New Book Reveals Secret War Operations (NYT&James Risen's Bunk of the Month entry)

AP on Yahoo ^ | 1/2/06 | AP - Washington

[kcvl]

Cleveland Doctors

Dr. Alil Alhaddad MD,
Dr. Sawson Alhaddad MD,
Dr. Safaa AlHaddad MD,
Dr. Sawsan Alhaddad MD,
Dr. Ali G Alhaddad MD,

[pollyannaish]

Nice. There are certain things in government that should be transparent. This is one of them, and extremely helpful in assessing motives. As always, follow the money trail.

Thanks.

[Mo1]

You Rock!!

[Toskrin]

There is another book coming out from Robert Parry, from AP and Newsweek dishonor, that will be a max barfer.

The big story in that book will be about how, during the Bush administration, rogue NSA employees, without authorization, leaked information to the agents of the press, who then openly supplied information to our enemies, thus destroying successful intelligence-gathering programs and costing our citizens their security and billions of dollars.

Now that would really sink the Bush administration!

/sarcasm

[NormsRevenge]

AP Shills for Risen's New Book ^

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1550888/posts

[Howlin]

Editor Parry's Year-End Letter

By Robert Parry
December 26, 2005

Dear Readers,

The United States is facing a political crisis almost unparalleled in our history, a crisis uniquely dangerous because at its center it is not about a loss of power but about a loss of principle – and even morality.

Instead of following the guideposts of a democratic republic, the U.S. government has veered off into delusions of empire. Instead of promoting international law, it has adopted theories of “preemptive” war. Instead of standing for human rights, it has become known for torture techniques, detentions without trial, and secret prisons.

Yet, this American crisis is also about the manipulation of information – and the failure of the U.S. news media to do its job. Indeed, it is hard to envision that the United States would be in this fix if reporters had asked the tough questions, if they had held dishonest political leaders accountable, if reporters had shown more courage.

But this failure of the U.S. media wasn’t an accident or simply a reaction to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Taming the news media has been a longtime goal of the neoconservative operatives who now dominate George W. Bush’s administration.

For years, these neoconservatives have understood that before they could transform the United States into their dream of a uni-polar empire, they had to gain effective control of the information that flows through Washington – and they had to neutralize the honest journalists who got in the way.

The neoconservatives knew the power that would come from controlling how Americans saw the world, a process they called “perception management.” So, over the past quarter century, the neocons and their political allies invested heavily in building their own news media and intimidating the mainstream press.

That is where our Web site, Consortiumnews.com, comes in.

A decade ago, after working many years as an investigative reporter for mainstream news outlets, such as the Associated Press and Newsweek, I felt that a new kind of media institution was needed, one with the courage to resist the pressures brought to bear on journalists. (I had experienced that pressure in the 1980s and early 1990s while investigating what became known as the Iran-Contra scandal.)

So, in 1995, on the advice of my oldest son, Sam, we turned to a new medium, the Internet. I cashed in my Newsweek retirement account to raise the money to get started and we began building our Web site as a home for well-researched journalistic stories that had no place in the sensationalistic, trivialized news media of the mid-1990s.

Since then, we have produced hundreds of important stories that illuminated how our nation drifted into the predicament it’s in today. Among our investigative projects:

--We traced the origins of Republican contacts with Iran’s Islamic fundamentalist regime back to secret meetings during the pivotal 1980 presidential campaign.

--We exposed the hidden history of covert arms deals between the Reagan-Bush administration and Iraq’s Saddam Hussein in the 1980s.

--We showed how international money-launderer Sun Myung Moon used his mysterious wealth to corrupt the American conservative movement and build the Right’s media.

--We laid out the real story behind the myth of Colin Powell, a man whose sterling reputation masked a long record of opportunism.

--We explained how Election 2000 was distorted first by bad reporting, then by inaccurate vote tallies, and finally by more bad reporting.

