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The following is a transcript of the video, "A NATION BETRAYED". It
documents alleged CIA involvement in covert drug running activities and
how they supposedly interfered with the nation's attempts to recover
POW/MIAs. It is very long (around 75K bytes) so you may wish to save
it and download it from your network site for offline reading. It is a
document I promised I'd upload to the net. You may find it
unbelievable. You may not be surprised at what it says. I have
several comments which I will append to end of the document. Sufficed
to say that information of this type is its own shocking kind of
pornography. As far as I can see Gritz's arguments are more or less
sound. The evidence from three separate sources is even more
compelling. As I watched this video I felt thoroughly violated. It is
not enjoyable reading, but it may well be true.
Be careful when you seek the truth. Upon finding it you may be forced
to change your view of the world.
(apologies to the original quote)
(Transcriber's note: The following is a transcription of spoken
english and as such can be difficult to read, much less transcribe. I
have tried to preserve exactly as was spoken except for a few places
where I have organized the language used to clarify meaning. I am not
an English major so don' slam me for not using perfect english
punctuation in the sometimes rather strange usages.)
---------------------------CUT HERE----------------------------------
Colonel Bo Gritz Addressing 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 he sent 900 tons of opiates and heroin into the free world.
This year it will be 1200 tons.
(video showing discussion at Khun Sa's headquarters -- some translation
of Burmese to English going on..Bo Gritz still talking to Lunch club in
the foreground)
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. I wouldn't believe him. We
fought a war in Laos and Cambodia even as we fought whatever it was in
Vietnam. The point is that there are as many bomb holes in those two
other countries as there are in Vietnam. Five hundred and fifty plus
Americans were lost in Laos. Not one of them ever came home. We heard
a president say, "The war is over, we are out with honor - all of the
prisoners are home." and a few other lies. Now we got rid of that
president, but we didn't get rid of the problem. We ran the war in
Laos and Cambodia through drugs. The money that would not be
appropriated by a liberal congress, was appropriated. And you know who
we used for distribution? Santos Trafficante, old friend of the CIA
and mobster out of Cuba and Florida. We lost the war!
Fifty-eight-thousand Americans were killed. Seventy-thousand became
drug casualties. In the sixties and seventies you saw an infusion of
drugs into America like never was before. Where do you think the Mafia
takes the heroin and opiates that it gets through its arrangement with
the US government? It doesn't distribute them in Africa or Europe.
This is the big money bag here. We're Daddy Warbucks for them. So I
submit to you that the CIA has been pressed for solutions. Each time
they have gone to the sewer to find it. And you cant smell like a rose
when you've been playing in the cesspool. We've been embracing
organized crime. Now you've all looked and heard about Ollie North,
about the Contras, about nobody knowing anything.
(cut to part of Iran Contra hearings with Ollie North explaining the
flow of funds from Iran to the Contras)
North:
And Mr. Gorbanifar suggested several incentives to make that February
transaction work. And the attractive incentive for me was the one he
made that residuals could flow to support the Nicaraguan resistance.
Legislator:
Even Gorbanifar knew that you were supporting the Contras.
North:
Yes he did. Isvestia knew it. The name had been in the papers in
Moscow. It had been all over Danny Ortega's newscasts. Radio Havana
was broadcasting it. It had been in every newspaper in the land.
Legislator:
All our enemies knew it and you wanted to keep it from the United
States Congress.
North:
We wanted to be able to deny a covert operation.
(back to Bo at the Luncheon Club)
We have a constitution that says that the laws will be made by the
Congress, enforced by the executive branch, interpreted by the judicial
branch. But in reality we have an executive branch that has for more
than a twenty years operated in what what Ollie North called a parallel
government. When the Congress says no, it makes no difference.
They're gonna do it anyway. And it is special intelligence - top
secret. Why? Not because the communists don't know what were doing,
its to keep it a secret from you. You're not capable of making those
kinds of decisions according to those in parallel government. The
reason I know ... I was there. I've been a product of parallel
government myself.
(Narrator)
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 and outstanding ingenuity in recovering a
highly secret black-box the Viet-Cong had taken from a crashed U2 spy
plane. The feature films "Rambo", "Uncommon Valor" and "Missing in
Action" were based in part upon his real-life military experiences.
(Back to Bo)
Dick Secord, General, United States Air Force, a man I know well, said
it best. Before the senate investigating committee Dick Secord was
asked - if we were supporting the Contras, why were we selling them
arms bought from a communist block nation at exorbitant profit rates.
(skip to scene from hearings)
Senator:
If the purpose of the enterprise was to help the contras, why did you
charge Colero a mark-up?
Secord:
We were in business to make a living, Senator. We had to make a
living. I didn't see anything wrong with it at the time. It was a
commercial enterprise.
Senator:
Oh..I thought the purpose of the enterprise was to aid Colero's cause.
Secord:
Can't I have two purposes? I did.
Senator:
Oh..allright.
(back to Bo)
And then Dick Secord said in his playboy interview: "I think I deserve
the eight million that we made from the Iran arms sale for all the hard
work I did." If you've got to pay a patriot, you've got the wrong guy.
(applause from audience)
These are patriots for profit. There has been a guise of patriotism
that a lot of people have been hiding behind. War is their business.
Business has been good.
(fade to shots of the Vietnam 'conflict' - Narrator takes over again)
Bo Gritz risked his life a thousand times in combat in Vietnam before
he was sent by a national security council staffer Tom Harvey in the
White House to Burma in November of 1986 in search of American
prisoners of war. He discovered instead a heroin highway and a nation
betrayed by high level American officials involved in narcotics
trafficking. Tom Harvey and his superiors in the White House were not
pleased with Bo's report.
(fade to scene of Bo - now with beard in a field obviously somewhere in
Southeast Asia - palm trees and oxen indigenous to the area abound - I
assume its in either Burma or Thailand)
The thing that I was most concerned about was - and I thought was
fantastic - was the general's offer to stop the flow of opium and
heroin into the free world. When I asked him (assume he's talking
about a conversation with Tom Harvey now) he said "that's fantastic".
There was a pause, then he said, "Bo, there's no one here that supports
that." And I said, "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 he said, "Bo, what can I tell you?
All I can tell you is there is no interest in doing that here."
Well that made me wonder. Thats because it doesn't sound American and
it doesn't sound right. Thats when we began to do our own
investigation because for about three years people had told me, both in
Washington DC and, interestingly enough, in Oklahoma city that the
whole POW situation was being undermined by US government officials
involved in drug trafficking. I wouldn't believe it. I said, "You
guys aren't playing with a full deck... you've got yourselves strung
out too thin." And they said, "Bo, you better listen, because for
three years we've had prisoners literally within our grasp and
something has happened at the last minute." (I said), "Each time I've
made every effort to cooperate with government officials. I can't
believe that people in the US government would actually, either overtly
or covertly, do anything to undermine a rescue operation. "
Well, we're still without Prisoners of War and there is no interest,
we're told at the White House, in stopping the flow of drugs coming in
from the Golden Triangle into the free world.
(fade to front-page articles about Bo Gritz in Parade magazine and
Soldier of Fortune...narrator picks up here)
Lieutenant Colonel Bo Gritz is no stranger to controversy. In thirty
years of devoted service to the US Army and to the recovery of American
prisoners of war, he has encountered plenty. The making of this
American warrior began early. He was five years old when his father, a
B-17 pilot, was shot down over Europe during World War II. His mother,
a pilot with the women's Air Force, would later marry a master sergeant
and remain with the occupation forces in Germany after the war. Raised
by his maternal grandparents in Oklahoma, young Bo Gritz began training
at Fort Union Military Academy in Virginia. He was named Corps
Commander in his senior year when he chanced upon a recruiting poster
that changed his life. In short order, Gritz won his green beret in
the Army Special forces by passing all courses in the unconventional
warfare training. After graduating from officer's candidate school, the
newly-commissioned second lieutenant then insisted on Ranger training.
