Colonel Bo Gritz Addressing the American Liberty Lunch Club: What I want to tell you very quickly is something that I feel is more heinous than the Bataan death march. Certainly it is of more concern to you as Americans than the Watergate. What I'm talking about is something we found out in Burma - May 1987. We found it out from a man named Khun Sa. He is the recognized overlord of heroin in the world. Last year he sent 900 tons of opiates and heroin into the free world. This year it will be 1200 tons. (video showing discussion at Khun Sa's headquarters -- some translation of Burmese to English going on..Bo Gritz still talking to Lunch club in the foreground) On video tape he said to us something that was most astounding: that US government officials have been and are now his biggest customers, and have been for the last twenty years. I wouldn't believe him. We fought a war in Laos and Cambodia even as we fought whatever it was in Vietnam. The point is that there are as many bomb holes in those two other countries as there are in Vietnam. Five hundred and fifty plus Americans were lost in Laos. Not one of them ever came home. We heard a president say, "The war is over, we are out with honor - all of the prisoners are home." and a few other lies. Now we got rid of that president, but we didn't get rid of the problem. We ran the war in Laos and Cambodia through drugs. The money that would not be appropriated by a liberal congress, was appropriated. And you know who we used for distribution? Santos Trafficante, old friend of the CIA and mobster out of Cuba and Florida. We lost the war! Fifty-eight-thousand Americans were killed. Seventy-thousand became drug casualties. In the sixties and seventies you saw an infusion of drugs into America like never was before. Where do you think the Mafia takes the heroin and opiates that it gets through its arrangement with the US government? It doesn't distribute them in Africa or Europe. This is the big money bag here. We're Daddy Warbucks for them. So I submit to you that the CIA has been pressed for solutions. Each time they have gone to the sewer to find it. And you cant smell like a rose when you've been playing in the cesspool. We've been embracing organized crime. Now you've all looked and heard about Ollie North, about the Contras, about nobody knowing anything. (cut to part of Iran Contra hearings with Ollie North explaining the flow of funds from Iran to the Contras) North: And Mr. Gorbanifar suggested several incentives to make that February transaction work. And the attractive incentive for me was the one he made that residuals could flow to support the Nicaraguan resistance. Legislator: Even Gorbanifar knew that you were supporting the Contras. North: Yes he did. Isvestia knew it. The name had been in the papers in Moscow. It had been all over Danny Ortega's newscasts. Radio Havana was broadcasting it. It had been in every newspaper in the land. Legislator: All our enemies knew it and you wanted to keep it from the United States Congress. North: We wanted to be able to deny a covert operation. (back to Bo at the Luncheon Club) We have a constitution that says that the laws will be made by the Congress, enforced by the executive branch, interpreted by the judicial branch. But in reality we have an executive branch that has for more than a twenty years operated in what what Ollie North called a parallel government. When the Congress says no, it makes no difference. They're gonna do it anyway. And it is special intelligence - top secret. Why? Not because the communists don't know what were doing, its to keep it a secret from you. You're not capable of making those kinds of decisions according to those in parallel government. The reason I know ... I was there. I've been a product of parallel government myself. (Narrator) Lieutenant Colonel James 'Bo' Gritz is the most decorated Green Beret commander of the Vietnam Era. General William Westmoreland, in writing his memoirs, singled out Bo Gritz as the "American Soldier" for his exemplary courage in combat and outstanding ingenuity in recovering a highly secret black-box the Viet-Cong had taken from a crashed U2 spy plane. The feature films "Rambo", "Uncommon Valor" and "Missing in Action" were based in part upon his real-life military experiences. (Back to Bo) Dick Secord, General, United States Air Force, a man I know well, said it best. Before the senate investigating committee Dick Secord was asked - if we were supporting the Contras, why were we selling them arms bought from a communist block nation at exorbitant profit rates. (skip to scene from hearings) Senator: If the purpose of the enterprise was to help the contras, why did you charge Colero a mark-up? Secord: We were in business to make a living, Senator. We had to make a living. I didn't see anything wrong with it at the time. It was a commercial enterprise. Senator: Oh..I thought the purpose of the enterprise was to aid Colero's cause. Secord: Can't I have two purposes? I did. Senator: Oh..allright. (back to Bo) And then Dick Secord said in his playboy interview: "I think I deserve the eight million that we made from the Iran arms sale for all the hard work I did." If you've got to pay a patriot, you've got the