--We questioned George W. Bush’s case for war in Iraq and his risky military strategy that was based on dangerous wishful thinking. By contrast, most of the U.S. news media was wrapping itself in the American flag and doing features on “freedom fries.”

While we’ve accomplished much with our decade-old Web site, we’ve been hobbled by a chronic shortage of money. At a crucial juncture in early 2000, I had no choice but to make the Web site part-time and take a decent-paying job as an editor at Bloomberg News. (In 2004, I left that job to write Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq and try to rebuild Consortiumnews.com.)

For our survival, we remain dependent on the generosity of our readers. (We have appealed to many large funders for help, but they have not been supportive. They don’t seem to understand the need.)

So, if you can, we would deeply appreciate your help.

You can contribute either by credit card online or by sending a check to Consortium for Independent Journalism (CIJ), Suite 102-231, 2200 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201. For contributions of $100 or more, you can get an autographed gift copy of Secrecy & Privilege or one of my other books. Also, since we are a non-profit 501-c-3 organization, your contribution is tax-deductible.

Thank you -- and best wishes for the New Year.

---

Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, can be ordered at secrecyandprivilege.com. It's also available at Amazon.com, as is his 1999 book, Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth.'

[ncountylee]

Parry is one disgusting puke!

[Mo1]

For years, these neoconservatives have understood that before they could transform the United States into their dream of a uni-polar empire, they had to gain effective control of the information that flows through Washington – and they had to neutralize the honest journalists who got in the way.

BAWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Ok .. back to reading this article

[ncountylee]

Nice to see Parry reduced to begging for money though.

[Howlin]

While we’ve accomplished much with our decade-old Web site, we’ve been hobbled by a chronic shortage of money.

But I thought he said he

...cashed in my Newsweek retirement account to raise the money to get started and we began building our Web

Must not have been much of a "retirement account," huh?

So now he's FORCED to write a hit piece on GWB.

I hate these SOBs.

[Howlin]

This is a real snorty, too:

The neoconservatives knew the power that would come from controlling how Americans saw the world, a process they called “perception management.” So, over the past quarter century, the neocons and their political allies invested heavily in building their own news media and intimidating the mainstream press.

[Mo1]

While we’ve accomplished much with our decade-old Web site, we’ve been hobbled by a chronic shortage of money

Sooooo these liberals are willing to sell out our country for money??

[Mo1]

These people are beyond out there

There are certifiably nuts

[ncountylee]

Just sent him my thoughts.

consortnew@aol.com

[kcvl]

Instead of promoting international law

I hope not.

*****

"Later when I moved over to Newsweek (I guess we can see they weren't biased! /sarcasm!) -- which is owned by the Washington Post-Company and had been involved in investigating the Watergate scandal -- Katherine Graham, the late owner and publisher of the Post, did not really want another Watergate on her hands. There was not really the stomach in some of these institutions to go through that again."

******

How John Kerry exposed the Contra-cocaine scandal Derided by the mainstream press and taking on Reagan at the height of his popularity, the freshman senator battled to reveal one of America's ugliest foreign policy secrets.

By Robert Parry

Oct. 25, 2004 | In December 1985, when * Brian Barger and I wrote a groundbreaking story for the Associated Press about Nicaraguan Contra rebels smuggling cocaine into the United States, one U.S. senator put his political career on the line to follow up on our disturbing findings. His name was John Kerry.

ROFLOL!!!

* Brian Barger, AP reporter & in 1997 a reporter with CNN. (Both UNBIASED! /sarcasm!)

