Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 1 Num. 17

("Quid coniuratio est?")


MENA -- ONE MORE TIME
by Brian Francis Redman, Editor-in-chief, Conspiracy Nation Copyright (c) 1994 -- All rights reserved

I am grateful to one of the readers of "Conspiracy Nation" (CN) for sending me some clippings from the Wall Street Journal regarding the Mena, Arkansas matter.

Let me begin by saying that I am not a "fundamentalist," don't belong to the "religious right," and in fact have not seen the inside of a church for years. I have also never voted for a Republican and have actually always voted Democratic, except for the last election when I voted for Perot. So I have voted for McGovern, Carter, Mondale, Dukakis and should not be considered a right wing reactionary or whatever.

So this is by way of a preface. I have nothing against Clinton, except that he is an asshole.

I know we have all heard about Mena, Arkansas and the activities that were supposed to have gone on down there. (That is, unless you get your news from the television or from most newspapers, in which case you probably haven't heard a thing about it.) But let's just review the situation. Again, I am not part of a Republican plot against Clinton; I am not part of a Christian Fundamentalist plot against Clinton. Also, LaRouchies please note: I am not a British agent. I am just the everyday editor of a great metropolitan conspiracy column, trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

So to summarize, we have:
1) During the 1980s, a small airport outside of Mena, Arkansas was used by the CIA to illegally smuggle arms to the Contras down in Nicaragua. Nicaragua, for you sports fans, is a country in Central America. {1}.
2) After delivering weapons to the Contras, many of the pilots allegedly smuggled cocaine back into the U.S., back to Mena. According to Edward Jay Epstein, writing in the Wall Street Journal, "This led to the Mena complex being investigated in 1984 by the Arkansas State Police." {2}. But, obviously, for some reason, the investigation never reached full term. 3) A lot of money was flowing into Arkansas as a result of these activities. This money was laundered through local businesses and Arkansas banks. "This, in turn, led to an Internal Revenue Service investigation of the companies involved." {3}. 4) Guess who was the Governor of Arkansas while all this was going on? Why shucks! None other than that "young man in a hurry," Beeeel Cleeeenton.

What's that you say? "Why Brian, this is the first I've heard about this!" Don't feel bad. Most Americans who rely on television for their news are probably equally uninformed. "The original report on Whitewater by Jeff Gerth of the New York Times was ignored for many months. The Mena story probably will suffer the same fate..." write Bill Plante and Michael Singer of CBS. {4}.

At this point, I can't help but wonder: Why aren't we hearing more about this story? It's quite a shocker, the government selling cocaine to American school children to finance an illegal operation in Central America -- and with Beeeel Cleeeenton and Heeeely Cleeeenton in the vicinity. Did they know what was going on?

Did they know what was going on? Well Larry Nichols, longtime associate of the Clintons and then-employee of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority says that Mr. Slime, at least, knew what was going on: "Bill Clinton was involved with people who gave cocaine away to young girls. Bill Clinton was involved with people who were laundering drug money." {5}.

Did Bill Clinton allow the CIA to use his state as a "banana republic" in return for a portion of the money from cocaine smuggling and money laundering? Here are the ABC's: (A) A lot of money was coming into Arkansas as a result of this CIA operation; (B) It is alleged by several persons involved with the operation that Bill Clinton made sure that Arkansas law enforcement personnel "looked the other way"; (C) So one hand washes the other -- Arkansas, Arkansas bankers, and Arkansas businessmen get large cash infusions during the 1980s and in return, Clinton's troopers, etc. don't get too nosy about what all those planes are doing at Mena late at night.

As Bill Duncan, a former IRS investigator, put it: Yes, corruption is involved. Yes, a cover-up has taken place. {6}.

So maybe you think Clinton is innocent. But the real question is, why isn't there a real investigation going on? Even more than that, why are so many Americans uninformed about these shocking, plausible and corroborated charges? It is alleged by many knowledgable persons, including former insiders, that Bill Clinton permitted and benefited from the smuggling of millions of dollars worth of cocaine into the United States. That is quite a story. Why haven't we heard about it?

--------------------------<< Notes >>---------------------------- {1} "On the Mena Trail" by Edward Jay Epstein. Wall Street Journal. Sorry, date and page unavailable. {2} Ibid.
{3} Ibid.
{4} "Still a Strong Scent on the Mena Trail," by Bill Plante and Michael Singer, CBS News. Wall Street Journal, Letters to the Editor. Sorry, date and page unavailable. {5} "The Truth Will Set Us Free," by Larry Nichols. For The People News Reporter, May 30, 1994, p. 13. {6} "Mena Airport: Arkansas' Contra Connection?" 700 Club Fact Sheet.


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