this recent business deal. But the police stopped it before it even began, and apprehended two community leaders.

Then on June 8, 2008, Kabui died of a heart-related issues.

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QUESTIONS

- What type of money would the government of Bougainville receive in the deal?

- Couldn’t he have reached out to the national community to pay for his surgery, since he was indeed the President of Bougainville? There is a chance that he was simply ashamed.

- Was it murder? There was already once an assassination plot on his life.

- Who is Invincible Resources, and what is their history?

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ANALYSIS

This deal would probably be horrible for Bougainville’s economy, and only those benefiting economically / (read: corrupt) would vote for it.

I doubt the Autonomous Government of Bougainville will allow this to happen. But I smell corruption, extortion, and possibly murder, and I doubt anyone will ever go to jail over it.

Very recently, the Papa New Guinea government has been accused of stealing $40 million in logging deals, or 2.1 cents for every log exported since 2002.

Many government officials in Bougainville’s autonomous government are claiming the deal is illegal. Hell yes it is. An ABC article put it quite mildly: “what is guaranteed is a fiery debate between those for and against the President’s deal with Invincible Resources when parliament resumes.”

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CULPRIT: Papa New Guinea

CULPRIT: President Kabui

CULPRIT: Bougainville Gov Leaders

PNG to vet Bougainville deal with Invincible of Canada

Radio New Zealand International, July 1 2008

Meanwhile, the Post Courier newspaper reveals that a delegation of Bougainville ministers and leaders, led by the Invincible CEO, is in Europe seeking to secure more funds for the Bogenvil Resource Development Corporation.

According to the paper, national government officials say the delegation will have to explain the reasons for the trip when it gets back on Friday.

They say officials also want to know why several legal documents advising against involvement with Invincible were apparently ignored by the Bougainville leaders.

Panguna Copper Mine Could Restart Soon

Red Orbit Business, June 13 2008

The Papua New Guinea government will seek to retain a stake in future profits from the mine and other resource projects.

The next meeting between the two governments is scheduled for June. It is expected to address transfer of power on certain issues.

Pressure grows on PNG government to probe logging deals

Radio New Zealand International, July 3 2008

Pressure is growing on the Papua New Guinea government to investigate allegations that a government minister has taken 40 million US dollars from logging deals.

The paper, The Post Courier, reported the money is being kept in two Singapore accounts and managed by a consortium for the unnamed minister, who allegedly took 2.1 per cent on every log exported since 2002.

Megan Whelan reports.

“Dorothy Tekwie, who is Greenpeace’s forest campaigner for Australia and the Pacific, says the prime minister Sir Michael Somare has been talking to the international about his commitment to conserve forests. She says if he is genuine about his commitment, he needs to immediately and urgently appoint an independent international investigator. Transparency International says the allegation is disgraceful, and if the story is true, it takes corruption in PNG from moderate to world class levels. In a statement, the opposition leader, Sir Mekere Morauta, says the report should have prompted an immediate reaction from the Government.