Assigned to the command of the first mobile South Vietnamese gorilla
forces to be organized, Gritz also operated secretly in Cambodia and
Laos with his force of Cambodian mercenaries, or "Bos", as he called
them. By official body-count, over 450 of the enemy died as a result
of Gritz's actions. His wartime records are replete with examples of
Bo's concern for keeping Americans alive in a war gone mad.
As recon chief of the supersecret delta-force, Bo was cited for Valor
in saving the lives of 30 US Infantrymen from the BigRed-One division.
More often than not, his valor was in placing himself between the
enemy and his men. According to an official military report dated 31
July 1967 submitted on then Major Gritz, "His personal bravery is
legendary exemplified by the fact that he has been awarded five silver
stars and numerous other decorations for valor." In all Bo Gritz was
awarded 62 citations for valor, five silver stars, eight bronze stars,
two purple hearts and a presidential citation.
Bo was ready to sign up for a fifth tour of duty when he had a talk
with General Fred Weiyan (sp?), the "daddy-rabbit" in Vietnam. As
Gritz described it, "I was a major and special operations chief. I'll
never forget that day. I stood there and heard that man say. Bo, your
not going to win the war and neither am I." That was the most
disillusioning moment of my life. It meant that every man who had ever
lost his finger or his life had lost it for nothing. I decided, on the
spot, to leave Vietnam. I would not kill another enemy or risk another
comrade's life."
(back to Bo at the luncheon)
I've had the opportunity to do a lot of things that other officers have
not. I was the first recon chief and intelligence officer for
delta-force. Commanded the first gorilla forces that went behind enemy
lines. When I commanded special forces in Latin America, we did It
exactly right. And we did exactly what men in camoflage are supposed
to do. It was very natural that Harold R. Aaron (sp?) would single me
out because, besides having a sixth-degree black belt in karate, I have
established an ability to operate on my own. And I think when Aaron
said, "Bo, we want you to do this", he understood that I'm also hard
headed enough that I wouldn't cave in. He said, "I want you to
consider retiring. I would only be temporary. We have overwhealming
evidence now that people are still there, being held in communist
prisons." Mr. H. Ross Perot had been asked by Eugene Tighe, director
of the Defense Intelligence Agency, to back a private mission that
would look into the POW situation. Perot said, "Bo, I want you to go
there. I want you to do everything you have to do. You come and tell
me there aren't any prisoners of war left alive."
(narrator)
Bo returned from IndoChina with extensive evidence that there were
indeed American prisoners of war in captivity, including a solid report
of 47 at one particular camp. Perot turned the project back over to
General Tighe who wrote to Secretary of Defense, Harold Brown asking
that the source, a Nguyen Dok Jong (sp?) be brought to the United
States for a polygraph test. Brown repeated the request to Secretary
of State Cyrus Vance. One month later, Vance finally responded that
the commissioner of immigration would not permit Jong into the United
States for further questioning. As Bo puts it, "Think about it. One
man, not a thousand and the defense intelligence agency chief and
secretary of state can't get him into the country. That was a pretty
clear signal that the military was politically handcuffed on the
prisoner of war issue."
For eight years Gritz sought to find and free American POW's. He
crossed five times behind enemy lines into communist Laos and Vietnam.
Three times he was within moments of embracing those American heroes
our government had declared dead. Each time something unexplained
caused Gritz and his Operation Lazarus team to fall short with freedom
and victory in sight for the POWs.
There has never been a shortage of criticism from any number of
armchair generals such as Robert K. Brown of "Soldier of Fortune"
magazine who devoted an entire issue to condemning Gritz's efforts.
Even to the extent of publishing documents stolen from Bo while he was
on the mission in Laos. They have even belittled his prayer before
crossing enemy lines. (Gritz is a devout Mormon...Ed) His critics said
he should have looked more like the Rambo in the movies, who actually
avoided the draft in an all-girls school in Switzerland.
More debilitating than the hundreds of miles on foot within enemy
territory has been the disinformation propagated by those within our
government who have covered up the plight of our prisoners of war.
Gritz has been accused of being a media hound. He insists he has never
sought the spotlight, but when confronted has always been a positive
voice for our prisoners of war and will continue to be until they are
home to speak for themselves.
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.
(back to Bo at the luncheon)
There a book out now called Secret Warriors, I think. Its about an
organization called the ISA. Congress never knew about and everybody
gives me credit for exposing it, but that's not true. When I was
called before congress in 1983, they said, "Bo, are you working as an
official agent for the US government?" And I said, "Yes". And they
said, "For what organization?" And I said, "I will not identify that
organization, other than to call it the activity." This is because
even the initials I-S-A were top secret. Because it wasn't an
oversight. It was created by Carter. Can you imagine that? He did
one good thing that I know of. (laughter) But it was parallel
government. He created a secret organization to do things that the CIA
could not do and he didn't dare let congress know about it.
Now ISA got Dosier back, the general that was captured by terrorists in
Italy. And ISA did a lot of other things. You can read about them now
because its in this book by some guy who write for the Wall Street
Journal. The point is that Jerry King was the head of ISA. Jerry King
called me on the telephone and said, "Bo, we have been ordered to put
operation Grand Eagle...", which was the governments name for the
prisoner of war rescue mission. It certainly wasn't grand and it sure
wasn't an eagle 'cause it never got off the ground. But he said,
"We've been ordered to put operation Grand Eagle on the shelf as if it
never existed." Hand before God he said, "there are still too many
bureaucrats that don't want to see American prisoners of war come back
alive." Now I didn't know what Jerry King meant then. I thought he
was angry because there was a bureaucratic tug-of-war going on between
ISA, the CIA and defense intelligence and maybe he was losing. But
remember Jerry King's words, 'cause they'll tie in here. I'm wondering
why that the Vietnamese intercept Colonel Richard Walsh (a POW..Ed)
moments before the turnover and capture not only him, but the General
also (unclear who the General is here ... Ed.) And I knew that we
still had him, because in the newspapers it appeared that, "The
Vietnamese and Lao delegations of the United Nations confirm that they
are holding an American citizen in custody." And I said, "By golly, we
in our state department are going to press for an identity." Because
doesn't it say that the president is required to safegaurd American
citizens in hostile hands. And I knew when when we pressed what would
happen? Richard Walsh would be identified. Who is he? A prisoner of
war. Hooray! Now the log jam is broken. And who can Walsh testify
to? The other men he was with. And they can testify. Were going to
get them all out now, even though its going to cost us something. Did
you ever see Richard Walsh's name identified? I didn't.
Mrs. Walsh showed me a newspaper article that said where a Air Force
casualty officer came to her at this time and said, "Your husband is
alive. He's a prisoner of war. We have high hopes he'll be coming
home soon." They put it in the newspaper there in Minneapolis. She
was told that Air Force Two was spooling up...who's that belong
to?..George Bush...to go get her husband. That's what she told me, but
it never happened and I thought again, "What rotten luck and what a
bunch of wimps in the state department for not going and demanding that
they identify that citizen." They probably did. They found out who he
was and they said, "lets forget it." Because when I walked into the
state department shortly thereafter, a friend of mine said, "Bo, we
thought that you'd been captured. Your passport turned up in a very
unlikely place." And I said, "Yeah, I know all about it." (not sure
what he's referring to here ... Ed.)
Do you think that all of this has just been rotten luck. Well, when
you wear the uniform of the United States you have this faith ... hope
that the system will do it. Just like General Aaron said, "Let the
system do the rest." Now comes truth...
We were training Afghan freedom fighters in the deserts of South Nevada
near where I live and I was proud to do so. In cooperation with the US
State Department Office For Security Assistance. We finished that
mission. A man by the name of Tom Harvey who is National Security
Council Ollie North look-alike. Ollie comes from Annapolis, Harvey
comes from West Point. Tom Harvey called me and said, "We have
information ...", and here is a copy of the letter that's why I brought
all these documents. I hope some of you challenge them. I hope the
White House, the Pentagon would challenge them. Because if they would
publicly that would have to admit to the truth. This letter was sent
to Vice-President Bush by an American citizen by the name of Aurthur
Soucheck, it is dated 29 August 1986. It says that General Khun Sa has
American prisoners of war. It says that Khun Sa tried to rescue four
of them. It says his forces escorted the four to the Mekong river.
