I had caught the flu and spent time listlessly searching for a way to bring my spirits up. I happened to run into a web site, which featured various political topics the public could weigh in on. I started reading the different contributions and soon found my creative juices flowing. Here were the usual differences between liberals and conservatives with the extreme right coming down hard on the Clinton administration and especially on President Clinton himself.

I had recently read a few books that had made me indignant. Terry Reed, a former covert operator, had written "Compromised, Clinton, Bush and the CIA. Reed, an accomplished pilot, had been recruited by one John Cathey in the early 80's to join a covert operation transporting weapons to the Contras in Central America. While mingling with the shady characters of this operation, Reed met Barry Seal, a CIA connected adventurer who would eventually lose his life in a set-up arranged by Colombian drug cartels. Seal was the main operator of a secret Mena, Arkansas, airfield, from where weapons were flown out to Contra camps in Honduras. Seal made Reed wake up to the dirty reality of cocaine being flown back on return flights to the Mena airport and dropped at secure places for retrieval by members of the covert operation, which included Arkansas operators all the way up to and including Governor Bill Clinton. John Cathey turned out to be none other than colonel Oliver North and the whole operation was headed by none other than the Vice President of the US, George Herbert Walker Bush.

Terry Reed took part in a secret meeting at an army facility outside Little Rock attended by among others Oliver North, Bill Clinton and a mysterious intelligence official called Johnson, who later turned out to be none other than a high official in the Reagan Justice Department. The meeting evolved into a verbal fight between Johnson and Clinton, who was upset that the Bush faction had engineered the imprisonment of Clinton's brother Roger in order to make sure that Clinton never would be able to use his knowledge against the Bush faction of the CIA. Here is an illuminating excerpt from the book:

"Your brother needed to go to jail" Johnson said, staring at the governor. "As governor, you should intervene and make things as painless as possible now. As far as the money investigation goes, Meese is intervening right now. There will be no money investigation. The US attorney's office in Little Rock is "getting religion" as we speak" "There may be nothing we can do about your friend Lasater's drug problem. I suggest that he and everyone else caught with their pants down take the bad along with the good and do a little time - as your brother has. It's a shame. But bartenders shouldn't drink. If some of our people are going to be in the drug business as a cover, they should do as Mrs. Reagan says and "just say no." "Bill, you are Mr. Casey's fair-haired boy. But you do have competition for the job you seek. We would never put our eggs in one basket. You and your state have been our greatest asset. The beauty of all this, as you know, is that you're a Democrat, and with our ability to influence both parties, this country can get beyond partisan gridlock. Mr. Casey wanted me to pass on to you that unless you fuck up and do something stupid, you're No.1 on the short list for a shot at the job you've always wanted." "That's pretty heady stuff, Bill. So why don't you help us keep a lid on this, and we'll all be promoted together. You and guys like us are the fathers of the new government. Hell, we're the new covenant."

When Reed decided to abandon his efforts on behalf of the intelligence agencies, he soon was indicted for insurance fraud. The government had Clinton's crony Raymond "Buddy" Young cook up a false charge against him. Reed eventually managed to beat the charges in court.

Another book that brought my ire up was "The Big White Lie" by former DEA undercover investigator Michael Levine. Levine, a gung-ho agent with the best record of DEA agents, had frequently put drug lords in jail only to see them inexplicably released soon after the arraignment. When he persisted in his efforts he was finally brought up on charges that he had misused his powers. He was transferred from his post in Buenos Aires to the DEA headquarters in Washington so his superiors could keep an eye on him. There he languished with his unfortunate insights into the depredations of the DEA and the CIA, witness this section from the book:

"By the evening of July 17, it was clear that the primary goal of the revolution (Bolivia, around 1979) was the protection and control of Bolivia's cocaine industry. All major drug traffickers in prison were released, after which they joined the neo-Nazis in their rampage (exiled Nazis like Klaus Barbie were killing civilians to overthrow the Bolivian government). Government buildings were invaded and trafficker files were either carried off or burned. Government employees were tortured and shot, the women tied and repeatedly raped by the paramilitaries and the freed traffickers.

