WEBVTT - Shadow Wars Blowback - B9

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<v Speaker 1>Murder in Miami is a production of Iheartram. In this

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<v Speaker 1>week's bonus episode, Leslie Bickerton lays out a case for

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<v Speaker 1>the complicated connections between the drug trade and the balance

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<v Speaker 1>of world power and unrest.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm recognizing more and more, Lauren, is this connection, this

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<v Speaker 2>web of connection, and it's intimately connected from what happened

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<v Speaker 2>forty two years ago, which involved directly not only the

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<v Speaker 2>drug smuggling and the CIA and the subcontractors, but also

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<v Speaker 2>Central America and South America, which also has a connection

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<v Speaker 2>at the same time with Afghanistan, so tracing it back

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<v Speaker 2>even with Vietnam. It's an ongoing scenario in one sense,

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<v Speaker 2>a greater insight into the Cold War that it has

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<v Speaker 2>never ended, it continues to this day. And so part

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<v Speaker 2>of this has to do with these alliances from the

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<v Speaker 2>Iran contract. Just that alone has been documented that the

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<v Speaker 2>CIA's direct involvement with an alliance with drug lords and

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<v Speaker 2>with ruthless dictators such as Samosa right from Nicaragua, which

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<v Speaker 2>we had been talking about, but the secret funding these

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<v Speaker 2>covert warfare, which then also the alliance with the Colombian cartels,

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<v Speaker 2>also the drug lords of Afghanistan, and the existence from

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<v Speaker 2>the Vietnam War is the heroin trade, right, the poppy trade,

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<v Speaker 2>the heroin trade, the catapulted to all of this from

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<v Speaker 2>Vietnam and Laos and the covert funding that was happening

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<v Speaker 2>back then. But that ties in both of the Columbian

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<v Speaker 2>cartels and to the heroin cartels that the CIA was

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<v Speaker 2>involved in with Afghanistan in fighting Russia. Of this is

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<v Speaker 2>documented starting back in nineteen seventy nine the National Security

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<v Speaker 2>Advisor to Carter. And again I say this as a disclaim.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not a Republican, I'm not a Democrat because I

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<v Speaker 2>know that somebody can say, well, you're this side of

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<v Speaker 2>that side. No, I'm telling you all of it. So

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<v Speaker 2>back in nineteen seventy nine, it was about getting back

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<v Speaker 2>at Russia. Revenge for the Russians involvement in the Vietnam

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<v Speaker 2>War was a motivating factor. And there's a quote from Brazinski,

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<v Speaker 2>who was the National Advisor quote, destabilizing Central Asia would

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<v Speaker 2>then bring Russia into Afghanistan. So then with that, how

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<v Speaker 2>do you fund any kind of a covert war? Right? Well,

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<v Speaker 2>you need arms. So how do you get arms, Well,

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<v Speaker 2>you have to pay for illegal arms shipments in the

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<v Speaker 2>way that you do that to the drug trade is

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<v Speaker 2>beyond a business. This is a commodity, just like oil is.

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<v Speaker 2>The war on druggs. And what has transpired is that

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<v Speaker 2>initially the first money came out of the Iran Contra,

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<v Speaker 2>the contras in Nicaragua. Five hundred million dollars was brought

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<v Speaker 2>into Afghanistan to start funding the so called Northern Alliance,

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<v Speaker 2>which has different elements to it. And I really want

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<v Speaker 2>to make this clear. It's really important because we always

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<v Speaker 2>hear about Musha Haddeen.

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<v Speaker 1>A quick aside, Musha Hadeen refers to members of various

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<v Speaker 1>gorilla groups operating in Afghanistan during the Afghan War, which

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<v Speaker 1>took place in nineteen seventy eight to nineteen ninety two

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<v Speaker 1>that opposed the invading Soviet forces and eventually toppled the

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<v Speaker 1>Afghan Communist government. Rival factions thereafter fell out amongst themselves,

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<v Speaker 1>precipitating the rise of the Taliban and their countering faction,

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<v Speaker 1>an Alliance.

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<v Speaker 2>But what they don't tell you is that the funding

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<v Speaker 2>came through go arm's length and this is how they

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<v Speaker 2>get around. Our country gets around no accountability or no

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<v Speaker 2>transparency and really complete impunity. Is that you fund, so

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<v Speaker 2>directly funding you fund through another country, and we were

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<v Speaker 2>funding even back then through Pakistan and Pakistan's military intelligence

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<v Speaker 2>who were also Islamic fundamentalists, and that money was going

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<v Speaker 2>to one of the most two of the most ruthless

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<v Speaker 2>drug lords in Afghanistan, the Hakani network and then Googluden Heckmeyer.

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<v Speaker 2>That goes back to nineteen seventy nine. How all of

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<v Speaker 2>this got started in this whole Cold War that's been ongoing.

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<v Speaker 2>And this brings us then to funding elements such as

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<v Speaker 2>these terrorist groups, the Taliban and the Kaida became exponentially

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<v Speaker 2>with all the billions of dollars that are government in

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<v Speaker 2>a CIA and the Department Offense, all the White House

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<v Speaker 2>had a direct involvement in funding some of the worst

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<v Speaker 2>people in the world and these terrorist groups that have

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<v Speaker 2>now become so powerful because they've got the arms. And

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<v Speaker 2>this has been in the works for over twenty years.