While attempting to cross the rain-swollen river, the four US
personnel, three of Khun Sa's soldiers and two horses were swept away
by the raging water and all drowned. It goes on to say that Khun Sa
has repeated intelligence reports of location of US prisoners being
kept in Laos ... that he says that has seventy prisoners of war. Tom
Harvey said, "This is getting TOP priority."
Now in G. Gordon Liddy's book, "Will", he says, "no American has ever
come out of the Golden Triangle alive." But that's what we were being
asked to do. Tom Harvey said, "Bo, do you think you would be able to
infiltrate into Khun Sa's inner sanctum and determine if this report is
true or not?" Do you think maybe somebody is trying to get me bumped
off? (laughter) It didn't make any difference. Brothers and sisters,
you and I are small compared to this nation and the risk that we take
if there is one American there is worth it. God's will they'll be home
while they're still alive. I told Harvey, "We didn't fight a war in
Burma, why should there be prisoners of war there?" But you know a guy
like Khun Sa has got connections all over. And I said, "We'll try."
I speak Chinese. Khun Sa speaks Chinese. He's right along the
southern China border. Surrounded by communists, he's fighting the
communists. He has a forty-thousand man army. About eight-million
Shan people that make up the minority Shan state. Burma is communist.
Every one of his weapons are M16s and M60 machine guns. All the latest
stuff that we have. I found out why later. Too make a long story
short, we got in to see Khun Sa and he didn't have any prisoners of
war. And let me caveat it by saying this. We traveled three days
going and three days coming by horse over mountains that were literally
vertical up and down. I made the comment at that time to Scott Weekly
(sp?) who was Ollie North's classmate at Annapolis and went with me.
I said, "I would hate to be an engineer that had to build a highway
through these mountains because they're virgin teak forests ... rain
forests .. tremendously beautiful."
Six days coming and going. Khun Sa didn't have any prisoners of war.
We gave Khun Sa the letter from the White House that I had. Thats the
only thing that let me get in there. You don't walk in because the CIA
has a seven digit figure on Khun Sa's head and they haven't been able
to collect. You think they're gonna let somebody like me in there.
Say, "Hi! I wanna go visit Khun Sa!" Doesn't work! But I guess they
thought this guy is crazy enough because I gave this letter ... I told
Harvey, "We got to have a credential, guy." He said, "We can't do
that, Bo. We never do that." I said, "Harvey, has anyone ever gone to
the Golden Triangle and come out alive? I need something that will
convince Khun Sa were not there to kill him, we're there for
humanitarian purposes." So Harvey said, "Well, this will be the
language. 'You are operating in cooperation with the White House ..
etc .. etc.'" It worked! Khun Sa didn't have one single prisoner of
war, didn't know anything about prisoners of war.
(switch to a scene with Bo and Khun Sa talking at Khun Sa's camp with
Khun Sa's troops doing practice drills in the background. Bo is
discussing the letter from Soucheck with Khun Sa. It is nearly
impossible to decipher what is specifically being discussed because
Khun Sa's troops are incredibly loud and drown out the conversation, so
I will proceed to the next scene. Don't worry...there are more Khun Sa
meetings to come. The long and short of it is Khun Sa says he will
decrease or stop the drug shipments and Gritz gets it on videotape. Now
back to Bo at the luncheon.)
Now with Nancy Reagan saying no to drugs and Judge Ginsberg not allowed
to sit on the supreme court because he smoked marijuana .. and you're
an accessory to murder if you ever smoke marijuana, according to Nancy
Reagan. I figured we'd get an 'attaboy'. We didn't have prisoners,
but we had three video tapes showing Khun Sa himself. And I thought,
"Boy, is George Bush gonna be thrilled about this!" (much laughter)
We delivered those tapes to Tom Harvey just before Christmas. You try
to call Tom Harvey now, because some news people did, and he doesn't
return your calls. We delivered those tapes just before Christmas, Tom
Harvey called me back and said, "Bo, Fantastic! You guys actually got
in to see Khun Sa. The CIA said he had been assasinated." Somebody
needed some pocket change. "And there he is talking." And I said,
"That's right, Tom. Harvey, what about the 900 tons?" I figured they
were just bubbling over. They were all right, they were dripping in
their knickers. But it wasn't from joy. Harvey said, "Bo..", these
are quotes ... hand on the square .. he said, "Bo, there's no interest
here in that." You be on the other end of the phone. You've just come
out of Burma. You've brought what you consider to be a way to stop 900
tons of heroin, not marijuana and get rid of the cancer that has
infected the bureaucracy and there's "no interest." I challenged
Harvey because I'm pretty hard-headed. I said, "Tom, didn't President
Reagan appoint George Bush the number one cop to stop drugs before they
come into the United States?" I wanted to remind him of these little
things. And he said, "Bo, what can I tell you? There is NO INTEREST
here in doing that." Now that is White-House-ese for saying, "Get of
this subject, leave us alone." I knew that we had trod upon some very
sensitive toes. I still didn't have a clue to what was going on, but I
knew that we were getting close to finding out and I took off and went
to Burma again.
Now I want to show you some things when I got back to Burma. (he shows
some newspaper headlines) The United States government wanted Khun Sa
killed quick and here's how they did it:
US CALLS FOR NO MERCY IN DRUG WAR
These are over-there newspapers...
AIRSTRIKES AGAINST KHUN SA's HEADQUARTERS
BURMESE AND THAI TROOPS MOVE ON KHUN SA
Finally it says, and there is a picture of Burmese and Thai troops
standing on top of a high mountain top:
KHUN SA'S STRONGHOLD SEIZED
Now many of you are soldiers, airmen, marines, sailors. You know that
airstrikes, troops mean war. There's hair, eyes and teeth everywhere.
When I went back into Burma in May I took two other Americans with me.
It was the most peaceful area. It was exactly like we left it except
for one big change. Remember I told you it took us three days to ride
by horse to get there in November and come out in December. Well, when
we went in May, we went by pickup truck. Straight from the Thai border
all the way right to the General's front door. And on the other way
coming back there were Thai military 10 ton trucks covered and loaded.
There's only one thing that comes out of the Golden Triangle and that's
heroin.
When we got there General Khun Sa said, "What took you so long?" I
said, "General, I was waiting for the war to die down. I didn't want
to get caught in all of this 26,000 troops and airstrikes", and he just
laughed. He said, "That was a newspaper war!" I said, "What do you
mean newspaper war?" He said, "The Thai and Burmese came to me and
said that if they don't make it look like there doing something, they
stand to lose tens of millions of dollars this year in drug supression
funds from American taxpayers." So Kuhn Sa said, "Make it look like
anything you want to, but I want a rode built here." They used the
newspapers and I want to show you something. This one here says, "US
PROVIDES ANOTHER 1.8 MILLION TO FIGHT DRUGS" So it worked! And this
guy is really smiling. This is a Thai receiving a check from the US
Ambassador.
Khun Sa got what he wanted. Now he began to assemble his officers. It
took him a week to get them all together because he brought them from
all over the place. And now I understand why. I thought I was just
going to talk to him, but he said no and put me off for a week. He
assembled officers from the entire Shan territory from all over the
Golden Triangle. They came in. He sat everybody down. He brought his
secretary out. He had his secretary read from their log.
(Scene switches to Khun Sa's headquarters. All of Khun Sa' officers
are here along with Khun Sa. I'd say around twenty in all. Bo and his
companions are sitting with them. This is where it gets VERY
interesting. The following conversation was in broken english from
Khun Sa's end so some of the syntax may be a bit wierd.)