The revolutionaries next turned to crushing the national strike. Ostensibly to show the United States that the new government was tough on drug dealers, but actually to eliminate competition and streamline and improve cocaine production, Arce-Gomez drew up a list of 140 small and midlevel drug dealers who were to be suppressed (killed or jailed). This campaign, put in the hands of the Fiancés of Death, resulted in massive drug seizures. Cocaine valued in the billions of dollars in the U.S. market was stored in the Bolivian national bank vaults. (pg. 59-60)

The reports about the Cocaine Coup coming into DEA were mind-blowing, particularly for five street agents stationed in Bolivia. Although the DEA suits supposedly had no idea who Roberto Suarez was until he was close to taking over the country, Suarez had a copy of each of their personnel files, including intimate personal histories, photos, and medical histories of their families.

Levine then talked to an Argentinean known as the "Doctor," someone Levine considered the best source of information about the "overlapping worlds of espionage and international crime," trying to sort out why the CIA supported the Cocaine Coup.

The Doctor smiled politely again. "They (the Gasser family) have been a behind-the-scenes power in Bolivia for many years. Have you heard of the World Anti-Communist League?" I (Levine) felt like a dunce. "No." "This is an organization strongly supported by the CIA. The elder Gasser -- the father of Jose, I think Erwin is his name -- is a key member of this organization. Senor Gasser is also the man who financed the 1971 coup putting General Banzer in power...this coup, by the way, was strongly backed by the CIA. This was the beginning of cocaine's rise to prominence in the Bolivian economy."

"Yes," I said, trying not to look too stunned. "So with the Gassers supporting this last coup, I would say your...assumption...may have a certain amount of validity." "That the CIA is behind it?" I said, my heart beating faster. "Well, of course Argentina backed the coup to the hilt, supported it, took part in it; we were the first to recognize the new government; we are granting them emergency loans. We wouldn't have done anything without at least some words of encouragement from your government. As a matter of fact, we have information that a group of 10 of your private banks headed by Bank of America postponed Bolivia's loan repayments, giving the new government a chance to consolidate its power base and its new cocaine economy."

I felt like crying. The Doctor continued. "And, of course, many of the same players from the Banzer coup are involved in this one, including Herr (Klaus) Barbie and General Banzer himself." "Barbie?" "Oh yes. You know who he is?" I nodded. "Well, in 1971 he used the name Klaus Altmann. He worked for General Banzer as a security advisor -- in fact, he reorganized the secret police. I believe he now has similar duties for Arce-Gomez."

I could think of nothing to say. "What this Bolivian is saying can be very embarrassing to your country and mine," were Mario's words. He had been ready to kill Hurtado. The Doctor waited for me to speak. "Why?" I finally asked. "Why?" the Doctor looked puzzled. "Why...why would the CIA back this?" "Aside from the obvious and most probable -- that the newly elected government was leftist -- I think I have an interesting theory about an added incentive." He was smiling a Cheshire smile. "You presidential elections are at the end of this year, true?" "Yes." "Well you know President Carter isn't very popular with your associates." "I don't get it." What I really meant was that I didn't want to believe it. Most of the CIA agents I knew were passionate in their anti-Carter sentiments. Carter and his CIA director, Admiral Stansfield Turner, had reduced the agency's manpower dramatically. I was not a great admirer of Carter, either. I thought his drug policies were idiotic and bad for our country.

A statement by his drug policy adviser, Dr. Peter Bourne, that cocaine was "the most benign" of the illicit drugs and the birth of the term "recreational drug use" had gone a long way, I thought, towards giving Americans license to indulge, and were key factors contributing to the massive surge in demand for cocaine and the disastrous effects on our nation that soon followed. But to help drug dealers take over Bolivia to defeat President Carter seemed bizarre.

"Sure," said the Doctor. "How popular is he going to look with your people if he loses a whole country to drug dealers?" "I don't buy it," I said. The Doctor chuckled. "It's an interesting theory though, isn't it?"

Was the Doctor's theory believable? Eleven years later, news of the "October Surprise" came out -- the allegation that the CIA and the Reagan election committee conspired to delay the release of American hostages in Iran to ensure Carter's defeat in the 1980 elections. This was going on at exactly the time that the new-Nazis in Bolivia were on their rampage of torture, rape, and murder. In addition, as I have learned, Gasser, Suarez, and three other traffickers met with Arce-Gomez and members of the Argentine and Bolivian military on June 17, 1980 to plan the coup, and a tape-recording of that meeting was given to the CIA by one of the Argentines present."