******

"CNN Presents: Crime Stories, Part Two", May 22nd, 1994
by: Brian Barger, CNN Television

"CNN Presents: Crime Stories, Part One", May 21st, 1994
by: Brian Barger, CNN Television

******

September 19, 1998

The CIA, The Contras & Crack Cocaine:

Investigating the Official Reports
Seeking The Truth

by Maxine Waters

snip

As I wrote in * Gary Webb's book, when I read the series I asked myself whether it was possible for such a vast amount of drugs to be smuggled into any community under the noses of the police, sheriff's department, FBI, DEA, and other law enforcement agencies. My investigation has led me to an undeniable conclusion - that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies knew about drug trafficking in South Central Los Angeles and throughout the U.S. - and they let the dealing go on.

snip

Robert Parry and Brian Barger first broke the shocking story of Contra involvement in drug trafficking in 1985, at the height of the Contra war against Nicaragua. As a result of this story's revelations, Senator John Kerry conducted a two year Senate probe into the allegations and published the sub-committee's devastating findings in an 1,166-page report in 1989. Among its many findings the Kerry Report found,

"individuals who provided support for the contras were involved in drug trafficking, the supply network of the contras was used by drug trafficking organizations, and elements of the contras themselves knowingly received financial and material assistance from drug traffickers. In each case, one or another agency of the U.S. government had information regarding the involvement either while it was occurring, or immediately thereafter."

Maxine Waters

The Official Reports

The DOJ Releases its Long Awaited Report, the CIA Keeps its Classified

On July 23, 1998 the Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General (under Clinton!) released its long awaited Report, entitled "The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: A Review of the Justice Department's Investigations and Prosecutions." However, the Report highlighted misleading headlines and conclusions in its Executive Summary, diverting attention from many of the crucial findings in the body of the DOJ Inspector General's Report.

December 13, 2004 by CommonDreams.org
R.I.P. Gary Webb -- Unembedded Reporter
by * Jeff Cohen

* Gary Webb, a courageous investigative journalist who was the target of one of the most ferocious media attacks on any reporter in recent history, was found dead Friday after an apparent suicide.

In August 1996, Webb wrote one of the first pieces of journalism that reached a massive audience thanks to the Internet: an explosive 20,000 word, three-part series documenting links between cocaine traffickers, the crack epidemic of the 1980s and the CIA-organized right-wing Nicaraguan Contra army of that era. The series sparked major interest in the social justice and African-American communities, leading to street protests, constant discussion on black-oriented talk radio and demands by Congressional Black Caucus members for a federal investigation. But weeks later, Webb suffered a furious backlash at the hands of national media unaccustomed to seeing their role as gatekeepers diminished by the emerging medium known as the WorldWideWeb.

More

* Jeff Cohen www.jeffcohen.org is the founder of the media watch group FAIR www.fair.org.

* Jeff Cohen is a writer, lecturer and media critic who founded the media watch group FAIR in 1986. He has appeared regularly on national TV and radio. He was an on-air commentator (and "Donahue" senior producer) at MSNBC in 2003; a weekly "News Watch" panelist on Fox News Channel from 1997 to 2002: a co-host of CNN's "Crossfire" in 1996.

[kcvl]

Robert Parry

Robert Parry is author of Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, The Press & Project Truth, a narrative published in 1999 about the journalistic struggles in the 1980s to expose the secrets of the Nicaraguan contra operation; and the administration's counterattacks.

Parry's other books are Fooling America: How Washington Insiders Twist the Truth and Manufacture the Conventional Wisdom, published in 1992; Trick or Treason: The October Surprise Mystery, published in 1993; and The October Surprise X-Files: The Hidden Origins of the Reagan-Bush Era, published in 1996.

Parry is the editor/publisher of IF Magazine; an investigative bi-monthly in the independent journalistic tradition of George Seldes's In Fact and I.F. Stones's Weekly. He also edits Consortiumnews.com, the Internet's first investigative magazine. He also was a reporter for PBS's Frontline news and documentery from 1990-1995 and was a Newsweek correspondent from 1987-90 when he covered the Iran-contra affair.

[kcvl]

How many of these loons are there in the U. S. Government who are supposed to be protecting us?!!!

Michael Levine spent 25 years as a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent and wrote the book Deep Cover. Levine says that he gave up trying to put a dent in CIA-sponsored drug smuggling. “I witnessed it. The agency operatives were drug smugglers, and Gary found that out. There is no other way to put it.” Levine says testimony from the inspector general of the CIA corroborated Webb’s stories. “The CIA helped put white powder into the hands of men, women and children in this country. That is a treason on all of us, white and black.”

