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Show easiest way to 8et a reputation "'e around u "OM' is go outside the fold, for a few years as a violent atheist or a ous radical, and then crawl back Fitzgerald to the shelter. " danger- F. Scott (1896-1940- ). The Daily Herald Tuesday, September 24, 1996 CIA not the only suspect in crack investigation From THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE WASHINGTON Did the CIA, in its zeal to help the Nicaraguan contras, help introduce crack cocaine into American cities in the 1980s? A preliminary investigation says no, according to CIA Director John M. Deutch. Yet he assures an alarmed and angry Congressional Black Caucus that his agency will investigate the charges, anyway. This could be the start of something said big. Rep. Donald M. Payne, Deutch's "willingness and openness seem to be pointing in the right direction." But the caucus should not be satisfied with a i once-ove- r by the CIA's inspector general, lit is not unreasonable for the caucus to Ihold out for its original request, a congressional investigation. J After all, if the current Congress can pursue the pillow talk of former Clinton political adviser Dick Morris, surely it can pursue just as doggedly the No. 1 scourge ;of urban American streets in the 1980s, a scourge that continues to take lives, most-- ', lly young ones. For years, black communities have ' been rife with rumors of government-con-.necte- d plots to poison black America with :;"drugs. Without specific facts or named names, the rumors sounded like mindless :; paranoia or irresponsible dodging of personal responsibility. Now, an investigative series in the San :Uose Mercury News titled "Dark ; I Alliances" provides disclosures too disturbing to be ignored. According to the series, Nicaraguans in California who ; were affiliated with the Fuerza Democrat-- ; better known to AmerJ ica Nicaraguense, as the raised money for the contras, icans ;ontras by opening up the first conduit between Colombia's cocaine cartels and "Los Angeles black neighborhoods. While Nancy Reagan was chanting "Just Say No" in Washington, her husband's beloved contras may have been profiting from cocaine sold at wholesale prices to members of the notorious Los Angeles Crips and Bloods street gangs, touching off drug wars that spread nationwide. The "Johnny Appleseed" of crack in California, according to Mercury News reporter Gary Webb, the author of the series, is Oscar Danilo Blandon Reyes, who has a master's degree in marketing and was one of the contras' top civilian leaders in California. Blandon testified in court that he began ; Los dealing cocaine in South-CentrAngeles in 1982 to raise money for the full-jfledg- al C "5 contras, which were trying to unseat Nicaragua's new socialist Sandinista government. Soon Blandon helped make Ricky "Freeway Rick" Ross, a black teen who had the gang connections necessary to move massive amounts of drugs, into the city's premier crack wholesaler, according to court testimony reported by the newspaper. Blandon has testified that Col. Enrique Bermudez, the FDN's military head who also was on the CIA payroll, was aware of GommsnSgyy the deal. After the CIA was able to channel taxpayers' money to the contras in the early '80s, Blandon stayed in the drug racket to line his own pockets, the newspaper reported. The CIA charter prohibits it from undertaking operations within the United States. The Mercury News reports pointed to possible violations of that charter. For that reason alone, Congress should take the reports seriously. Even during the height of the Cold War, few Americans of good conscience were comfortable with the unholy alliances the CIA sometimes made with thugs and thieves overseas. How comfortable can we be with the possibility of alliances made with drug dealers here at home? But th cloud of suspicion does not end with the CIA. The Drug Enforcement Administration may have helped protect Blandon from incarceration in order to catch smaller and, it turns out, blacker fish. After spending two years in custody on cocaine distribution charges, Blandon suddenly was released on unsupervised probation. According to secret Justice Department memos obtained by the Mercury News, Blandon had become more valuable as a DEA informant to set up a sting to snare the dealer he had supplied. Freeway Rick Ross. Ross was snared and sentenced in 1990 to a mandatory 10 years for drug dealing. So much for the promises that the "war on drugs" would diligently pursue ding "kingpins." In this case, at least, the government seemed to care more about a little kingpin than a big kingpin. Just as paranoids destroy their own credibility when they cry "wolf" too much, the empowered destroy their own credibility when they no longer bother to listen. pw.. set how rrputfl N flUTlUX, TbTHtraJMTTD WHERE COIN eerwwac. No need for showdown between U.S. and Iraq From THE ORLANDO SENTINEL Now that tensions have eased in the Persian Gulf, there's an opportunity to the situation. President Clinton says he's not seeking