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Dark Alliance
- The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion
- Narrated by: Christian Rummel
- Length: 20 hrs and 28 mins
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Dark Alliance
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Summary
In July 1995, San Jose Mercury-News reporter Gary Webb found the Big One - the blockbuster story every journalist secretly dreams about - without even looking for it. A simple phone call concerning an unexceptional pending drug trial turned into a massive conspiracy involving the Nicaraguan Contra rebels, L.A. and Bay Area crack cocaine dealers, and the Central Intelligence Agency. For several years during the 1980s, Webb discovered, Contra elements shuttled thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States, with the profits going toward the funding of Contra rebels attempting a counterrevolution in their Nicaraguan homeland. Even more chilling, Webb quickly realized, was that the massive drug-dealing operation had the implicit approval - and occasional outright support - of the CIA, the very organization entrusted to prevent illegal drugs from being brought into the United States.
Within the this audiobook version of Dark Alliance, Webb produces a massive amount of evidence that suggests that such a scenario did take place, and more disturbing evidence that the powers that be that allowed such an alliance are still determined to ruthlessly guard their secrets. Webb's research is impeccable - names, dates, places, and dollar amounts gather and mount with every page, eventually building a towering wall of evidence in support of his theories.
After the original series of articles ran in the Mercury-News in late 1996, both Webb and his paper were so severely criticized by political commentators, government officials, and other members of the press that his own newspaper decided it best not to stand behind the series, in effect apologizing for the assertions and disavowing his work. Webb quit the paper in disgust in November 1997. This audiobook serves as both a complex memoir of the time of the Contras and an indictment of the current state of America's press; Dark Alliance is as necessary and valuable as it is horrifying and grim.
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Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- RMDW
- 22-08-20
The truth behind the conspiracy theories
If you are interested in the crack conspiracy this is the book you should get it lays out the compelling facts behind this theory. While also, presenting the history of this period plainly and removing the shroud of misinformation and mystery and lays the truth bare.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lebz
- 24-09-22
Excellent Book
I’m very much a conspiracy nut, so this book was right up my alley. The problem with conspiracy theorists is that so many ‘conspiracies’ have turned out actually be true, case in point with the subject matter in this book.
I had listened to a few interviews that Freeway Rick had done, and he drops the contras in them a little bit but I always though he was making excuses for his bad decisions. Coke to find out not only was it all try, but there’s reason to believe they were set up to fail from the get go.
This is a must read (or listen) for anyone wanting to know the truth behind the West Coast crack epidemic, the CIA, the contras and how they’re all connected.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. Mark Davies
- 30-05-18
Shocking Revelations RIP Gary Webb. Truth will out
Well worth the wait. Gary delivers deadpan lines, after a wealth of facts and documents to prove them, lines like, US flew Nicaraguan cocaine on US transport planes into the US. Then via their paid agents including Danilo Blandon, sold massive amounts of cocaine to Rickie Ross, undercutting other suppliers. Whilst in the White House and the Senate they were raising the penalties for crack up to 100 times that for cocaine. Thus simultaneously flooding communities with cheap crack and locking up people on 10 years plus sentences. These people became the modern day slaves, where convicts in the US are exempt from 13th Amendment. Later when Rickie Ross was released Danilo was used to entrap Rickie and he was locked up for life without parole under the three strikes law. So many layers to this story, revealing the corruption at the highest levels of Government.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jack Birch
- 21-04-22
World class. Gary Webb is a hero!
World class journalism & narrated brilliantly. Known about this book for a few years now & I'm really glad I listened to it rather than reading it. Gary Webb was found with 2 gunshot wounds to the head & it was ruled as a suicide.. Somehow I highly doubt this author topped himself... Expose the CIA & you end up dead..
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mike
- 21-10-18
awesome insight
really enjoyed the book that helps flesh out events in the 80s that were not well reported by some mainstream journos
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- James Garnier
- 14-02-22
epic
it was an amazing listen, loved it was gutted once it finished. RIP GARY WEBB
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
- James senior
- 14-06-22
superb
if only it was unbelievable. shocking. no surprise trump was elected. corupt beyond belief.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nick Anderson
- 17-10-17
exceptional read
brilliantly told tale of Government led corruption. an embarrassing set of facts that show crack epidemics is L.A. are the result of CIA backed programmes.... but never mind, at least the USA prison systems are full so fat cats are happy and rich.... shame on you CIA
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Benjamin
- 20-05-14
Not what I was expecting
Would you try another book written by Gary Webb or narrated by Christian Rummel?
Narration was fantastic!
I was expecting more of a story. Less of a statement
Was Dark Alliance worth the listening time?
After about an hour the listening became easier. Once I had become more accustomed to the bombardment of facts.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Cameron
- 25-10-22
Very interesting well worth the read/ listen
The story is really interesting and I definitely learned quite a lot from this. The only issue I have is that there is quite a lot of moving parts and lots of different people involved in the story but I guess that can’t be avoided considering the story itself and how twisted all the connecting characters are and how the work together. So genuinely worth the time to learn about it all just be prepared to maybe lose track of names and who people exactly are again but it’s not that bad you’ll feel completely lost you just sometimes have to think a bit harder to make sure you’re still following
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