Bo:
I cannot ask the General to cut your throat by revealing any contact
that would hurt your economy at this moment. But I pray that he will
reveal any connections from the older time or that will not hurt you
now. That if they are still in power, we might be free of them.
Khun Sa:
Some of the connections I can expose to you. Some were in Burma, some
were in Thailand, some were in America. But I don't remember all of
their names and my secretary remembers them so he will give you the
information.
Secretary:
In 1965 to 1975 there is one CIA in Laos, his name was Shakley. He was
involved the narcotics business. And we know that Shakley used one
civilian to organize trafficking. His civilian name was Santos
Trafficante. He was the organizer of trafficking for Shakley. This
was financed by Richard Armitage who stayed in Vietnam. After the
Vietnam war Richard Armitage was a prominent trafficker in Bangkok.
This was 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.
Bo:
So he used it in arms and munitions.
Secretary:
Yes. This Richard Armitage has a lot of friends in Laos and Thailand.
There is a lot of CIA personnel in Laos. One of the CIA agents is
named Daniel Arnold. This Arnold was a munitions trafficker. There is
another one Jerry Daniels who organized trafficking for Richard
Armitage.
(Now back at the luncheon with Bo)
One of the men named by Khun Sa, this is not me naming him. This is
Khun Sa, the drug overlord reading from his records, named Richard
Armitage as being a chief drug trafficker from 1965 through 1979. You
know where Richard Armitage went in 1979? He went to Dole's staff,
then he Reagan's campaign staff and now he is the Assistant Secretary
of Defense right underneath Mr. Carlucci. Richard Armitage has been
responsible for recovery of US prisoners of war way back before we
actually got involved with H. Ross Perot. He is still responsible for
them. What I'm trying to do is find you Khun Sa's letter because it
will say it best. Here it is. Letter from Khun Sa written to the US
Justice department dated 28 Jun 1987. I just want to read you a couple
sentences. "During the period 1965 to 1975, CIA chief in Laos Theodore
Shakley, was in the Drug Business." Now Theodore Shakley would have
been director of intelligence of the CIA if George Bush had not been
appointed to that post. Theodore Shakley was then posted as the deputy
director for covert operations. It said, "Santo Trafficante acted as
his buying and transporting agent while Richard Armitage handled the
financial section with banks in Australia."
All of a sudden the words from Jerry King came back, "Too many
bureaucrats don't want to see American prisoners returned alive." Why?
Couldn't figure it out. Gunboat at midnight in the middle of the
Mekong with Voice of America saying were there to abort our attack.
Walsh and the General recaptured before turnover. Why? Now I'll tell
you why. If this is true it means Richard Armitage and a lot of other
people that are named here are the least men in the world that want to
see Americans come home. Because when American prisoners of war do
come home, whether we bring them home or they drag themselves across
that Mekong river somehow, and report to the US Embassy and aren't
destroyed there. When they do come home, because they will, there will
be one hell of an investigation as to what took the greatest nation in
the world so long to bring home heroes that have been waiting for more
than fifteen years. When that investigation is conducted it will show
as Khun Sa says that these men, these bureaucrats, appointed not
elected, appointed, have broken the faith with you and this country and
its law. Have used their office as a cover to run drugs and arms to
promote covert operations that the United States Congress did not
approve of. Its the parallel government. Now that may be allright,
but I'll tell you something. It's not allright to leave hundreds of
Americans to die alone in the hands of the enemy to a bunch of wimps
that were never there.
When I came back here, I thought I was a lone ranger. I said, "Boy,
I've got this information. Somehow we've got to get it to the proper
authorities and I'm all alone. Well, not so. Guess who shows up in
Time Magazine? H. Ross Perot ... and he's on page 18, May 4th and it
says, "Perot's Private Probes." H. Ross Perot was not in Burma with
me, but I know now where he got his info. Four billion dollars opens a
lot of doors for you. It didn't open a couple of doors, however, as
I'll let you in on this story. H. Ross Perot had gained US agent
investigation reports of Richard Armitage. Perot didn't know I was
over in Burma. He was doing this on his own. This article said he
pinned Richard Armitage. Armitage is a fat broad. Literally. This is
a giant of a man. And demanded that Armitage resign because it says
that H. Ross Perot accused him of being an a drug smuggler and an arms
dealer. That takes pretty big cajones. (laughter) It says that Perot
then went to his friend, George Bush. It says that he gave evidence of
wrong doing by Armitage. I'm quoting. Bush told Perot to go to the
proper authorities. (sounds of shock and dismay by audience) I'm still
reading now. So the billionaire called on William Webster. He's now
head of the CIA. It says that Perot made at least one visit to the
White House carrying a pile of documents, yet he has received no
support from the Reagan administration. In fact Frank Carlucci...
Who's he? He's the secretary of defense. And who was he before?
Deputy directory of Central Intelligence. Frank Carlucci called him in
to ask him to stop persueing Armitage. Talk about insulation! And
when four billion dollars cant even get your foot in the door even
though the man is a good Texan from Houston. Tell me there's no
cover-up here.
Now H. Ross was working on his own. He didn't know what Khun Sa had
told us. Khun Sa doesn't have a television or a telephone. He doesn't
know who Richard Armitage is. He doesn't give a damn. All he knows is
the people who are on his records that he's dealt with. This affadavit
though by a man by the name of Daniel Sheehan ... and you'll recognize
Sheehan's name if you don't know him already by the Silkwood case. He
jumped on Kerr-Magee (sp?). Kerr-Magee is pretty powerful. But they
won the Silkwood case there in Oklahoma and have done a few other
things.
(switch to a talk-show interview with Daniel Sheehan)
Sheehan:
There's little doubt at all that President Reagan was involved in a
conspiracy to violate the Neutrality Act. He's been directly ordered
by the United States Congress not to mount this military operation
against Nicaragua. They've cut off all funds for him to do so, but he
went to Saudi Arabia and various private citizens to raise the money in
total violation of the Federal Neutrality Act. They're engaged in
violations of the arms-export control act. They're engaged in
violations of the Federal Racketeering Act. There is a whole federal
racketeering syndicate that they like to refer to as The Enterprise.
Richard Secord referred to it as. But what it is in fact, Jim, is the
off-the-shelf, stand-alone, self-financing, covert operations capacity
that Oliver North talked about Bill Casey wanting to set up. Fact is,
that it has been set up. Its been operating for many years now. Out
from under the control of any president. Out from under the control of
the director of central intelligence. Out from under the supervision
of any intelligence committee. Its run by Theodore Shakley, the former
director of covert operations worldwide by the CIA under George Bush
when George Bush was the director of the Central Intelligence Agency in
1976. And this crowd has set up the off-the-shelf operation and is
carrying out not only a partnership with the drug dealers from Central
America and from Southeast Asia, but also carrying out a major
political assasination program which was participated in by William
Buckley who was the Beirut section chief for the CIA who was kidnapped
in March of 1984 and who was the subject of all the real negotiations
for the sale of the TOW missiles to Iran. It was not a sale to open
any openings to the moderates in Iran, nor was it in fact a negotiation
to negotiate for the general release of hostages. It was initiated
solely and exclusively to obtain the release of William Buckley because
he knew about the whereabouts of the off-the-shelf operation. It was a
criminal enterprise and they feared that if the American people found
out about that there would be a huge constitutional scandal and the
President of the United States would be impeached.
You have to remember that the head of the Justice Department, Edwin
Meese, used to be the chief of staff at the White House that ran all
these meetings where they were setting up these plans. This was no
great surprise to Edwin Meese who came before us on November 25th, 1986
and said, "Oh my gosh, look at this. There seems to be some sale of
TOW missiles to Iran going on here." He knew perfectly well what was
going on here. And there is a very technical phrase in the law that
refers to what they're doing. It's called a Big Fat Lie.
