When you hear of the Iran-Contra scandal you mostly think of the hostage crisis that happened in Tehran, Iran which was seen as another case of blowback by many. There's another piece to the portrait, the drug running and the turned, and sometimes supportive head of the CIA, DEA, and Reagan Administration to fund the Contras, a right-wing guerilla group. The funding was done by the trade of drugs for arms. Cocaine poured into this country unlike anytime before and it was largely due to an secret agenda and the negligence of the U.S. government. One of results was the destruction of poor, black communities, and the rise of gangs in South Central L.A..
Gary Webb's tome is magnificent. There's so much data packed in here that I was only able to read certain parts of the book in spacious intervals.
It doesn't take very long to be convinced that Gary is not just another journalist, with achieving more than 30 journalistic awards including a Pulitzer Prize, it's hard not to take this guy seriously. Take a glance at his Wiki page. Despite all that, Gary has the code for truth-telling structured in his DNA, unlike many other journalists, as examples can be found in the book.
I believe the book was best summed up by Jo Ann Kawell of The Nation:
"I find his argument to be very well documented, very careful and very convincing. In fact, the readability of the book suffers a bit from what seems to have been a fear that if he didn't include absolutely every bit of evidence he had unearthed, he would open himself up to new criticisms of inadequate reporting"
There's a good, popular documentary that touches on the Gary Webb story, it's titled "American Drug War: The Last White Hope". It provides a concise introduction to Gary's work, the issues surrounding him, his death, and the country.
A quote from Gary at the beginning sets the tone:
"Dark Alliance does not propound a conspiracy theory; there is nothing theoretical about history. In this case, it is undeniable that a wildly successful conspiracy to import cocaine existed for many years, and that innumerable American citizens--most of them poor and black--paid an enormous price as a result. This book was written for them, so that they may know upon what altars their communities were sacrificed."
He tells the following stories very convincingly:
1.) How the CIA and the NSC worked with dozens of drug dealers and their companies to secretly fund right-wing Latin American guerrillas.
2.) The decade-long U.S.-government coverup of the CIA-Contra drug trafficking and illegal gun-running network.
3.) How the DEA undermined a criminal investigation by the FBI in order to shield a massive L.A. drug ring and protect the drug ring's boss from arrest and exposure.
Other things you will learn:
1.) Details about cocaine and crack-cocaine production
2.) Government studies on the safety of cocaine. (Much more safe than I expected)
3.) The story of the infamous drug dealer Ricky Ross a.k.a Freeway Rick
4.) That the result of the drug trafficking helped destroy the black communities in L.A.. and other densely urbanized parts of the U.S.
5.) To be more skeptical and cautious of what the "masters"/authorities say
6.) The hypocrisy of Reagan's "War on Drugs"
7.) Journalism, you'll learn a little about the business, and get some insight of what it's like to deal with editors by living vicariously. Gary documents himself very well and puts you in his shoes, almost seems 1st person at times.
Parts of the book, albeit, a small portion, read like a story due to the all the documented dialogue in conversation and interviews.
Those parts were especially enjoyable and a nice break from the data-heavy majority.
I enjoyed Part Two a lot, it was where Gary made a strong defense against the claims of his critics by delving into the deceit of the accusers, such as the purposeful omission of crucial documents.
One thing that struck me as especially interesting was that this story was the one to really set the stage in the online world. Gary pushed the San Jose Mercury to publish his sources, documents, and transcripts so that people could read them and mold their own opinions. Apparently, at that time this was something virtually unprecedented, it was designing a new stage for media outlets and news. e.g. The boom of the internet in the 90's.
The story of the last few years of Gary's life ended up being an unfortunate tragedy. Ousted from writing and the media industry, pressured by the Big Three (New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times) and the U.S. government trying to cover their tracks...Gary took his own life.
"Webb's ex-wife, Sue Bell, said that Webb had been depressed for some time over his inability to get a job at another major newspaper." - Gary Webb, WikiPedia.
The book is about an 2 inches thick and 9 inches in length, pretty big. The pages read and turn well, I would say the font is a medium size, not too big, not too small, not enough to overwhelm you with the size of the book.
This is a marvelously informative read, don't miss out on this one. A topic, that I believe, a majority of U.S. citizens know very little or nothing about...I was included.
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