Friend of the show Hugo Turner joined me this week to discuss Elliot Abrams and his legacy in Central America and role in the Iran-Contra affair. We began by discussing the roots of Iran-Contra and why it is still largely ignored by the media. Hugo discussed the origins of the affair going all the way back to the October Surprise in 1980. We talked about the other events that opened the door into Iran-Contra including the attempted assassination of Contra leader Eden Pastora in Costa Rica. Hugo and I then explored Abrams role in Iran-Contra itself. We also discussed Abrams role in covering up war crimes in El Salvador like the El Motoze massacre. Later Hugo and I talked about the genocide in Guatemala which Abrams helped facilitate. We also discussed the complex web of people and groups involved in drug trafficking, terrorism, death squads, and the suppression of the poor. We closed out the conversation by looking at the parallels between the 1980’s and the current political environment. We used the current situations in Venezuela and Haiti as examples.
Hugo Turner of Anti-Imperialist-U for an in depth discussion of Ted Shackley and his infamous career in the CIA. We focus on Hugo’s articles chronicling Ted Shackley as well as the Iran Contra Scandal. We begin by taking a look at Shackley’s beginnings in military intelligence recruiting Nazi’s, and his later recruitment into the CIA during the Korean War. Hugo paints us a picture of the man that Shackley would become: obsessively driven and cutthroat. We touch on some of Shackley’s early mentors such as William Harvey who introduced Shackley to the Cuban exile committee. Hugo explains what Shackley was up to in Miami while Station Cheif there as well as his possible connection to the JFK assassination. Next we move onto Laos where Shackley would truly come into his own. We explore Shackley’s role in the Laotian heroin trade and his use of the Hmong people as a CIA mercenary force. Hugo explains how this would later become the blue print for CIA operations in places like Afghanistan and Libya. We also discuss Shackley’s time as Station Chief in Vietnam.
Next we talk about Shackley’s role in the overthrow of Chilean leader Allende and the installation of the fascist Pinochet. We then explore how Shackley would come to befriend George H W Bush, and being a long time collaboration with the deep cover CIA agent. Hugo and I also touch on some of the forgotten scandals of the past that Shackley was involved with including EASTCO and the Nugan Hand Bank. Hugo also explains how Shackley was a trend setter in the field of private intelligence by talking about his work with the powerful Safari Club. We finish off the conversation by looking at Shackley’s role in Iran Contra and the War on Drugs as a whole. Hugo also discusses WACL and the major role it continues to play in covert operations. We briefly talk about the TV show Narco’s and what it gets completely wrong. We round out by talking about Trump and the CIA speech he gave and what might be in-store for future CIA operations.
On this episode we talked with Casey Gane-McCalla all about his new book Inside the CIA’s Secret War in Jamaica. We began with an overview of the geopolitcal situation Jamaica found itself in during the Cold-War. Casey explained how the Caribbean nation was one of the premier battle grounds for US imperialism throughout the 1970’s-1980’s. Casey breaks down how the two dominant political parties, the Jamaican Labour Party, headed by Edward Seaga and backed by the CIA, and the People’s National Party, headed by Michael Manley and aligned with Cuba, fought a bloody struggle for dominance. We then discussed the CIA’s use of anti-Castro Cuban terrorists and economic warfare to destabilize the country. We also touched on the racial politics which dominate Jamaica to this day.
Later we moved on to the introduction of cocaine and arms trafficking into Jamaica. Casey explained how, with the help of the CIA, Edward Seaga was able to build up his own well-armed drug-dealing militia, The Shower Posse. We explored how gangs in Jamaica are fully integrated into the Jamaican political system. Casey also talked about the links between Iran-Contra and Jamaica. We also discussed Jeb Bush’s deep connections to the Jamaican drug trade and right-wing Cuban terrorists.
We finished off the conversation by looking at the 2010 Tivoli Gardens Incursion which resulted in the eventual extradition of Shower Posse leader, Christopher “Dudus” Coke. Casey and I talked about the reasons that the CIA may have turned on their asset in the island nation. We also examined the larger issue of Drug War as it effects us as a society today.
We closed out by briefly discussing Casey’s next project, a book dealing with The Boston Bombing and the brutal murder of Casey’s friend, Erik Weissman, by Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
Today I am joined by Pearse Redmond of PorkinsPolicyReview.com and one of the hosts of the BFP roundtable. We expand on the last two episodes, responding to some listeners comments, in particular explaining our views of the Oded Yinon plan for a ‘greater Israel’ and the persistent but false rumour that Shin Bet were secretly behind the Entebbe hijacking. Our discussion also explores how Israel is a magnet for people’s attention and hostility not just in the Middle East but all across the world, and how this is likely a deliberate consequence of NATO’s policy of creating and supporting the Israeli state.
Porkins Policy Review 