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<v Speaker 2>And this is something that I know that the American

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<v Speaker 2>public doesn't know about because it hasn't been told to

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<v Speaker 2>any of us. And as a result of this, this

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<v Speaker 2>is the blowback. Okay, what goes around comes around. It's

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<v Speaker 2>an anguish because Afghanistan was used as a pawn.

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<v Speaker 1>And Leslie links today's current crisis in Afghanistan to another

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<v Speaker 1>region covered in the podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>Back in Nicaraguan, Central America. Thea Saudis were involved with

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<v Speaker 2>illegal funding these wars in Central America and destabilizing countries

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<v Speaker 2>and full knowledge of Saudi's funding our war against Russia

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<v Speaker 2>in Afghanistan and destabilizing that entire area. Arabs were also

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<v Speaker 2>fighting back then in Afghanistan and what transpired out of

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<v Speaker 2>that is the horrific events that happen in our country

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<v Speaker 2>called nine to eleven. Those Arabs, the extreme groups never

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<v Speaker 2>went away. They never went away. They're there, They've always

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<v Speaker 2>been there. And the United Nations just came out with

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<v Speaker 2>a report November twenty twenty two resolution United Nations quote,

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<v Speaker 2>according to the latest statistics, the Taliban hosts more than

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<v Speaker 2>ten thousand foreign fighters including Arabs, Cheans, ISIS and al Qaeda,

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<v Speaker 2>which is increasing day by day. And based on the

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<v Speaker 2>United Nations reporting to twenty twenty one, the income from

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<v Speaker 2>drugs in the hands of the Taliban reach more than

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<v Speaker 2>two billion dollars and they say it's ninety seven percent

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<v Speaker 2>of the people in Afghanis Center now below the poverty rate,

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<v Speaker 2>and that doesn't even account for all the disappearances and

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<v Speaker 2>the genocide we've been told. I mean, I was raised

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<v Speaker 2>this way too, right, you know, we're the good guys, right,

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<v Speaker 2>we're saving the world from evil. In what has transpired

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<v Speaker 2>such a long period of time as sort of this

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<v Speaker 2>deadly combination of power and ego and greed and political

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<v Speaker 2>ambitions and economic ambitions on such a global scale, with

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<v Speaker 2>complete impunity and catastrophic results that are still ongoing.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's something that brings Leslie back forty two years.

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<v Speaker 2>The shadow wars, the subcontrast. So like people like Lamar

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<v Speaker 2>caught up in all of this. This has become such

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<v Speaker 2>a huge business. And you think of a black is

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<v Speaker 2>it Blackwater? And the in dyne core. And now there's

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<v Speaker 2>now this legal loophole that's been created called one two

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<v Speaker 2>seven E. Please look it up.

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<v Speaker 1>Among other things, United States Code one seven E permits

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<v Speaker 1>the Secretary of Defense to spend up to one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>million dollars per fiscal year in support of special operations

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<v Speaker 1>to combat terrorism.

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<v Speaker 2>What our country has been doing, besides covert activities, is funding, arming,

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<v Speaker 2>and training mercenaries. All of I call it mercenaries.

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<v Speaker 1>Which to Leslie presents the possibility of those efforts backfiring,

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<v Speaker 1>just as they did during her lone Star era.

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<v Speaker 2>It's really the tip of the iceberg. There's so many

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<v Speaker 2>elements with just the stories about drugs and guns and

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<v Speaker 2>foreign places right exotic islands, and spies, corrupt officials, this

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<v Speaker 2>whole web of deception and lies. But there's a lot

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<v Speaker 2>more to it, and it affects all of us. So

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<v Speaker 2>what has happened so many years ago, it's been ongoing

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<v Speaker 2>to the point where we really are on the brink

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<v Speaker 2>beyond what we can even imagine. Murder in Miami is

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<v Speaker 2>giving us a glimpse. But if you listen to it

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<v Speaker 2>much more carefully and follow through with Joseph Trento and

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<v Speaker 2>what Happy was saying about the drugs, et cetera, I

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<v Speaker 2>really think that this is it could be a wake

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<v Speaker 2>up call for all of us. There is this dark

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<v Speaker 2>side to human nature, unfortunately and to mankind. And then

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<v Speaker 2>the question becomes like a David and Goliath. It's all

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<v Speaker 2>connected at nine to eleven, the war and drugs, the

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<v Speaker 2>war and terrorist the Cold War. What do we do

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<v Speaker 2>about this? Telling the truth, getting trying to get the

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<v Speaker 2>truth out there? The American public has the right to know.

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<v Speaker 2>We have the right to know, and no matter how

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<v Speaker 2>comfortable it is and how much it hurts. We talked

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<v Speaker 2>about collateral damage, that there is this element out there,

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<v Speaker 2>even within our own government that's not easy for me

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<v Speaker 2>to say this, that we are Iris collateral damage from

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<v Speaker 2>Mars collateral damage, Afghanistana's collateral damage, Nicaragraa, and just Americans

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<v Speaker 2>as a whole, we're collateral damage. There's boback for all

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<v Speaker 2>of this, and awareness and education. The more that we

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<v Speaker 2>can be aware of it, and the more we can

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<v Speaker 2>educate ourselves about it, I think it's really important because

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<v Speaker 2>what kind of a legacy do we want to leave

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<v Speaker 2>in this world.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

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