Gary Webb

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Person.png Gary Webb   Amazon Sourcewatch WikiquoteRdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(journalist, CIA/Drug trafficking/Premature death)
GaryWebb.jpg
c. 2002
BornGary Stephen Webb
August 31, 1955
Corona, California
DiedDecember 10, 2004 (Age 49)
Carmichael, California, U.S.
Cause of death
Two gunshots to the head
Alma materNorthern Kentucky University
Children3
SpouseSusan Bell
ExposedCIA/Drug trafficking
Victim ofpremature death
Interest ofBill 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

Dark Alliance

Full article: Stub class 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.

Death

Gary Webb died of 2 gunshot wounds to the head in December 10, 2004. It was ruled a suicide due to depression.

Legacy

His Dark Alliance website exposed the CIA's involvement in the crack cocaine business.

Mark Gorton credits Webb as one of the three people "who have most succinctly explained the workings of the Bush Crime Family".[2] His 1996 website, Dark Alliance was restored by Narco News and as of August 2016 was still available online.[3]

 

Quotes by Gary Webb

PageQuoteDateSource
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.”2003Guerrilla News Network
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References