a showdow n with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. There's no need now. Iraq isn't threatening United States pilots. Hussein seems more cooperative. Of course, Iraq's real intentions never are evident. Hussein is always testing, pushing, searching for a reaction. Being reactive, though, doesn't constitute a prudent foreign policy for the United States. This country has pursued stability and security as its worthwhile goals in the Persian Gulf. That includes helping governments that are friendly to the United States, maintaining access to the region's petroleum supply and ensuring Iraq's compliance with United Nations resolutions. Clinton should pursue those objectives decisively, not base his decisions on what Iraq does. After all, the United States and its allies won the Persian Gulf War. It's up to Iraq to comply or face the consequences. Clinton's decision Tuesday to dispatch several thousand additional U.S. troops to Kuwait for military exercises made sense. That gesture was along the lines of President Bush's actions during the war. Iraq was given ample warning. When that advice wasn't heeded, the ObGCiuc!?Dn United States and its allies went to work militarily until they felt that the job had been done. Clinton sent Baghdad a clear signal recently by ordering cruise missile attacks in Iraq to staunch Hussein's belligerence. The president shouldn't shy from further decisive steps. The last attacks appear to have convinced Hussein that U.S. resolve remains strong. Even the allied commitment which some critics thought was undermined by the strikes appears intact actions by some nations have differed from their public comments. France, for example, expressed concern over the attacks but announced this week that it had allowed U.S. warplanes to fly over French territory. Gulf nations and others interested in the region's stability know that it's best to keep Iraq bottled up. The Clinton administration should stay the course. Behind-the-scen- 91798 I.ntfnffn wninii iwiiiwiiiini II wwiiiiih iimmf iiiiwubmiwhw Reject Clinton, Utahns Bill Clinton and Hey Utah the extremist Democrats so your entire state can be taken away from you for the benefit of illegal aliens. Yes, if your state is turned into a national park, the extremist Democrats can get them jobs there selling trinkets and other stuff. Also, the extremist Democrats can raise your taxes to help pay for benefits "needed" by illegal aliens who are here unlawfully. If you just read the Constitution, I'm sure it's in there for the extremist Democrats and Clinton to do. If you think otherwise, then reject the extremist Democrats and Clinton this November. Don Schwarz Stoughton, Mass. ct Who can you trust? hhimhiiiiiiimiiiiiiiihiihiii iiiiwhi mi annwiiMii iiiiiiiinimiiiwwiiiiii be "independent," but he sounds like he has been converted to the liberal side. The voters of Utah's 3rd Congressional district have been taken for a ride and the wool completely pulled over their eyes, but this time he's lost my vote. Let me explain: Anyone who wants to track the voting record of members of Congress can do so by one that has the just visiting the library a Congressional Quarterly, Washington publication that reports the activities of Congress. I was prompted to check on Orion's record when I learned he was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention committed to Bill Orton. I was angry when I found out that Bill Orton has voted with Bill Clinton approximately 70 percent of the time this year. Bill, you were doing a pretty good job of telling us what we wanted to hear, but being a delegate for an unethical and immoral man was "the straw that broke the camel's back." Les Holman Orem The current political campaign, as any other, is about trust. Whom should we trust to lead us into the twentieth century? Trust, of course, is based on good character, but I think it's disgusting that candidate ironically in this campaign, character is not Cannon would invite a member of Chris perceived as being an issue. Very strange. When Clinton ignored the feelings of Congress to Utah to campaign for him who Utahns in setting aside a national monument, used his leadership position in the House he revealed how he treats little guys who get to try to gut two programs important to in his way. When he covered up his intent to families and small businesses in Utah. Maybe the people who attended the make the monument by saying that no action was immanent and years of study would be fund raiser for Cannon and Congressman Dick Armey are so rich they don't have to required before a decision could be made, he worry about buying a home or keeping a revealed his deceptive character. small business running. When he, who works to deceive, invitArmey worked over the last two years to ed former Utah officials rather than preeliminate FHA housing funding for Utah sent ones (including his own democratic families. If you are one of the thousands representative), to his official announceand thousands of Utah families who it he made seem the that world to