The Kerry Record: The War On Drugs
Every politician in Washington claims to be a proponent of the war on drugs. John Kerry is about the only one who has had the courage to tackle a particularly troubling aspect of the drug trade: the complicity of American intelligence agencies in international narcotics trafficking in order to achieve political and military objectives.
By way of background, the involvement of American intelligence agencies in drug trafficking is not the creation of wild-eyed conspiracy theorists. It is a matter of historical fact. Some outstanding works on the subject include The Politics of Heroin by Alfred McCoy, Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin, and The Crimes of Patriots by the late Jonathan Kwitny of the Wall Street Journal. Such involvement includes collaboration with Corsican heroin dealers in the 1950's in order to undermine Communist influence in French labor unions, assistance to the opium smuggling/heroin processing operation carried on in Burma and elsewhere by Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang, and promotion of poppy growing by Afghan warlords in order to finance the Mujahedin resistance to the Soviet invasion.
Kerry brings a very personal viewpoint to the war on drugs which, as is the case of so much in his life, was influenced by his experience in Vietnam. Kerry has spoken very movingly about having watched too many of his fellow soldiers in Vietnam turned in zombies as a result of heroin addiction. Kerry was also acutely aware of the widespread reports that the CIA offered the smuggling services of its Air America front operation to Hmong heroin dealers in Laos in exchange for their assistance against the Communists. These were the sensitivities that Kerry brought with him to the Senate.
In 1988, after being passed over for membership on the Select Committee on the Iran-Contra Affair (see earlier blog), Kerry conducted hearings through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations into allegations of CIA complicity in Central American cocaine trafficking. Kerry conducted a painstaking, thorough investigation, carefully rejecting many of the more far-fetched claims that had been made about the CIA's role in the drug trade. Nevertheless, Kerry's Report reached the documented conclusion that the Reagan and Bush Administrations had deliberately condoned drug dealing by its allies in Central America in order to pursue their political and military agenda. Kerry was among the first to condemn the fact that the CIA had "turned a blind eye to the corruption and drug dealing" of Panama's Manuel Noriega in exchange for Noriega's support of Reagan Administration policies. Kerry's Report also condemned the Nicaraguan contras -- whom Reagan and Oliver North had heralded as "freedom fighters" -- finding that "individuals who provided support for the contras were involved in drug trafficking and elements of the contras themselves received financial and material assistance from drug traffickers." Kerry's Report further concluded that the evidence established that the CIA and the Reagan-Bush State Department were well aware of these facts.
Kerry's Report initially drew little attention in the media, and prompted the Washington press corps to continue to dismiss Kerry as a fuzzy-headed conspiracy buff. A few years after Kerry's Report was issued, however, the CIA's own Inspector General issued a report sharply criticizing the Agency for its toleration of drug trafficking, and effectively confirming all of Kerry's conclusions. According to Thomas Blanton, Director of the National Security Archive of George Washington University, "Kerry's proven conclusion was that the government, especially the CIA, looked the other way. The Kerry Committee findings hold up."
In this election, we are not only faced with the absolute necessity of removing someone who is not remotely qualified to be President, but we are also presented with the great opportunity of electing someone who is uniquely qualified for the job. I have only two more words to say about the rapidly-approaching Election Day: carpe diem!
By way of background, the involvement of American intelligence agencies in drug trafficking is not the creation of wild-eyed conspiracy theorists. It is a matter of historical fact. Some outstanding works on the subject include The Politics of Heroin by Alfred McCoy, Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin, and The Crimes of Patriots by the late Jonathan Kwitny of the Wall Street Journal. Such involvement includes collaboration with Corsican heroin dealers in the 1950's in order to undermine Communist influence in French labor unions, assistance to the opium smuggling/heroin processing operation carried on in Burma and elsewhere by Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang, and promotion of poppy growing by Afghan warlords in order to finance the Mujahedin resistance to the Soviet invasion.
Kerry brings a very personal viewpoint to the war on drugs which, as is the case of so much in his life, was influenced by his experience in Vietnam. Kerry has spoken very movingly about having watched too many of his fellow soldiers in Vietnam turned in zombies as a result of heroin addiction. Kerry was also acutely aware of the widespread reports that the CIA offered the smuggling services of its Air America front operation to Hmong heroin dealers in Laos in exchange for their assistance against the Communists. These were the sensitivities that Kerry brought with him to the Senate.
In 1988, after being passed over for membership on the Select Committee on the Iran-Contra Affair (see earlier blog), Kerry conducted hearings through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations into allegations of CIA complicity in Central American cocaine trafficking. Kerry conducted a painstaking, thorough investigation, carefully rejecting many of the more far-fetched claims that had been made about the CIA's role in the drug trade. Nevertheless, Kerry's Report reached the documented conclusion that the Reagan and Bush Administrations had deliberately condoned drug dealing by its allies in Central America in order to pursue their political and military agenda. Kerry was among the first to condemn the fact that the CIA had "turned a blind eye to the corruption and drug dealing" of Panama's Manuel Noriega in exchange for Noriega's support of Reagan Administration policies. Kerry's Report also condemned the Nicaraguan contras -- whom Reagan and Oliver North had heralded as "freedom fighters" -- finding that "individuals who provided support for the contras were involved in drug trafficking and elements of the contras themselves received financial and material assistance from drug traffickers." Kerry's Report further concluded that the evidence established that the CIA and the Reagan-Bush State Department were well aware of these facts.
Kerry's Report initially drew little attention in the media, and prompted the Washington press corps to continue to dismiss Kerry as a fuzzy-headed conspiracy buff. A few years after Kerry's Report was issued, however, the CIA's own Inspector General issued a report sharply criticizing the Agency for its toleration of drug trafficking, and effectively confirming all of Kerry's conclusions. According to Thomas Blanton, Director of the National Security Archive of George Washington University, "Kerry's proven conclusion was that the government, especially the CIA, looked the other way. The Kerry Committee findings hold up."
In this election, we are not only faced with the absolute necessity of removing someone who is not remotely qualified to be President, but we are also presented with the great opportunity of electing someone who is uniquely qualified for the job. I have only two more words to say about the rapidly-approaching Election Day: carpe diem!
posted by democratic core at 1:32 PM
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