Terry Reed
 Terry Reed  (soldier, spook, pilot, businessman, whistleblower, filmmaker) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Children | 3 |
| Spouse | Janis Kerr Reed |
| Exposed | Mena |
| Member of | Task Force Alpha |
Terry Reed is/was a former-CIA spook who by his own account was used to train Nicaraguan pilots in Iran Contra, then was involved in production of shipping weapons to them, but claimed originally not to have known about the trafficking of cocaine back to USA. In 1994 he published a best-selling book, Compromised: Clinton, Bush and the CIA and in 1995 produced a film, The Mena Connection, which were both exposes based on his experience working for The Enterprise.
Contents
Career
He fought for eight years in the Vietnam War,[1] and was chosen as a member of Task Force Alpha, which he described as "the deniable link between authorized military operations and the unauthorized activities of the Central Intelligence Agency". He set up and ran a machine tools front company in USA, then in Mexico for the CIA, connected to production of weapons without serial numbers for distribution to the Contras in Nicaragua.
Iran-Contra
- Full article: “Iran-Contra”
- Full article: “Iran-Contra”
Terry Reed was recruited into Iran-Contra by Oliver North (operating under the alias of 'John Cathey') in 1982. His initial brief was to help raise money and secure airplanes for the Nicaraguan Contras. Later, Reed trained Nicaraguan pilots at a rural airstrip at Nella, Arkansas and was relocated to Mexico where he became involved in manufacturing weapon parts without serial numbers to be sent to Nicaragua.[1]
Drug trafficking
When he discovered that his warehouse was being used for the transshipment of tonnes of cocaine to Mena, Arkansas, he decided to quit.
Life as a fugitive
In The Mena Connection he tells how he and his wife then spent about 6 months on the run after his handlers accused him of drug trafficking and claimed that he and his wife were both armed and dangerous. Later they spent 2.5 years going through the US justice system before both being found innocent.
Whistleblowing
Terry Reed co-authored the 1994 Compromised: Clinton, Bush and the CIA with John Cummings, which Mark Gorton references,[2]
In 1995 he created the 2 hour 20 minute film, The Mena Connection which was adapted for radio by Unwelcome Guests.[3][4]
Lawsuit
The Reeds filed a civil rights lawsuit in July 1991.
In 1996 he and his wife, Janis Kerr Reed brought a lawsuit against Raymond Young, Tommy L. Baker, Donald Sanders & other unknown parties in connection with the Reed's persecution by the US justice system. He withdrew it after U.S. District Judge George Howard Jr. of Arkansas (who was appointed by Bill Clinton) ruled that the Reeds could not introduce any evidence in their civil suit relating to Terry Reed's missions with the FBI, the CIA, Bill Clinton, the international drug trafficker Barry Seal or Dan Lasater, a Clinton associate convicted on drug charges, since he claimed that their evidence "was based on conjecture, speculation and coincidence" and not on "a factual foundation."
Reed claimed that Howard in the past "condoned" our efforts and then, for unexplained reasons, "decided to protect these scoundrels (Baker and Young) ... In recent months, Judge Howard has gutted our lawsuit and in the process has exposed the strings to which he is attached - strings that are obviously being pulled from Washington, and more significantly, from the White House."[1]
