Difference between revisions of "Gary Webb"
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|wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Webb | |wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Webb | ||
|image_caption=c. 2002 | |image_caption=c. 2002 | ||
+ | |interests=CIA/Drug trafficking, Lok Lau | ||
|birth_name=Gary Stephen Webb | |birth_name=Gary Stephen Webb | ||
|amazon=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gary-Webb/e/B00NG94C92/ | |amazon=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gary-Webb/e/B00NG94C92/ |
Revision as of 09:21, 5 February 2019
Gary Webb (journalist, CIA/Drug trafficking/Premature death) | |
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c. 2002 | |
Born | Gary Stephen Webb August 31, 1955 Corona, California |
Died | December 10, 2004 (Age 49) Carmichael, California, U.S. |
Cause of death | Two gunshots to the head |
Alma mater | Northern Kentucky University |
Children | 3 |
Spouse | Susan Bell |
Exposed | CIA/Drug trafficking |
Victim of | premature death |
Interests | • CIA/Drug trafficking • Lok Lau |
Interest of | Bill Conroy |
Clearly exposed the CIA's complicity in drug smuggling, simultaneously demonstrating the controlled nature of the US corporate media. Shot twice in the head, ruled a suicide. |
Gary Stephen Webb was a Pulitzer prize winning American investigative reporter who exposed cocaine trafficking by the CIA. He wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, which initially backed his articles, but later caved under pressure. Webb was shot twice in the head in 2004. It was ruled a suicide.
A video by James Corbett |
Contents
Dark Alliance
- Full article: Dark Alliance
- Full article: Dark Alliance
Webb was best known for his 1996 Dark Alliance series of articles. This was written for the San Jose Mercury News, later published as a book, and made available online by NarcoNews.[1]
Opposition by Corporate Media
His editors initially stood by the story, and effectively circumvented censorship by the larger corporate media interests by using the (at that time, emergent) WWW, achieving over 1,000,000 hits/day at the height of the story's publicity. This made the establishment's policy of silence untenable, and they issued denials.
Eventually, Webb's editors disowned the story - the factual basis of which was never really questioned - and they in turn pressured Webb to give up on it. Controlled corporate journalists such as Jesse Katz attempted to rubbish his narrative.
Webb, however, was determined to stick by his story. As he recounted in a GNN video, Webb's employers pressured him to quit by moving his employment a long way from his home.
It is established fact that the CIA had taken action with major newspapers against the Dark Alliance series, Webb and the San Jose Mercury News.[2]
Death
Gary Webb died of 2 gunshot wounds to the head in December 10, 2004. It was ruled a suicide due to depression. More than 10 years after his death, it is still suspected by many as suspicious.[3] It appears that in the beginning there were different reports about the injury and weapon used. At the time rumors were circulating that he was killed to prevent the release of a new book or material relating to CIA/Drug trafficking that was not public yet,[4] which was basically confirmed by "Freeway" Ricky Ross in a prison call. Ross also said that Webb had told him, that people were climbing telephone poles near his house and following him around, doing "stuff that he didn't really like" and "that it was the government too".[5] By what is related from Ross in that phone call it does not seem that Gary Webb was in a position where he would consider suicide. However, people who were allied with him on a professional level, like Robert Parry[6] and many editors at Narco News never left much doubt that they believe that it was his own doing, partly probably due to the account of his ex wife who at the funeral: "quelled any notion that his death was other than intentional". She, whom he still had contact with, related how: "Gary had written and mailed notes to family members. His own cremation was paid for already." And she, Susan Bell, was named as beneficiary of all the bank accounts in his name.[7][8] She confirmed this version a year later in an The Independent interview in which she described the suicide in detail[9] and again years later in the Aljazeera documentary "Freeway: Crack in the System".[10]
Legacy
Mark Gorton credits Webb as one of the three people "who have most succinctly explained the workings of the Bush Crime Family".[11] His 1996 website, Dark Alliance was restored by Narco News and as of August 2016 was still available online.[12]
Quotes by Gary Webb
Page | Quote | Date | Source |
---|---|---|---|
Corporate media/Deep state control | “The reason I'd enjoyed such smooth sailing for so long hadn’t been, as I’d assumed, because I was careful and diligent and good at my job... The truth was that, in all those years, I hadn’t written anything important enough to suppress.” | The Greanville Post | |
Illegal drug trade | “the drug [cocaine] was carried across the border hidden in suitcases and shoes [but] as the industry grew, the cartels expanded and shipped by cargo ships, planes, stolen cars and trucks.” | Dark Alliance | |
Journalist | “If we had met five years ago, you wouldn't have found a more staunch defender of the newspaper industry than me ... I was winning awards, getting raises, lecturing college classes, appearing on TV shows, and judging journalism contests. So how could I possibly agree with people like Noam Chomsky and Ben Bagdikian, who were claiming the system didn't work, that it was steered by powerful special interests and corporations, and existed to protect the power elite? And then I wrote some stories that made me realize how sadly misplaced my bliss had been. The reason I'd enjoyed such smooth sailing for so long hadn't been, as I'd assumed, because I was careful and diligent and good at my job ... The truth was that, in all those years, I hadn't written anything important enough to suppress.” | ||
Journalist | “This story of CIA drug dealing became a sensation because of the website, not because of the story, but because people could get to it. And they could never have gotten to it before because the San Jose Mercury News is a small regional newspaper in Northern California that you couldn't read if you lived in New York or you couldn't read if you lived in L.A.. But this story you could read anywhere in the world.” | 2003 | Guerrilla News Network |
References
- ↑ http://narconews.com/darkalliance/drugs/start.htm
- ↑ Managing a Nightmare - How the CIA Watched Over the Destruction of Gary Webb - related CIA document
- ↑ https://www.unz.com/article/scarce-news-on-admiral-stearneys-death/
- ↑ Was Gary Webb 'Suicided' To Kill New Book? saved at Archive.is and Archive.org
- ↑ Evidence Begins To Indicate Gary Webb Was Murdered - audio recording saved at Archive.is
- ↑ The Warning in Gary Webb’s Death saved at Archive.is and Archive.org
- ↑ The Life and Times of Gary Webb other authors at the end: "In Memoriam: Gary Webb" all available via Archive.org | this article Archive.is Archive.org
- ↑ Gary Webb drew blood by Bill Conroy saved at Archive.is and Archive.org
- ↑ Susan Bell: a shameful secret history saved at Archive.is and Archive.org
- ↑ Freeway: Crack in the System saved at Archive.is and Archive.org
- ↑ Document:The Political Dominance of The Cabal, Mark Gorton
- ↑ http://www.narconews.com/darkalliance/