wrong guy. (applause from audience) These are patriots for profit. There has been a guise of patriotism that a lot of people have been hiding behind. War is their business. Business has been good. (fade to shots of the Vietnam 'conflict' - Narrator takes over again) Bo Gritz risked his life a thousand times in combat in Vietnam before he was sent by a national security council staffer Tom Harvey in the White House to Burma in November of 1986 in search of American prisoners of war. He discovered instead a heroin highway and a nation betrayed by high level American officials involved in narcotics trafficking. Tom Harvey and his superiors in the White House were not pleased with Bo's report. (fade to scene of Bo - now with beard in a field obviously somewhere in Southeast Asia - palm trees and oxen indigenous to the area abound - I assume its in either Burma or Thailand) The thing that I was most concerned about was - and I thought was fantastic - was the general's offer to stop the flow of opium and heroin into the free world. When I asked him (assume he's talking about a conversation with Tom Harvey now) he said "that's fantastic". There was a pause, then he said, "Bo, there's no one here that supports that." And I said, "What?! Vice-President Bush has been appointed by president Reagan as the Number One policeman to control drug entry into the United States. How can you say there's no interest and no support when we bring back a video tape with a direct interview with a man who puts 900 tons of opium and heroin across into the free world every year and is willing to stop it?" And he said, "Bo, what can I tell you? All I can tell you is there is no interest in doing that here." Well that made me wonder. Thats because it doesn't sound American and it doesn't sound right. Thats when we began to do our own investigation because for about three years people had told me, both in Washington DC and, interestingly enough, in Oklahoma city that the whole POW situation was being undermined by US government officials involved in drug trafficking. I wouldn't believe it. I said, "You guys aren't playing with a full deck... you've got yourselves strung out too thin." And they said, "Bo, you better listen, because for three years we've had prisoners literally within our grasp and something has happened at the last minute." (I said), "Each time I've made every effort to cooperate with government officials. I can't believe that people in the US government would actually, either overtly or covertly, do anything to undermine a rescue operation. " Well, we're still without Prisoners of War and there is no interest, we're told at the White House, in stopping the flow of drugs coming in from the Golden Triangle into the free world. Six days coming and going. Khun Sa didn't have any prisoners of war. We gave Khun Sa the letter from the White House that I had. Thats the only thing that let me get in there. You don't walk in because the CIA has a seven digit figure on Khun Sa's head and they haven't been able to collect. You think they're gonna let somebody like me in there. Say, "Hi! I wanna go visit Khun Sa!" Doesn't work! But I guess they thought this guy is crazy enough because I gave this letter ... I told Harvey, "We got to have a credential, guy." He said, "We can't do that, Bo. We never do that." I said, "Harvey, has anyone ever gone to the Golden Triangle and come out alive? I need something that will convince Khun Sa were not there to kill him, we're there for humanitarian purposes." So Harvey said, "Well, this will be the language. 'You are operating in cooperation with the White House .. etc .. etc.'" It worked! Khun Sa didn't have one single prisoner of war, didn't know anything about prisoners of war. (switch to a scene with Bo and Khun Sa talking at Khun Sa's camp with Khun Sa's troops doing practice drills in the background. Bo is discussing the letter from Soucheck with Khun Sa. It is nearly impossible to decipher what is specifically being discussed because Khun Sa's troops are incredibly loud and drown out the conversation, so I will proceed to the next scene. Don't worry...there are more Khun Sa meetings to come. The long and short of it is Khun Sa says he will decrease or stop the drug shipments and Gritz gets it on videotape. Now back to Bo at the luncheon.) Now with Nancy Reagan saying no to drugs and Judge Ginsberg not allowed to sit on the supreme court because he smoked marijuana .. and you're an accessory to murder if you ever smoke marijuana, according to Nancy Reagan. I figured we'd get an 'attaboy'. We didn't have prisoners, but we had three video tapes showing Khun Sa himself. And I thought, "Boy, is George Bush gonna be thrilled about this!" (much laughter) We delivered those tapes to Tom Harvey just before Christmas. You try to call Tom Harvey now, because some news people did, and he doesn't return your calls. We delivered those tapes just before Christmas, Tom Harvey called me back and said, "Bo, Fantastic! You guys actually got in to see Khun Sa. The CIA said he had been assasinated." Somebody needed some pocket change. "And there he is talking." And I said, "That's right, Tom. Harvey, what about the 900 tons?" I figured they were just bubbling over. They