View Full Version : Afghanistan, Opium, and the CIA
jesuitsdidit
20-03-2009, 04:28 PM
With President Obama digging in, in Afghanistan, it's important to take a breath, and review some problems that have been created and inflamed by U.S. intervention in that country. Particularly, the drug problem.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x281104
Afghanistan, Opium, and the CIA
Sat Mar-07-09 09:53 AM
Original message
Run time: 09:54
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpYV5SyoM30
Posted on YouTube: February 25, 2009
By YouTube Member: reprehensor
Views on YouTube: 962
Posted on DU: March 07, 2009
By DU Member: reprehensor
Views on DU: 274
With President Obama digging in, in Afghanistan, it's important to take a breath, and review some problems that have been created and inflamed by U.S. intervention in that country. Particularly, the drug problem.
Please take 10 minutes to watch this first segment from "An Unholy Alliance", to get a taste of what blind, or misguided decision-making can result in, in that area of the world.
YouTube - Parts 2-6;
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=CE1A9073F24BB00...
Video google (entire film - better frame rate than YouTube version);
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=530206636451694...
Further commentary and analysis;
http://www.911blogger.com/node/19511
(This is especially relevant right now, because somebody is trying to get Gulbuddin Hekmatyar back in the game in Afghanistan; http://911blogger.com/node/19488 )
jesuitsdidit
20-03-2009, 04:30 PM
http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/opi007.htm
Opium
The C.I.A. And Heroin
A Nation Betrayed
The following is a transcript of the video, "a nation betrayed" (also published in a 1988 book - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007C9WAK/freecomputersoft/).
It documents alleged CIA involvement in covert drug running activities. It was originally transcribed by Jim Burnes and has been reposted primarily by John Dinardo.
Lieutenant Colonel James 'Bo' Gritz is the most decorated Green Beret commander of the Vietnam Era. General William Westmoreland, in writing his memoirs, singled out Bo Gritz as the "American Soldier" for his exemplary courage in combat.
His outstanding ingenuity in recovering a highly secret black-box the Vietcong had taken from a crashed U2 spy plane. The feature films Rambo, Uncommon Valor, and Missing in Action were based in part upon his military experiences.
Colonel Bo Gritz At the American Liberty Lunch Club:
What I want to tell you very quickly is something that I feel is more heinous than the Bataan death march. Certainly it is of more concern to you as Americans than the Watergate.
What I'm talking about is something we found out in Burma (May 1987). We found it out from a man named Khun Sa. He is the recognized overlord of heroin in the world. Last year (1986) he sent 900 tons of opiates and heroin into the free world. This year it will be 1200 tons.
On video tape he said to us something that was most astounding: that US government officials have been and are now his biggest customers, and have been for the last twenty years.
We've been embracing organized crime. Now you've all looked and heard about Ollie North, about the Contras, about nobody knowing anything.
The general offered to stop the flow of opium and heroin into the free world. He was told by White House officials, "Bo, there's no one here that supports that."
His reply, "What? vice-president Bush has been appointed by president Reagan as the Number One policeman to control drug entry into the United States. How can you say there's no interest and no support when we bring back a video tape with a direct interview with a man who puts 900 tons of opium and heroin across into the free world every year and is willing to stop it?" And they said, "Bo, what can I tell you?"
"All I can say is there is no interest in doing that here."
Working as an agent for the Intelligence Support Activity (ISA) in the CIA, it was fine for Gritz to travel at great peril using false documents, as Ollie North and Bud McFarland did when they traveled to Iran on phony Irish passports.
On one occasion he was stopped by US customs at Seattle-Tacoma airport with four separate passports. He was quickly released when his intelligence contact in Washington confirmed his mission.
It was quite acceptable with the US government for Bo Gritz to travel at such great peril until he returned from Burma's infamous Golden Triangle on December of 1986 with information concerning with involvement of high-level US officials involved in large-scale drug trafficking in Southeast Asia.
His tremendous courage in refusing to back down to their threats has lead to his current indictment for misuse of a passport in order to keep him from getting this information to the American public.
In 1965 to 1975 there was one CIA man in Laos, his name was Shackley. He was involved the narcotics business. And we know that Shackley used one civilian to organize trafficking. His civilian name was Santos Trafficante.
He was the organizer of trafficking for Shackley. This was financed by Richard Armitage who stayed in Vietnam. After the Vietnam war Richard Armitage was a prominent trafficker in Bangkok.
Between 1975 to 1979 he was a very active trafficker in Bangkok. He was one of the embassy employees. Then after that in 1979 he quit from embassy and then he established a company name the Far East Trading company.
Then he used the name of his company under the table for drug trafficking. He then used the drug money to support the Lao anti-Communist troops.
I don't think it makes a hoot who you vote for President. The same people are gonna run this country.
links
Books
The Politics of Heroin:
CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade
A greatly revised and expanded edition of Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia. Tells a fascinating story, that opium was often the only viable form of currency. The author produces considerable disturbing evidence that US authorities are guilty at least of complicity in the global drug trade.
Exposes basic hypocrisy in American policy making, and demonstrates that, as long as powerful government bureaucracies work at cross-purposes, America's drug problem will not be easily solved.
The Politics of Heroin
Opium Related
Books About Opium And Related Drugs
More Opium And Related Drug Articles
Various Opium And Related Drug Links
Make all drugs legal and hand them over to factorys for production and industrys for marketing end the war as it can never be won, education and safe manufacturing is the way forward these people have nothing else to offer the world so this is there only source of income so they will defend it with there lives and lets be honest they are hardly reaping the benfits of selling hard drugs i mean they live in the middle of nowhere in shacks you dont see them living in mansions with swimming pools we need to wake up to the lies and the disinformation !!
People need not die needlessly !