Michael Levine, called “America’s top undercover cop” by 60 Minutes, is a world recognized expert in law enforcement procedures, a trial consultant, expert witness and security consultant. He maintains consulting offices in Stone Ridge, N.Y. and in New York City.

His best-selling books are used as police training and criminal justice texts at colleges and Universities throughout the U.S. Fight Back, his manual for community anti-drug action was recommended reading by the Clinton Administration Drug Policy Office.

one of the scariest threats that I've ever had came in the form of advice from a friend of mine in DEA, who is now one of the high level people in DEA. He called me during the hottest part of their investigation into me, when I was criticizing the government.

here I am under investigation, criticizing my own government, and a DEA official calls me and says, "Mike I like you, remember a peanut butter sandwich". "Are you kidding?" I said, and he replied "Not at all, I'm only telling you this because I like you". He and I never spoke again.

according to my sources that are still within the DEA and who still contact me, is much worse than when Noriega was there.

One of the reasons I wrote Fight Back, was that I heard of a poll taken, showing that the majority of Americans are willing to give up their rights under the Constitution to win the War on Drugs . I said, it's time to fight back. If we change this Constitution, a guy like Mike Levine criticizing his government wouldn't exist. Fight Back is intended to stop this madness, to stop this militarization, to stop this erosion of our Constitution.

It can't begin by waiting for George (I'm waiting for him to complain about Clinton's "war on drugs" /sarcasm!), it has to begin on the street level. Communities banding together and not making it a racial issue, making it an issue for communities - black and white - to not accept the drug economy.

[kcvl]

Both CBS’s and the NYT’s ethics policies state that their employees should avoid both conflicts of interests and the appearance of conflicts of interests. Both corporations’ news operations appear to have violated these policies.

In its 60 minutes interview of Richard Clarke last year, CBS did not disclose that its parent company would profit from the free publicity given to Against All Enemies, published by Viacom’s Free Press imprint. Somewhat similarly, the New York Times did not disclose that portions of its NSA story by Risen and Lichtblau came from James Risen’s State of War, to be published January 16, and, according to the LA Times, the NYT did not want to be scooped on a story by its own reporter.

In the former case, the Viacom organization stood to directly profit from the undisclosed cross-promotion; in the latter case, the NYT’s credibility would arguably be damaged by not reporting a story which appeared in one of its employee’s major books. In each case, these giants of the MSM should have disclosed the full situation, to avoid, at minimum, the “appearance of a conflict” of interest — in the words of both their Corporate Ethics Handbooks.


http://tinyurl.com/ajn87

[NormsRevenge]

(I'm waiting for him to complain about Clinton's "war on drugs" /sarcasm!),

---

What ever could you MENA by that remark? ;-)

[Howlin]

How many of these loons are there in the U. S. Government who are supposed to be protecting us?!!!

Evidently there are more of them during Republican administrations.

You know, they're like the homeless; they reappear during GOP terms.

Michael Levine Security & Trial Consultant Sentac Trial Consulting & Investigations P.O. Box 533 Stone Ridge, NY 12484 845-687-9642   Fax: 845-687-4916 Email:   Expert53@aol.com

---

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS & SERVICES

• Highly-decorated & acclaimed federal agent (retired)
• Fluent in Spanish
• Service in 4 federal agencies
• Internationally acclaimed expert in Covert Operations
• Human Intelligence Operations (Informant Management)
• Best-selling author
• Media consultant
• Lecturer & police instructor with 30 years experience as:
  • Court-qualified expert witness
  • Trial consultant
• Investigator in civil & criminal matters specializing in:
  • Human Intelligence
    (recruitment, evaluation, use protection & management of informants)
  • Undercover Tactics
  • Use of Force
  • Entrapment
  • Conspiracy
  • Search & Seizure
  • RICO
  • Money Laundering
  • Police Corruption
  • Community Anti-drug tactics
  • Personnel Investigations
  • Narcotic Enforcement & Drug Trafficking
    (International & Domestic)

LANGUAGES

• Spanish
• English

EXPERIENCE

Court Qualified Expert - 1971 to Present
(since 1971 as a federal agent, since 1990 in private practice)
Legal consultant in civil & criminal matters involving, Domestic & International Narcotic Enforcement, RICO, Conspiracy, Money Laundering,Informant Handling, Use of Deadly Force, Informant Entrapment, Undercover tactics & Entrapment, & other matters related to law enforcement & security activities. (specifics & references available on request).

