CIA Contra Crack and LA Gangs (fwd)

[Rich Graves]

On Tue, 20 Aug 1996, Brad Dolan wrote:

> Goofy guy agrees with Morris about X, therefore Morris' well-documented 
> claims about X and Y are false? 

Lots of footnotes to "confidential interview" do not make a valid study. How
many "well-documented" studies of the Kennedy assassination and UFO
sightings have you read? 

I followed this wild goose chase to exhaustion back in 1986-7. I've
forgotten most of it, but I'm sure I have some notes and maybe some tapes
lying around. Yes, some contras and some sandinistas and some martistas and
*lots* of the senderos and M-19 ran drugs. That's what happens when you
criminalize a political movement -- political figures become criminals in
order to survive. (When the crime they're involved is simply free trade in
criminalized agricultural products, it just adds another layer of irony.)

There's a kernel of truth and plausibility to most conspiracy theories,
including this one. (It's a big mistake to say *all* conspiracy theories.) 
However, the money involved was rather small, the process was basically skew
to politics (both sides did it all), and I have never been convinced that
the CIA -- or even North's coterie in the NSC, which as you know ran a
number of ops that the CIA would never have gone for -- was in on it. 

(ObConspiracy: H. Ross Perot actually was involved in funneling money to the
contras. He was rather open and proud of it. Is he mentioned in Morris's
book?)

-rich