Many had never heard of journalist Gary Webb until he took his own life last December. Before that, though, he was a hero to people who revered investigative journalism. Now some of his most important work is available on the internet for the first time since it was disappeared in 1996.
Gary Webb was also a hero to anyone concerned about politics and the drug prohibition, both the professionals and those of us following along at home. All through the ’80s rumors circulated through the highest and lowest echelons of society that our government was involved or complicit in the drug trade, using the War on Drugs to provide cover for shady doings.
The rumors were confirmed during the Iran-contra hearings where, if you were paying attention, you learned all kinds of revealing stuff about government corruption and criminal behavior. Fascinating stuff if you have the stomach for it.
Folks couldn’t wait for the press to unleash the full fury of a betrayed country into the living rooms of an unsuspecting populace. It would be glorious — our fourth estate in high-dudgeon, wielding the mighty pen, speaking truth to power. It would be almost a cleansing ritual — expose the beast, drain the poison from the body politic, and let the healing begin.
Only it never happened and now here we are almost 30 years later, after a brief reprieve during the Clinton era, reaping what was sown back then. We have the same cast of characters, the same playbook, and we’re in what I hope is the final act of this miserable farce being played out on our national stage.
In the story so far, there have been two real heroes — a certain John F. Kerry who as a new Senator fought the evil beast and cut off one of its heads in the financial sector. The other hero was Webb, a well respected journalist who followed the money and dug up a story that no one wanted to hear. He ran with it, printed it, stood by it, and paid for it with his career and, eventually, his life.
When the story came out in 1996, the hounds were set loose and the backlash was brutal. Webb’s paper, The San Jose Mercury News, had a web site devoted to the story called “Dark Alliance.” You could read the story as it was published and view the supporting evidence and documents. It was groundbreaking.
When the bloodletting and backpedaling started, the web site was taken down. The cd copies were destroyed. Evidently,at least one remained and has been found in Gary Webb’s personal effects. It had some 1996-level copy protection on it, but that was easily overcome with current software tools. The good folks at Narco News have recreated the web site in all its original glory. It makes for fascinating reading.
cross-posted from Unbossed
um… excuse me… I’ll be over there reading for quite a while.
No. Thank you! for the chuckle, too. There’s is indeed a lot to read over there. The subject matter can be overwhelming. My system is to come back here every 20 minutes to decompress — diving into a welcome wagon diary is the antidote.
Thank you for the diary. Gary Webb’s story is an interesting one, and I’ve only scratched the surface.
When Air America started, Sacramento was one of the first affiliates. They ran The Majority Report for several months, before switching to a local host for afternoon drive time, Christine Craft. She knew Webb well, and it wasn’t long before Gary came onto the show to tell his story. I was shocked. I knew the “War on Drugs” was something to pump billions of U.S. Government dollars into areas with little oversight. I knew Reagan played the Iran-Contra Game, with Bush (I) right there. But, I had never heard what he described, what I read, and what is thankfully back online. I grew up in Los Angeles, and obviously witnessed the explosion of drugs and cocaine. I never would have connected the dots without a journalistic, hell an American — Hero.
It was not long after the radio interview that Gary Webb was said to take his own life. Ms. Craft never believed the story — and still points to the police investigation and coroner’s report as backing up her theory of something more nefarious. Ms. Craft finds it difficult to believe that someone could kill themselves with a .38 gunshot to the head — simple enough to believe, but the problem was that Webb shot TWICE.
Hearing the Narco story, it certainly doesn’t stretch the imagination to believe there are those that would wish to cause Mr. Webb grave harm. Webb’s ex-wife called into Ms. Craft’s show, and said that Webb had been despondent, unable to find steady work, and frustrated about moving vans showing up to his house. Although they remained friends, she had moved on with her life. She was very specific, and very serious when she said she had no doubt that Gary Webb had indeed committed suicide that day, sad as that might be. (This is all to the best of my memory, I don’t have an archive of the show(s).)
Further discussion is to be found off a link from the original diary, by Al Giordano. Mr. Giordano describes several suicides that have happened, and feels looking back there were danger signs.
About Gary and his death, Al writes:
Michael C. Ruppert writes in post entitled SAYING GOODBYE TO A GIANT soon after Webb’s death that he has no doubt about Webb’s suicide. It is a great read, from someone whose writing I have enjoyed on the From the Wilderness site.
Rather than focus on suicide conspiracy theories, I’ll close by posting some thoughts from Mr. Ruppert on Gary Webb:
Wow, thanks for all this. From what I’ve read, I do think he committed suicide — when I say he paid with his life, I’m thinking more along the lines that these events led to his despair.
I agree with Al’s descriptions, that they fit with what I know of it. Also, although it sounds really suspicious that he was shot twice, I’m not gonna claim it’s common, but it’s not unheard of either.
* Warning, Graphic Content Ahead *
From Michael C. Ruppert’s piece:
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… Those bastards are responsible for his murder even if he did pull the trigger himself.
I just watched it last night:
http://www.archive.org/details/Gary_Webb2
Great link — thanks so much! You guys are putting me to shame in the research department. I’m a lazy linker.
Gary Webb was one hell of a journalist, and I know few people who would have been strong enough to withstand the attacks on him and his career. I hope his soul is in peace–my faith tradition says that you’re not supposed to “destroy the temple” so I hope that’s very, very wrong. Or at least there’s an exception to a truth teller who is psychically assaulted for years…so much so that he has to leave his profession. (He ended up working for the CA state legislature–what other “newspaper” would have him?)
I also remember Rep. Maxine Waters’ work to support him, and she knew then it would be years to get to the truth, if ever. I want to believe that no lie lives forever, but I dunno.
Anyway, thank you for your diary on this.
his reports will be vital to a complete historic record of the multiple crimes of the Reagan/Bush years.
There is a recommended diary about how genocides are started because people are “not like us.” I wonder how much of the war on drugs is being fought because people who use drugs are “not like us” and therefore should be thrown in jail.
Oh, absolutely that’s a key component. All it takes is the us/them rhetoric and anything goes.