Whiteout:
The CIA, Drugs and the Press
by Alexander Cockburn &
Jeffrey St. Clair
Reviews
Amazon.com
Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair
take the revelations of the links between the Central Intelligence Agency,
the Nicaraguan Contras, and the Los Angeles crack market that journalist
Gary Webb exposed in 1996 - revelations that are the basis of Webb's book
Dark
Alliance - and use them as a springboard for a tale of the U.S.
government's involvement with the illegal drug trade that extends much
further back than Webb's tale.
The specific revelations are not, perhaps,
entirely new; many know, for example, that even before there was a CIA,
the WWII-era Office of Strategic Services enlisted the aid of gangster
"Lucky" Luciano in arranging support among the Sicilian Mafia for the American
invasion of Italy, or that the CIA was actively involved in the Southeast
Asian opium trade during the Vietnam War. But Cockburn and St. Clair persuasively
argue that the traditional explanation for such events - "rogue elements"
- is deliberately misleading, and that the mainstream "liberal" press plays
an active role in this obfuscation (noting, for example, that Webb's three
biggest attackers were the New York Times, Los Angeles Times,
and Washington Post). By providing an overarching narrative rather
than treating these incidents as isolated, the authors present a damning
indictment of the CIA - but one that fully admits that the agency was not
acting on its own, but was merely fulfilling the mandates of the American
government.
The Nation, Jo Ann Kawell
. . . a good review of how the campaign
against Webb [author of Dark Alliance]
evolved, and the forces behind it.
Customer Comments
x959@megsinet.net from United
States, July 29, 1999
An extraordinary book
This is an extraordinary book and a must
read. It is a virtual compendium of crimes committed by this nation's most
illustrious Intelligence Agency. It is packed with "just the facts", all
meticulously documented, and the authors assiduously avoid speculation
and theory. These authors have the gift for telling a complex story with
grace and clarity, at times, interspersed with bitter sarcasms that have
a humorous edge to them that might cause you to laugh out loud. [Their
description of Dan Rather, standing before the camera, all decked out in
Afghan garb, is a real hoot. I think, in this instance, the camera may
well have "blinked twice".] Some of these crimes are so heinous, you might
mistakenly think you are reading impounded dossiers from the Nazi death
camps. This is news you won't find on "Good Morning America", but news
that every patriotic American should know. It might well temper your patriotism.
Everything about this book is first-class; even it's classic black-cloth
hardbound cover makes it a fitting addition to the bookshelf.
Bliv1013@aol.com from Brooklyn,
New York, April 7, 1999
Engaging
Dark Alliance this is not. Dark
Alliance was good in that Webb attributed his sources throughout the
text. These authors chose to bunch their sources as endnotes concluding
each chapter. Bad move. Perhaps in a later edition they should correct
this (i.e., use footnotes instead). The way they did it makes it read like
the National Inquirer in places. Otherwise, I feel the book continues an
important discussion regarding the CIA & the role gov't corruption
plays in our society.
<rwilcox@interlink.or.jp>
Richard Wilcox, Lecturer, Keiai University, Japan., March 1, 1999
Extremely fascinating, well crafted...
This is an extremely fascinating, well crafted
synthesis of information on the role of the CIA in collaboration with many
of the most brutal regimes in modern history. Cockburn and St. Clair also
introduce new material to enhance the story from their newsletter COUNTERPUNCH.
Anyone who cares about the role of the United States in world affairs and
the often horrible consequences that arise from the US's actions will benefit
by reading this book. One caveat: The hardcover Verso version is rife with
typos, hopefully this will be resolved by the time the paperback version
appears.
Campbell Martin from Winnipeg,
Canada, January 1, 1999
An overview of some outstanding investigative
journalism
The book examines in exhaustive detail suggested
links between the CIA and drug trafficking networks. One volume tells many
stories: the Agency's support for the mujadin's heroin empire in Afghanistan,
the drug tests of MKULTRA, crack money for the contras, CIA complicity
with Nazi scientists and South American cocaine kings, the fraud of the
"War On Drugs" in Mexico which used U.S. funds to massacre Chiapas peasants,
and the entire history of CIA alliances with Opium bosses in Southeast
Asia.
"Whiteout" is a rare combination of exhaustive
documentation and a gripping read. The authors also hold the mainstream
press to account for denying the CIA's actions in the face of overwhelming
evidence and vilifying those reporters bold enough tell the tale.
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