(poor edit here going back to Bo at luncheon)
Bo:
(referring to The Christic Institue, I presume)
If they're telling the truth in this case, then we should look at the
evidence they have. I've been told by my friends in the Central
Intelligence that they are, "funded by the KGB." Well, when they tell
me that and it's because Christic is talking bad about the government,
it makes me think that maybe somebody higher up has told them, "hey..
go tell 'em that they're being funded by the KGB." I don't know too
much more than that, but I do know ironically enough, can H. Ross
Perot, General Khun Sa and the Christic, three different totally
separate entities come up with the same information if its not true?
This affadavit though by Daniel Sheehan ... there's his signatures
swearing that it is the truth. He has uncovered information ... I just
want to read you a couple of sentences. Its says here that, "One of
the officers in the US embassy in Thailand, one Mort Abromowitz (he was
the Ambassador as a matter of fact), came to know of Armitage's
involvement in the secret handling of opium funds and called there to
be initiated a internal state department heroin smuggling investigation
directed against Richard Armitage." It says, "Armitage was a target of
embassy personnel complaints to the effect that he was utterly failing
to perform his duties on behalf of American MIA's." And Armitage
reluctantly resigned as DOD special consultant on MIA's at the end of
1977. It says, "From 1977 to 1979 Armitage remained in Bangkok opening
and operating a business named the Far East Trading Company." It says
that, "This company was in-fact merely a front for secret operations
conducting opium money out of Southeast Asia to Tehran, Iran and the
Nugen-Hand Bank." It goes on ...
There's three fingers now. One, twelve-thousand miles from here from
an infamous warlord who doesn't even know Armitage, other than for the
fact that he is the bagman. H. Ross Perot gaining it from government
testimony of agents investigating. But have you ever seen Armitage
indicted? But if you look at these reports the agents have been farmed
out. Anyone who comes up with a report of investigation against
Armitage gets reassigned or retired. You'll recognize some of this.
This is back to Khun Sa's letter:
"After 1979 Richard Armitage resigned from the US embassy's posting
and set up the Far East Trading Company as a front for his continuation
in the drug trade. Soon after Daniel Arnold was made to handle the
drug business as well as the transportation of arms sales. (Daniel
Arnold was a CIA station chief). Jerry Daniels then took over the drug
trade from Richard Armitage."
Jerry Daniels was a CIA member. Jerry Daniels died mysteriously in
Bangkok, Thailand. I wonder why.
(cut to segment from Iran-Contra hearings)
(end of part 1)
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------
It's the man in the White House, the man under the steeple
Passing out drugs to the American people
I don't believe in anything, nothing is free
They're feeding our people that Government Cheese
------------------------------------------------------------------
(this is part 2 of 2 in a series on alleged cia involvement in drug
trafficking and pow/mia problems)
Narrator:
The Christic Institute's charges against The Enterprise were featured
briefly in the Iran-Contra hearings during Jack Brooks' questioning of
Richard Secord.
Brooks:
... vast array of alleged illegal and corrupt practices beginning as
far back as the 1960's. Did you know about that?
Secord: (somewhat nervously)
Of course I know about it.
Brooks:
Well, the allegations include the organization of assasination programs
funded by the drug king-pin in Laos and laundering of millions of
dollars skimmed from the sale of military weapons to the Shah of Iran,
and the provision of military services to Somosa, and laundering
Colombian drug money, but anyhow ...
Narrator:
Secord's response was prophetic. Nearly a year later the cased would
be dismissed in a blatantly political move by Judge Lawrence King.
Brooks:
Describe your involvement and transactions with them ...
Secord: (nervously and contemptously)
Can I comment on the suit? The suit, which was filed in May of last
year, is the most outrageous fairy tale anybody has ever read. Nobody,
including the Justice Department, credits it at all. It's being dealt
with. I can only fight on so many fronts at once. I regard that one
as a rather minor threat that will be tossed out of ...
Narrator:
The congressional committees carefully side-stepped these charges as
well as the issue of massive cocaine smuggling by the Contras. But the
media was quick to notice the striking parallels between the liberal
Christic Institute's allegations and conservative Bo Gritz's
discoveries in Burma. Sharing a commitment to the truth, both Sheehan
and Gritz have been outspoken in their charges that The Enterprise has
engaged in assasinations, drug dealing and illegal weapons shipments.
Their activities have well been documented in the mainstream press.
The case of Edwin Wilson is a powerful example of The Enterprise's
blatant disregard for law and congressional restraints. Sentenced to
52 years in prison for providing weapons and explosives to Libya, the
former CIA agent has pointed out that his more-than-willing partners in
those transactions and others were none other than Richard Secord and
Theodore Shakley. According to Wilson, "If I'm guilty, they're guilty.
If I got 52 years for what I shipped, Ollie North ought to get 300
years."
(cut to video clip from BBS NEWSNIGHT. Interview with Edwin Wilson in
prison.)
Wilson:
I would like to have the story get out, which is the truth. There has
been such as massive cover-up on this whole group. The group that now
is running the war for the Contras that I felt that the only way I
could somewhat justify my own actions was to have the truth come out.
Interviewer:
Are you saying that Iran-Contra is just the tip of the iceberg?
Wilson:
... just the tip of the iceberg.
(cut back to Gritz at luncheon)
I swore to defend this constitution. As a soldier I was brainwashed.
And I wasn't a dumb soldier either. I've got advanced degrees in
college, honors graduating from the Command and General Staff College
of the United States Army, given the high command, served in the
highest level staff positions in the Pentagon. And yet I thought that
as a soldier I was to be apolitical. I was to never question what our
executive branch civilians told us to do. Just do or die. What an
education I got.
Back in 1975-76 I commanded special forces in Latin America. Same time
George Bush was head of the CIA. We knew that Noriega was not only a
drug smuggler then but we knew that he was a communist besides. He was
the intelligence officer under Omar Terrijos (sp?). We, the United
States, payed Noriega three times what we pay our President to be our
friend. I recommended more than ten years ago that we dump him. We
didn't and now were seeing the result of it. My point is George Bush
knew what was going on then. He was head of Central Intelligence. It
was his OK that said pay Noriega hundreds of thousands of dollars every
year. He knew what the intelligence reports were. That Noriega is a
brother to Fidel Castro. Don't ever let him tell you he didn't know.
I think a lot of the truth would come out if we tried General Noriega
because he knows what happened and would be willing to tell what
happened, but there is nobody in the administration that wants to hear
what happened. We know were not going to try him. Thats just a ruse.
Read the newspapers about three months before we indicted him. I saw
where Armitage went down to Panama to warn Noriega, that if he didn't
get under control that we were going to eliminate him. Well, Noriega
has bigger cajones than any bureaucrat that you'll ever meet. He's a
little guy like H. Ross Perot, but he is tougher than Texas cowhide and
he will pull the plug on the Panama Canal if we try to force him out.
I think Noriega is going to come out the winner (I guess not... ed.)
And by the way, can you imagine what Armitage did? See, Tom Harvey and
Armitage are best friends. They lift weights everyday in the Pentagon
athletic club. I know when we got back from Burma that Harvey rubbed
his hands together and said, "Hey Dick, come on over to the White
House. Bo Gritz just got back from Golden Triangle with information on
POW's from Khun Sa." Can you imagine what happened when Khun Sa said,
"...and I will disclose every government official I've dealt with for
20 years.."? I bet you Dick Armitage involuntarily urinated right
there! (much laughter) And all of a sudden US declares no mercy. Its
a war of words. No president thats ever declared a war on drugs has
ever fought one and I see 'em being fought today. But there's a way to
do it and end-running the Constitution is not the way. But here's what
we've done. You saw Ollie North stand up and become an acclaimed hero.
Now Ollie North is a Marine that I believe has done everything he
thought was right to stem the rising tide of communism. But I want to
give you some facts and you decide for yourself. I think Ollie North
had good intentions but he was manipulated and used.
Have we won the war in Nicaragua? Has the end justified the means
because the planes carrying arms to the Contras came back loaded with
drugs. I submit to you that we have lost. Did we ever intend to win?
(cut to a scene with female reporter interviewing Mike Tulliver (sp?),
a former pilot who flew drug runs.)