The last piece of information to get me "pissed off" didn't come from a book but from a web site. This site was run by a former LAPD narcotics detective, Michael Ruppert. In it he detailed his discovery that the LAPD was infested with CIA agents and his growing conviction that the CIA was smuggling drugs into the country in order to finance covert operations. Here is his moving story .

With these revealing stories in my mind I couldn't stand the constant attacks on President Clinton at the debate forum. I knew that Clinton was a crook, but in my mind he was the lesser evil compared to Bush and his cronies. Right wing "posters" kept coming back to all " corrupt" deeds by the President, which in my view faded in significance compared to the atrocities committed buy the Reagan and Bush administrations, which included sabotage of the Carter Teheran rescue effort, the October Surprise, and the sordid acts of the Iran-Contra events. Especially I was upset that the Democrats had knowingly spared the Reagan administration in the 80's although it was clear to me that they knew full well about the drug trafficking taking place.

I launched into the debate with my "insider" knowledge , which scored very few points with my opposition. In general I was considered a liberal blasphemer of the sainted Reagan administration. Obviously there was something wrong with my head.

I especially delighted in teasing the "Christian Right" : "Ralph, old chap, I had to go to work, I'd rather be right here debating Christianity, Fascism and Communism with you, I haven't had this much fun in ages! By the way, I went to your web site, I tried real hard to find a communist coup attempt in there but have to report back that I failed, sorry about that. You also owe me a list of leading liberal communist doctrine lovers so we can start our "Red Liberal Alert" Newsletter together. But mostly I like helping the "Christian" Right become better Christians, now you have to forgive me, it was around 40 years since I opened a Bible, so some of my quotes might be a little bit off, but I hope I get the gist of it right! I think Christ said : "Sell everything you own and give the money to the poor", "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter heaven". "whatever you do to one of my smallest, you have done to me". This sounds down right radical to me, if I was a Christian on the right, I would be real worried about meeting my Maker on Judgment Day. " "Imagine standing before Him and saying, "I had a chance to vote for National Health Insurance to help some of Your Smallest, but I didn't, because I didn't think they needed to be healthy", " I had a chance to help some of Your Smallest by voting for Civil Rights Laws, but I didn't because I didn't think small black children deserved the same chance as I and my children did", "I spent my life time amassing as much wealth as I possibly could to please You, sorry, but I forgot about the camel business”. Well, well, well Ralph, this doesn't sound good, but there might be a way out. Maybe radical liberals existed in Christ's time also and managed to sneak these sentences into the Bible when the radical conservatives were asleep at the switch. Here is another opportunity for the "Weekly Standard": to expose the radical liberals during Christ's time, who screwed the Bible up for us, exposing us to the nagging charges of Rampant Hypocrisy! Of course, there is another way out, what about conversion to Judaism since Jews don't have this problem!"

"Ralph , back to the business of helping the "Christian" Right become better Christians. If I have offended someone by not reading the Bible more frequently, I apologize, but in my defense I'd like to say that sometimes my IQ-level is high enough to allow me to get the gist of what I read the first time around. Ralph, I like the phrase about "Render to Caesar that which is Caesar's.....", I am just a little bit surprised that the "Christian" Right is doing it's best to starve if not outright kill of poor old Caesar. I'll tell you where my IQ-level fails me though, I can't for the life of me understand how the "Christian" Right interprets the Bible. Example: Christ threw the money changers out of the Temple, he didn't throw local day laborers out. How you go from there to regressive tax policies in order to help the rich become even more rich is beyond me, I need some serious tutoring by the "Christian" Right here. Then again, maybe Christ has changed His mind, maybe if He came back today, He would be down at the local union hall trying to throw Mexican day laborers out of the country, maybe He would be all for a capital gains tax cut, maybe He would apply for a membership at the local Country Club. After all, 2000 years is an awful long time to stick to the same opinion. Phew... it is hard work to try to get some Christians to act like Christians. "