Are You Sitting Down?

Sometimes things are simpler than they might appear - and they involve envelopes of cash.

–Daniel Ellsberg

For those who know a good bit about the blockbuster dirty secrets of Bush, Reagan and Iran-Contra, connections between drug-smuggling, arms dealing/smuggling and various Western intelligence services will come as no surprise. But then there's Sibel Edmonds, who can (apparently) link widespread congressional bribery by foreign interests like Turkey to: Dennis Hastert, the Perlowitz Neocon Allstars, Afghan heroin, the European heroin market, Al Qaeda, Brewster Jennings (Valerie Plame's cover), Israel, AQ Kahn's bomb and other arms trading. This is The Big One that the FBI had gone quite a ways investigating (including documents and wiretaps) and was handing over to DoJ when Johnny "Spank Me, I Love Authori-tie" Ashcroft quashed it. These interviews with Larisa Alexandrovna and Daniel Ellsberg make it pretty clear that this story is one of the biggest out there in an era where you can throw a rock and hit a ginormous story--so, you know, don't expect to read it in the New York Times.

NOTE: If you haven't heard of "The Octopus," google it and read the Spy magazine article from several years ago. Whenever I hear about international organized crime (which Sibel Edmonds explicitly mentions) connected with the Military Industrial Complex and Western intelligence services, I think of it. The most disturbing thing is perhaps the extent to which such criminal enterprise drives foreign policy and influences government. For a taste, read Robert Parry's many articles on Bush, drug smuggling, the October Surprise and other tasty treats. (Scroll down and follow the links on the left-hand sidebar.)