ment, he'd obtained official support of Utahns. depend on FHA financing for your home or Once again, in making what was not true have children that will need it in the future, seem to be true, he revealed himself to be you ought to be as baffled as I am that Cana man for whom getting and using power non would associate himself with someone trying to kill a program responsible for 70 was mere important than integrity. percent of the mortgages in Utah. So, when Orton claims that he's obtained The same goes for the Small Business concessions from Clinton on the final version of the proposal, how does he know? All Administration which Armey has targeted for closure and elimination. The SBA prohe has to go on is the word of the man who's vides $150 million a year in loans to small shown that his word cannot be trusted in our state. While Congressbusinesses Those who approve Clinton's action Orton man fights to keep the SBA open, because of their environmental interests should be nervous about how he did it And Cannon picks the leader of plans to close Americans who feel this is small potatoes, the program as his mentor. Marie VanWagenen that Utahns will get over their hurt, should Provo quake in their shoes to see how the man they All his trust handles Americans should trust be reminded: "No state is an island." Issues will change but not the character Thank you Bill Orton. We in the third of the man who guides our ship of state. district would like to He's shown himself to be willing to make congressional hasty judgments, override those whose express the way we feel about the job that interests conflict with his own, and you are doing. Thank you for the way that the head of deceive interested parties in the process. This is not, as Redford claimed, an examyour president and the head of your party ple of "basic democracy" at work, but stole the land of the people of Utah. Thank rather an example of "basic Clinton." you for the lack of warning that you gave Keith H. Meservy us. Thank you for your insignificant influProvo ence with your lying president in protecting the interests of the people of your district Thank you for the seven paltry scraps Our Congressman Bill Orton claims to of concessions that your efforts produced. Bad choice, Cannon Thanks for nothing The last straw Thank you for reminding us that we need to elect you to ensure that those scraps are carried out, since we (and apparently you) know that the word of your president is meaningless. Thank you for the many people who will likely lose their homes and all that they have worked for now that they can no longer work on their land. Thank you for your kowtowing to the Eastern liberal establishment. d "now yes" Thank you for your "now no" voting in the House of Representatives. Thank you for proposing nothing of significance that passed either the House or Senate. Thank you for supporting your socialistic president in his efforts to thwart any meaningful reform. Thank you for your "maverick" willingness to resist the express desire of your district in your voting. Thank you for your membership in and support of the big taxing, big spending, freedom killing, autocratic, elitist, democratic party. In essence Mr. Orton; Thank you for your wishy washy, ineffective, lukewarm, representation of the third district. It is my most sincere wish that the voters of our district will express their thanks in November by giving your job to someone who actually holds dear the values which you will only espouse in order to be elected. Sam Primavera Provo two-face- n, family-destroyi- know-nothin- g, Thoughtful residents recently attended the Mt. Timpano-go- s Temple open house and I wanted to compliment the residents living on the numerous routes to Temple for their beautiful flowers and well groomed yards. The curb appeal of these houses was very much appreciated. These residents are a good example for the entire city of American Fork and Utah Valley. They added to the pleasure of the opportunity of attending the open house. B. Hansen Orem I Letters Policy The Daily Herald welcomes letters to the editor. Please address them to: Editor, The Daily Herald, P.O. Box 717, FAX (801) Provo, in 84603-071- your problem editlitsnet.com. il: Letters must be signed and include the writers full name, address and daytime telephone number for verifi-cati- c i. Preference is given to letters that are typed, and shorter than 400 words in length. Letters submitted on computer disk are double-space- d welcome. Letters may be subject to editing for length or clarity. Letters that are too long, unsigned, illegible, obscene or libelous will not be published. BY GARRY TRUDEAU ANDStNCBYOWRB sir, ts AI&AFYA5 600PA5 A Fzatampeopis HZR3UXX.WW& PR59IPENT6BTSRS--' UCTEP,KBEAM& f4 373-548- 9. 7. Doonesbury THAT AS SOON AS . " i iiiiwiiiwrriaiTiiiwTiTTnfinTriTTTiriiMr-iiTT- ThNXTEtfCIIONCta3. -- H fX?BUTG0RZ5lH5S0N STILL AVICd WP&SPENTf 7 1 j TRACKSntm J HES6C7T U OKAY, WHAT THATCOULP IFISTARJEP HBIP.YOUV T0BLOUJ7H3 election? THAT MEANS lOOOOOOQPOOOOOt j V 6ETTHE FOCUS BACK. 5J I |