Reporter:
The government decided to get into the drug business in order to pay
for the Contras? The American government?
Mike Tulliver:
As incredulous as it may sound, I believe that they not only decided to
get into it I think that they orchestrated the whole thing.
Reporter (narrating):
Mike Tulliver is a pilot who's principle occupation has been smuggling
drugs. He's currently serving a three and one half year sentence in a
federal prison in Miami for a conviction unrelated to the secret
flights he made for the Contras. He says he was approached in 1985 by
long-time CIA operatives to run what they called "supplies."
Tulliver:
You could bring back their cargo without ever having to worry about
interception, arrest, anything like this. Everything was taken care of.
Reporter:
What kind of cargo are you talking about?
Tulliver:
Drugs.
Reporter:
And the same people who you believe set you up with the arms also set
you up with 25,000 pounds of pot?
Tulliver:
Sure... oh yes ... sure .. in change.
Reporter:
So what do you do with that 25,000 pounds of pot?
Tulliver:
We take off out of Honduras and we leave.
Reporter:
To?
Tulliver:
South Florida.
Reporter:
Where in South Florida?
Tulliver:
We landed at Homestead.
Reporter:
Homestead?
Tulliver:
Air Force Base.
Reporter:
With whose clearance?
Tulliver:
I was given a discreet transponder code to squawk about two hours south
of Miami. I received my instructions from the ground for traffic
separation and told them what my destination was.
Reporter:
What did you say?
Tulliver:
I told them we were a non-scheduled military flight into Homestead Air
Force Base.
Reporter:
What happened when you landed?
Tulliver:
We landed about 1:30 - 2:00 in the morning I guess. A little blue
truck came out and met us and it had a little white sign that said,
"FOLLOW ME."
Reporter:
And you did...
Tulliver:
And we followed it.
Reporter:
To where?
Tulliver:
Some area of the field. I have no idea ... I've never been there
before or since.
Reporter:
Where you surprised that you were going to land all of this pot at an
Air Force base?
Tulliver:
Yeah... I was a little taken aback to be honest with you. I was
somewhat concerned about it. I figured it was a setup or it was a DEA
bust or a sting or something like that.
Reporter:
And instead nothing happened to you?
Tulliver:
No. A little guy in the pickup truck takes us out and I get in a taxi
cab.
Reporter:
Did you get payed for the flight?
Tulliver:
75,000 dollars.
Reporter narrating with video clip of cargo plane at Homestead:
Tulliver identifies this as the plane he flew. The plane traces to a
company that was hired by the government to fly humanitarian supplies
to the Contras at the same time Tulliver made his flights.
(cut to clip with George Morales)
Reporter:
Why would the CIA allow drug planes to come into the United States
loaded with coke from (undecipherable).
Morales:
Money.
Reporter Narrating:
George Morales is a world champion boat racer. He is also a world
reknowned cocaine trafficker whose empire extended from Colombia to
Miami. Morales was indicted for running cocaine in 1984. He says the
CIA used his indictment to pressure him into providing planes, pilots
and three million dollars in cash to the Contras. He too is in federal
prison awaiting sentencing on the '84 charge.
Reporter:
So you're saying that drug planes were allowed into the states as long
as somebody was kicking money into the Contra coffer.
Morales:
Definitely.
Reporter:
Is this like just a one-time occurrence? Somebody snuck in?
Morales:
No.
Reporter:
Frequent?
Morales:
Yes.
Reporter:
Routine?
Morales:
Yes.
(back to Tulliver)
Believe it or not, the entire business is compartmentalized. I'm like
a Teamster. I'm in transportation. You've got people who are in
loading. You've got people who are in offloading. You've got people
who are in distribution. You've got people who are in sales. It's
like an IBM situation.
Reporter narrating again:
Gary Betzner was one of George Morale's top pilots. He too is in
federal prison in Miami on an unrelated drug conviction. His sentence
is 15 years. Like Morales and Tulliver he has little to gain from
talking about these drug flights.
Betzner:
I took two loads, small aircraft loads of weapons to John Hull's ranch
in Costa Rica and returned back to Florida with approximately 1000 kilos
of cocaine.
Reporter:
What exactly was in the plane that you flew from Fort Lauderdale?
Betzner:
Oh there was some C4 explosives, M60 machine guns. It was stacked all
the way to the ceiling.
Reporter:
How many pounds of weaponry?
Betzner:
I would estimated around 2500 pounds. I understood right away that it
wasn't the private guns that went down that were that important. It
was what was coming back that could buy much larger and better and more
sophisticated weapons. It was unaccounted for cash.
Reporter narrating:
... near heavy security Ramone Rodriguez was brought to capitol hill.
Ocean Hunter, it appears, is just the beginning (?). Under oath, he
told Senators that the drug connection is much larger. That he'd
handled a direct 10 million dollars in cash contributions from the
Colombian cocaine cartels to the Contras.
Rodriguez:
Outside the United States drug dealers are very powerful people. They
have cash. The CIA deals primarily with items outside of the US. If
they're going to deal in foreign country's policies and politics
they're going to run up against or run with the drug dealers. It
cannot be done any other way.
Reporter:
Do you have any evidence, any proof, any ideas of whether the large
sums of cash you had delivered to the Contras, whether it actually made
it to the Contras?
Rodriguez:
There is no way to trace cash. My guess it that not all of it got
there, but I'm a cynic.
Reporter:
Where would it have ended up?
Rodriguez:
I would say that you're gonna find a lot of it in nest eggs, foreign
accounts, waiting for the day when the Contra issue is no longer
popular, when Congress votes it out of existance and they have to do
something else for a living.
(back to Bo at the luncheon)
Point is there are three sources now all saying one little bureaucrat.
Look how bureaucrats fall! You break wind wrong, you're out of here in
an election year. Why hasn't Mr. Armitage been investigated? When we
came back I was told by telephone in Bangkok, "Bo, if you don't erase
and forget everything that you have done, you're going to get hurt." I
was told, "Everybody loves you. Nobody wants to hurt you. No one
wants to put a war hero in jail, but if you don't cooperate you're
going to hurt the government." And I said, "Joe, whose government am I
gonna hurt?" (lots of applause)
I am sick and tired of watching the result of poor politics sending our
soldiers overseas to do something that they were not meant to do. I'm
a fighter, but when we fight we ought to fight to win. And when we
send people we ought to be willing to bring them back again. (much
applause)
We did go before congress. You know who runs the drug task force in
the house of representatives? Lawrence Smith. He is a democrat from
"Miami Vice" Florida and his staff told me before I came up, "Bo, you
better be well-heeled-for-bear because the people who keep the chairman
in office are more prone to promote drugs than they are to fight them."
When I got up there Lawrence Smith would not allow any members of the
task force to view the video tapes that we brought from Khun Sa in
Burma. He asked me, "Colonel, how could a man of your intelligence put
any stock at all in what a drug warlord would say?" I said, "Mr.
Chairman, aren't we dealing with Michael Gorbochev and he's a
communist. But we talk to him because he has the missiles and we want
to reduce them. Khun Sa has all the heroin and if we want to stop it
he's the guy we ought to see." And he says, "What's this business
about a heroin highway? How do we know the Thai's didn't build that
road to attack Khun Sa?" And I said, "Well Chairman, if they did, they
did a heck of a good job because it goes right straight to his
headquarters and nobody is attacking and he his own little customs
houses all along the road where the little bar comes down." He ended
the hearing by saying, "I don't think there is any substantive evidence
here that would indicate any further investigation need be made." He
never called H. Ross Perot. He never called the Christic Institute.
He never allowed the tapes or the letter that Khun Sa wrote because I
found out that video tapes aren't enough. They said, "Well, he didn't
write anything." Then we had a letter with his signature on it under the
Shan seal.
Point is Ladies and Gentlemen, there is a parallel government this day
that lives within the United States government. It is a parasite!
Personally, I think we may have lost the Executive Branch.