Law Enforcement Instructor - 1973 to Present
(since 1973 as a federal agent, since 1990 in private practice)
Instruct local law enforcement agencies in Undercover Tactics, Informant Handling, Raids, Narcotics Investigations, International Operations, etc. Licensed New York State Police Instructor & a regular lecturer at the New York State Police Academy. Guest lecturer for FBI Advanced Undercover Seminar. Since retirement, have lectured many local enforcement agencies on Undercover Survival Tactics, Informant Handling & more. Currently a regular instructor of Undercover Tactics & Informant Handling for the Ontario Provincial Police Academy & Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Lecturer & Consultant - 1973 to Present
On the subject of International Narcotic Enforcement & related subjects, I have appeared before a wide variety of audiences, from the United Nations & the World Presidents Organization to the New York City Council, & The Cato Institute. I lecture frequently at colleges & universities across the US & Canada. In 1993 I was voted the Canadian College Speaker of the Year. I have also been invited as a lecturer/consultant to international drug conferences sponsored by the French, Spanish & Dutch governments.
(complete list available on request)

ATM Task Force - 1994 to 1995
At the request of New York City Mayor, David Dinkins, I served on a special select task force whose focus was the formulation of laws that would increase the security at New York City's 25,000 Automatic Teller Machines.

Drug Bureau Chief Barnstable County, MA Sheriffs Department
January 1993 to January 1994
Hired for the express purpose of implementing a Fight Back anti-drug & community based crime program which I developed. The program was called "the only plan ever to come out of America that made any sense" by the Swedish Carnegie Institute & "Fight Back" (see PUBLICATONS) was recommended reading by the Clinton Administration Drug Policy Office.

Drug Enforcement Administration - 1973 to 1990
Positions held:

• Country Attaché, Argentina & Uruguay
  1980 to 1982 - Senior US law enforcement officer in the Southern Cone.
• Special Operations Officer, South America.
• Inspector of DEA field Operations, worldwide.
• Desk Officer, Cocaine Desk & Heroin Desk, DEA Headquarters, Washington, DC.
• Miami Airport Supervisor, Vice President's South Florida Task Force.
• Instructor & Lecturer, Public Affairs & Training Office.
• Group Supervisor, New York City Field Division.
• Group Supervisor, New York City Joint Federal State Task Force.
• Acting Group Supervisor, International Group, New York City Field Division.
• Assistant Group Supervisor FBI/DEA Task Force.
• DEA liaison officer with government of Israel.

During the above period of time, I was considered one of DEA's top deep cover specialists, charged with design & orchestration of some of the governments most significant national & international investigations.

Assistant Group Supervisor, Hard Narcotics Smuggling Division
US Customs, Port of New York - 1970 to 1973


Special Agent, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms - 1966 to 1970


Special Agent, Intelligence Division of Internal Revenue Service
Organized Crime Division - 1965 to 1966

EDUCATION

BBA degree in Accounting, Minor in Economics
Hofstra University - June, 1965

LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING & BACKGROUND

1958 to 1961 US Air Force

• Military Police School
• Base Security Seminar, Strategic Air Command
• Sentry Dog Handling School

1965 to 1966 IRS Intelligence Division Schools

• Special Agent School
• Tax Law School

1965 - 1966 US Treasury Schools

• Treasury Law Enforcement Academy

1966 to 1970 BATF Schools

• ATF Investigator School
• Bomb Investigation & Weapon Schools
• Executive Protection School

