Gary Webb on the Contras and the Crack Cocaine Epidemic – Dark Alliance Interview (Part 3)

August 14, 1998 Webb supported his story with documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, subsequently including a 450-page declassified version of an October 1988 report by CIA Inspector General Frederick Hitz. According to Webb and his supporters, the evidence demonstrates that White House officials, including Oliver North, knew about and supported using money from drug trafficking to fund the contras, and these officials neglected to pass any information along to the DEA. The 1988 report from the Senate Subcommittee on Narcotics, Terrorism and International Operations of the Committee on Foreign Relations led by Sen. John Kerry commented that there were “serious questions as to whether or not US officials involved in Central America failed to address the drug issue for fear of jeopardizing the war effort against Nicaragua.” Immediately, denials began to emerge refuting the assertions Webb made in “Dark Alliance”. Reports in the Washington Post (Oct 4, 1996), Los Angeles Times, and New York Times (Oct 21, 1996), tried to debunk the link between the Contras and the crack epidemic. Post ombudsman Geneva Overholser agreed with critics that her paper’s response to Webb’s series showed “misdirected zeal” and “more passion for sniffing out the flaws in San Jose’s answer than for sniffing out a better answer themselves.” Richard Thieme argued in an opinion piece that the major news outlets focused on attacking Webb or less relevant parts of the story, leaving …