(cut to clip from Iran-Contra hearings with Jack Brooks questioning
Ollie North about executive order rescinding the constitution)
I was particularly concerned Mr. Chairman, because I read in Miami
papers and several others that there had been a plan developed by that
same agency, a contingency plan in the event of an emergency that would
suspend the American constitution and I was deeply concerned about it.
I'm wondering if that was the area in which he had worked.
I believe that he was, but I wanted to get his confirmation. (Brooks
tries to continue here and is interrupted by Daniel Inouye, chairman of
the proceeding and senator from Hawaii)
Inouye:
May I most respectfully that that matter not be touched upon at this
stage. If we wish to get into this I'm certain arrangements can be
made during executive session.
(cut to Jack Brook's summary)
... involving the US government in military activity in direct
contradiction of the law, diverting public funds into private pockets
in secret unofficial activities, selling access to the President for
thousand of dollars, dispensing cash and foreign money orders out of a
White House safe, accepting gifts and falsifying papers to cover it up,
altering and shredding national security documents, lying to Congress.
Now I believe that the American people understand that democracy cannot
survive that kind of abuse.
(back to Bo at luncheon)
I don't think it makes a hoot who you vote for for President. The same
people are gonna run this country. I stand before you today. You
gotta know who I am. I'm an indicted felon because part of that phone
call in Thailand said, "Bo, if you don't erase and forget, if you don't
come to the apartment (that was a safehouse in Washington, DC), you're
gonna be charged with 15 years and your going to serve as a felon and
we're going to bring up aggravated charges and hostile witnesses."
That's not my kind of language. I said, "Friend, that's an insult to
you, me and two hundred years of constitutional government." He said,
"Bo, don't give me that. Bring everything you've got to the
apartment." I said, "Who's going to be there, Joe?" And he said, "You
know me better than that, Bo. It will just be me and Tom Harvey." I
said, "OK, I'll bring this stuff dear citizen. I'll show it to you
then you tell me to erase and forget." When I got to LA with the tapes
he said, "Bo, don't come." He was that much of a friend. He said,
"Don't come. Hide those tapes. Everybody's laying for you." He said,
"But please destroy and forget. That's all the state department wants
you to do because otherwise you're going to jail as a felon." You know
what they charged me with? They did charge me. Misuse of a passport.
Now that is a weeny charge for somebody thats been in clandestine
warfare for more than 30 years. That throws me in league with Jane
Fonda. She was cavorting with the enemy and misusing her passport.
Ollie North and Robert McValium went to Iran on Irish passports so they
could do an illegal arms deal, but nobody has charged them. Thats
because they're cooperating.
Well, I'm not worried about that. The US attorney doesn't know how
hard to take it because I said, "I don't deny I misused a passport. I
misused it many times. Every time in pursuit of US prisoners of war."
You dear citizen, see if you would erase and go back to sleep and
forget. I don't think that you will. In my defense I got a lawyer,
he's the former US attorney for Nevada. He took my case for free other
than all the expenses it cost to bring in witnesses. Were going to use
this court as a forum for prisoners of war and for government in drug
dealing because you know you can't sue the government, but when the
government jumps on you now you can turn it around on them. Thats
exactly what were doing. I got a plea the other day saying, "Bo, just
go ahead and cop a plea it'll be a misdemeanor." No way Jose, were
going all the way with this one.
(Narrator)
The American Warrior has traveled a long road from the jungles of
Vietnam to the Pentagon to a hostile federal courtroom in Las Vegas,
but the commitment to God, country, honor and decency have never
wavered. It would be far easier to walk away from this battle, but to
do so would be impossible for this soldier.
Interestingly enough, the US attorney prosecuting this case against a
respected dissenting war hero is himself the former road manager for a
well-known 1960's antiwar rock group. The irony is not lost on Las
Vegans, but the issues behind the trial demand nationwide attention.
One can only wonder what the charges will be against Oliver North.
The Christic Institue, on the other hand, is facing an uphill battle in
their current appeal of Judge King's dismissal of their racketeering
lawsuit against The Enterprise last June in Miami. As Father Bill
Davis, their chief investigator explains:
(cut to Fr. Bill Davis from The Christic Institute)
This is by far the most important case we've ever done. I think for
the kinds of forces that were up against, as well as for the broader
public policy implications. If this crowd can get away with what they
have been getting away with: the arms dealing, the drug dealing, the
assasination programs and sell it under the guise of some kind of blind
anti-communism, having had the revelations that we've had: the
Hasenfuss flight, the Iran arms deal. If they still get away with it
then I think democracy, at least in this country, is in very very
serious condition. I don't think it will survive. Were either going
to win against these forces, this time or I am not optimistic about the
survival of democracy in this country. I think it's that serious.
(Narrator)
The seriousness of Gritz's discoveries during his first mission to the
Golden Triangle, however was brought home immediately after his return.
Scott Weekly, his Operation Lazarus team member and veteran of several
POW recovery missions, was arrested and charged with a federal
violation resulting from the Afghan training program he helped Gritz
conduct. Weekly was a classmate of Oliver North's at Annapolis and has
a PhD in physics. After numerous forays into hostile enemy territory
neither he nor Gritz were prepared for the treachery that awaited them
at home.
(Bo filmed in Thailand or thereabouts)
The ambassador level person for the US government in charge of
narcotics control made a statement immediately following the release of
this tape to the White House that the United States would never a agree
to talk with General Khun Sa about drug control because he was such a
black-hearted criminal. I believe that we can show through facts that
have already been established by the US Justice Department and on-going
investigations that there are people currently who saw that tape in the
US government that all that they could to stop this interview right
here for fear they would be exposed. Even to the point where they
arrested Scott Weekly for a minor technicality of transporting
explosives illegally on a commercial airliner.
Very briefly we were training a couple of Afghan freedom fighters
through the knowledge and request of the US state department and other
official agencies. The explosives were procurred for us from Fort
Sill, Oklahoma and were naturally transported, because we were using
them at a remote desert base, by aircraft. There was no danger to the
civilian aircraft. The explosives were C4, plastic, frontline safe.
You could shoot them with a machine gun and they wouldn't go off.
There were no detonating devices with us. Federal agents told Scott
when he was taken into custody that it wasn't a technicality and that
the real target was me. They were under pressure by the US attorney's
office to find out whether or not I was in kahoots with North and
Poindexter since I had traveled to Latin America and to the Middle East
in pursuit of various government associated projects. The fact is and
the truth is that I've had nothing to do with North and Poindexter or
any illegal activities either in South America or the Middle East. Now
the truth is that I believe that elements in the US government are
afraid that they will be exposed for their illegal activities and drug
trafficking. Through that exposure that this will cease and they will
loose their power. If they had tried to put pressure by causing Scott
Weekly even to be ajudged guilty ... because he was told if he would
plead guilty that there would be no problem... that he would be given
probation... that there would be no more pursuit... that it would be
unsupervised probation which would allow him to continue to travel
overseas. In truth, he was sentenced. The fact is that Scott was told
that if he would plead guilty that there would be no further
investigation and that all would go well for him and that if he did not
plead guilty there would be a tether put on all of us so that we would
not be able to travel and at that time we were very very close to
negotiating the release of American prisoners of war. The only reason
that Scott plead guilty was so that other members of the Operation
Lazarus team, myself included, would be free to continue the mission of
liberating US prisoners of war, which is ongoing now.
(Narrator Discussing Weekly's case)
Scott Weekly was made to serve fourteen months of a five year sentence
before it was demonstrated that the agents had removed sensitive
documents from his pre-sentencing file which would have exonerated him.
The sentence was simply dismissed.
Lance Trimmer, a former Green Beret communications specialist with the
Lazarus team, accompanied Gritz to Burma in Weekly's place in May, 1987
where he witnessed Khun Sa naming the US officials involved in drug
trafficking. As a professional private investigator, since returning
he has spearheaded the effort to document and publicize the team's
findings and was instrumental in obtaining Scott Weekly's release from
LongPoke Federal Prison. In the process he has been unjustifiably
arrested and detained three times by the police and federal
authorities.