1970 to 1973 US Customs Schools

• Customs Special Agent Academy
• Sky Marshal Training Seminar

1973 to 1990 DEA Schools

• Senior & Mid Level Management Schools
• Police Instructor School
• Intelligence Gathering Principles (given by CIA).
• Operational Inspectors School
• Narcotic Related Death Seminar
• RICO prosecution seminar
• Conspiracy Prosecution Seminar
• Narcotic Related Death Seminar

1978 State Department Schools

• Foreign Service Institute (foreign diplomacy & diplomatic Spanish)

MILITARY

1958 to 1961 US Air Force

• Military Police Officer
• Sentry Dog Handler.
• Base Security Division of Air Police

AWARDS

Considered one of the most decorated agents in the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Awards include the Octavio Gonzalez Award, given by the International Narcotic Enforcement Officer's, for undercover penetration of the Roberto Suarez, Bolivian cocaine cartel, the biggest case in drug war history (at that time), along with more than twenty Awards from the Justice & Treasury Departments & foreign police agencies.
(Complete list furnished on request)

PUBLICATIONS

• I was the subject of Undercover, by British author, Donald Goddard
  (Random House/Times Books - October, 1988).
• I am the author of:
  • Deep Cover
    (Delacorte Publishers - March 1990)
  • Fight Back
    (Dell - October, 1991)
  • The Big White Lie
    co-written by my wife, LAURA KAVANAU
    (Thunder's Mouth Press - October, 1993)
  • The Triangle of Death - Our latest book
    (Delacorte - August, 1996)

I have also had articles published by:

• The New York Times
• New York Newsday
• The Los Angeles Times
• The Narc Officer
• Extra
• Spin
• Prison Life
• Utne Reader
• EXTRA
• & many others (copies available)

My books have been translated into Dutch, Spanish, Chinese, Finish, Romanian, French & Portuguese.

MEDIA APPEARANCES

I have appeared as a guest/expert on the following nationally televised shows:

• 60 Minutes (Informants)
• Donahue
• Geraldo Rivera (Daytime show & Rivera Live)
• Inside Edition
• Good Morning America (3 times)
• NBC Morning Show
• CBS Morning Show
• MacNeil Lehrer News Hour - interviewed by Charlene Hunter-Gault on Informants
• Dick Cavett (2 times)
• 9 Broadcast Plaza
• Bill Moyers (2 times)
• Like It Is - Gil Noble (2 times)
• Dan Rather News (several times)
• 20/20 (ABC)
• CBS Eye On America
• Night Watch
• Crier Report (Fox News Net)
• Crossfire
• HBO documentary on undercover work
• Arts & Entertainment Movie Undercover & more

Most recently can be seen on the History Channel in the Mike Wallace's "20th Century Special "Losing the Drug War."

I have appeared as an expert on various law enforcement related topics, particularly Criminal Informants & Undercover Tactics on numerous local television shows around the country including Miami, New York, Connecticut, Westchester County, Dallas, San Diego, San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, Tampa, Houston, Seattle, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Boston, Cape Cod, Portland, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Maryland, Atlanta & more.

I have also made guest appearances on hundreds of local & national radio shows around the country.

ASSOCIATIONS

• Association of Former Federal Narcotic Agents
• Association of Former Intelligence Officers
• International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association
• Geopolitical Drug Watch (OGD)
• National Police Defense Foundation
• Concerns of Police Survivors
• Survivors of the Sheild

EXPERT WITNESS TESTIMONY AND CASES

• As a Federal Law Enforcement Officer serving under IRS Intelligence, BATF, US Customs & DEA I have testified as an Expert Witness, during my 25 year career, in criminal & civil cases on more than 150 occasions in federal & state courts throughout the US & Puerto Rico.
  
  
• Since my retirement on January, 1990, I have been retained as an Expert Witness & trial consultant on more than 100 occasions, more than ninety percent of which resulted in out-of-court resolutions.

(Details on request)