(Narrator introducing Barry Flinn)
Barry Flinn is the Bangkok station chief for Operation Lazarus. In May
of 1987 he served as the cameraman with Colonel Gritz on his second
trip to visit Khun Sa. Also during this time he has made other trips
into ShanLand. On one occasion he accompanied a journalist from
Australia who filmed the proceedings and made this the subject of a
news program in Australia. Barry himself was arrested immediatly upon
his return to Bangkok from ShanLand on the first trip and has been
several times since then as has been Khun Sa.
(Khun Sa in interview with Australian journalist .. either he himself or
a translator is speaking... it sounds like Khun Sa himself)
... even if they kill me the opium will still be there. They only use
me as a money tree. Every time they want money, they come and shake
the tree just like a Christmas tree.
Journalist:
...spraying the opium crop with the poison 24-D (or somesuch...Ed.)
(Narrator Again)
One of the problems that Khun Sa pointed out in the news program in
Australia is the extensive use of toxic herbicide spraying over his
territory not to kill the opium plants, but to kill the food crops
which is very very destructive of the culture and the people and
creating a very serious refugee problem.
(Khun Sa again...)
We have 300 families in the hills now who have no food. The world body
is doing something against humanity in the Shan state and nobody knows
about it.
(Bo talks about Khun Sa's offer)
General Khun Sa has extended an offer in writing to turn over to the
United States Government on March 15, 1988 one ton of refined Asian
heroin, that sells for $250,000 per pound to distributors, as a show of
good faith that he would stop 1200 tons of heroin from entering the
free world in 1988. The response of the State Department was, "no
interest."
(Bo talking in Southeast Asian Field)
There are personalities within the United States Government who have,
as early as the early 1960's, trafficked in opium and heroin to finance
assasination programs initially approved by the Central Intelligence
Agency, which didn't work then and aren't working now. If these
assasinations programs spread from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand
to Iran, to Nicaragua, to Libya and have the potential of continuing to
spread unless some exposure is finally done to eliminate these high
officials.
H. Ross Perot has said as a result of his investigation he has found a,
"snake pit without a bottom." He says that the people involved will do
anything to keep their wrongdoings covered up. He even says that a man
that was responsible for the Phoenix assasination program is now on the
personal staff of George Bush.
(Cut to Barry Flinn in Bangkok discussing his trip with Bo.)
My name is Barry Flinn and I live in Bangkok, Thailand. I have been in
Bangkok now for two years. I am a member of Operation Lazarus and I am
the station chief here in Bangkok. My function for Operation Lazarus
is to collect information from my agents in Laos and in Vietnam on
locating live Americans held captive in these two countries. This last
trip Colonel Gritz had asked me to go into ShanLand, a territory of
Burma, to be a witness and a cameraman to record the conversation with
him and General Khun Sa. I agreed to go and I did witness, I did
record the meeting with Lt. Colonel James 'Bo' Gritz and General Khun
Sa. Another member of Operation Lazarus by the name of Lance Trimmer
also accompanied us. In Shanland I did record the meeting and the
facts are as follows: General Khun Sa's people, the secretaries read
from a document written in the Shan language about American officials
dealing in heroin from 1965 to the present. Some of the names he had
given us were a man by the name of Shakley, a man by the name of
Armitage and other American officials involved in drugs. Now my job is
strictly locating POWS. I am not involved with the DEA or any other US
Government agency. I am a private citizen. It makes you angry when
you hear of the drug problems in America. Children taking heroin at
twelve and high officials supplying them the heroin and all the
cover-ups they did in the past, the present and probably in the future.
Now as a witness I definitely believe these men were involved in the
drug trade. General Khun Sa did say that, after giving us the names,
he wouldn't be surprised if B52 bombers started flying over Shanland to
destroy him and to kill him so that he wouldn't testify to the other
Americans involved in the drug trade.
I am staying in Bangkok, Thailand to locate POWs and if people are
interested in more information about the interview with Khun Sa and Lt.
Colonel James 'Bo' Gritz they know were to find me. The American
embassy knows were to locate me. Lt. Colonel James 'Bo' Gritz knows
were to locate me and I'm sure the people involved in the drug trade
know where to locate me.
Allright. One more thing. I did here about the Americans Shakley,
Armitage and other Americans being named it sent a chill up my spine
and down my back. It made me angry. It made me shocked. I couldn't
believe it, but it was there: names, files of old papers that the Lao
agents and the Shan people have on our Americans. Somebody has to do
something. It will probably all be covered up. I don't know. It's
not my business. I was only a witness and it will stay with me for the
rest of my life about the people in our government dealing drugs. It's
nice to know, isn't it? It's really nice to know...
(Bo gives summary)
In summary, the reason that American prisoners of war are not at home
as we speak, if what Khun Sa, the Christic Institute, and H. Ross Perot
are saying is true, is because Richard Armitage, the one man
responsible for their recovery is a heroin smuggler and an arms dealer.
He has misused his office in order to promote covert operations
through the sale of heroin and trading in arms that bypasses the US
Congress. When prisoners come home he will be investigated. His
wrongdoings and misuse of office will be uncovered and exposed and he
and the others will fall like a house of cards.
As an American citizen it is our responsibility to wake up to the
internal threat, the treachery that threatens literally the life of
this nation.
(Bo back at luncheon asks people to swear to do something)
It's time that we just became Americans. Here is what I would ask you
to do, because you can't just go back to sleep on this thing like we
did on 007, the Korean airline. One is, I would ask that in your mind,
if not physically here today be willing to raise you hand to the square
(?) and swear again before God and witnesses your allegiance to this
heavenly banner (points to flag) and to the constitution of the United
States because it will die hermetically sealed in the National Archives
if we don't breath some life back into it. It is hanging by a thread.
The righteous people of this country, doesn't mean Democrat,
Republican, right, left, conservative, liberal, the righteous people of
this country need now to stand up and put a shoulder to it to keep it
stable. I want you to commit to yourself that you're going to do
something about it. Demand that an investigation be made.
(Bo narrating here...)
Demand a thorough and true investigation of Richard Armitage. Insist
that The Christic Institute's charges go to trial and be heard by a
jury of Americans. That those in our government that represent sewage,
that clog the bureaucracy today might be cleaned out. That the
American way might continue. That our children might grow up in
liberty and freedom with same opportunities that we have had.
(Gritz apparently is willing to run for Congress on the Republican
ticket. Back to the luncheon)
In the legislature you need to seek out, identify and draft people that
have the guts to stand up, because if you get the legislature up there
it can be through the people. It can be pulled back from the brink. I
think thats our saving grace. I think that through the legislature we
can do what no one else would have done to Nixon. We can wash him
away, we can wash away, hopefully, it's going to be a hard fight, this
cancer. I stand before you and give you an order. You have got to do
something about this thing. We fought the enemy foreign. Can't we
fight the enemy domestic?
(much applause)
(Ed: If you wish to order the video tape, you can write Bo Gritz at the
address below. I'm not sure how current it is. I highly recommend
that you do order it somehow. Reading about it is one thing, but it's
another thing entirely to see Khun Sa and his men dictating the names
of top US officials to video tape. Many documents that are on the
video are not in my transcription here. They would be too numerous to
transcribe)
(Transcribers disclaimer: The views expressed in this document do not
necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the transcriber. I am only
the messenger. Don't shoot me. Many people know I typed this and if I
were to disappear there would be some serious investigations because
several of my family are good friends with powerful people in the
Media. Doing me harm would only serve to substantiate the validity of
Gritz's claims. Jeez, this sounds paranoid, but if it's true certain
cautions are warranted.)
Lt. Colonel James 'Bo' Gritz
Box 472-HCR31
Sandy Valley, NV. 89019
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It's the man in the White House, the man under the steeple
Passing out drugs to the American people
I don't believe in anything, nothing is free
They're feeding our people that Government Cheese
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