were all right, they were dripping in their knickers. But it wasn't from joy. Harvey said, "Bo..", these are quotes ... hand on the square .. he said, "Bo, there's no interest here in that." You be on the other end of the phone. You've just come out of Burma. You've brought what you consider to be a way to stop 900 tons of heroin, not marijuana and get rid of the cancer that has infected the bureaucracy and there's "no interest." I challenged Harvey because I'm pretty hard-headed. I said, "Tom, didn't President Reagan appoint George Bush the number one cop to stop drugs before they come into the United States?" I wanted to remind him of these little things. And he said, "Bo, what can I tell you? There is NO INTEREST here in doing that." Now that is White-House-ese for saying, "Get of this subject, leave us alone." I knew that we had trod upon some very sensitive toes. I still didn't have a clue to what was going on, but I knew that we were getting close to finding out and I took off and went to Burma again. Now I want to show you some things when I got back to Burma. (he shows some newspaper headlines) The United States government wanted Khun Sa killed quick and here's how they did it: US CALLS FOR NO MERCY IN DRUG WAR These are over-there newspapers... AIRSTRIKES AGAINST KHUN SA's HEADQUARTERS BURMESE AND THAI TROOPS MOVE ON KHUN SA Finally it says, and there is a picture of Burmese and Thai troops standing on top of a high mountain top: KHUN SA'S STRONGHOLD SEIZED Now many of you are soldiers, airmen, marines, sailors. You know that airstrikes, troops mean war. There's hair, eyes and teeth everywhere. When I went back into Burma in May I took two other Americans with me. It was the most peaceful area. It was exactly like we left it except for one big change. Remember I told you it took us three days to ride by horse to get there in November and come out in December. Well, when we went in May, we went by pickup truck. Straight from the Thai border all the way right to the General's front door. And on the other way coming back there were Thai military 10 ton trucks covered and loaded. There's only one thing that comes out of the Golden Triangle and that's heroin. When we got there General Khun Sa said, "What took you so long?" I said, "General, I was waiting for the war to die down. I didn't want to get caught in all of this 26,000 troops and airstrikes", and he just laughed. He said, "That was a newspaper war!" I said, "What do you mean newspaper war?" He said, "The Thai and Burmese came to me and said that if they don't make it look like there doing something, they stand to lose tens of millions of dollars this year in drug supression funds from American taxpayers." So Kuhn Sa said, "Make it look like anything you want to, but I want a rode built here." They used the newspapers and I want to show you something. This one here says, "US PROVIDES ANOTHER 1.8 MILLION TO FIGHT DRUGS" So it worked! And this guy is really smiling. This is a Thai receiving a check from the US Ambassador. Khun Sa got what he wanted. Now he began to assemble his officers. It took him a week to get them all together because he brought them from all over the place. And now I understand why. I thought I was just going to talk to him, but he said no and put me off for a week. He assembled officers from the entire Shan territory from all over the Golden Triangle. They came in. He sat everybody down. He brought his secretary out. He had his secretary read from their log. (Scene switches to Khun Sa's headquarters. All of Khun Sa' officers are here along with Khun Sa. I'd say around twenty in all. Bo and his companions are sitting with them. This is where it gets VERY interesting. The following conversation was in broken english from Khun Sa's end so some of the syntax may be a bit wierd.) Bo: I cannot ask the General to cut your throat by revealing any contact that would hurt your economy at this moment. But I pray that he will reveal any connections from the older time or that will not hurt you now. That if they are still in power, we might be free of them. Khun Sa: Some of the connections I can expose to you. Some were in Burma, some were in Thailand, some were in America. But I don't remember all of their names and my secretary remembers them so he will give you the information. Secretary: In 1965 to 1975 there is one CIA in Laos, his name was Shakley. He was involved the narcotics business. And we know that Shakley used one civilian to organize trafficking. His civilian name was Santos Trafficante. He was the organizer of trafficking for Shakley. This was financed by Richard Armitage who stayed in Vietnam. After the Vietnam war Richard Armitage was a prominent trafficker in Bangkok. This was between 1975 to 1979 he was a very active trafficker in Bangkok. He was one of the embassy employees. Then after that in 1979 he quit from embassy and then he established a company name the Far East Trading company. Then he used the name of his company under the table for drug trafficking. He then used the drug money to support the Lao anti-communist troops. Bo: So he used it in arms and munitions. Secretary: Yes. This Richard Armitage has a lot of friends in Laos and Thailand. There is a lot of CIA personnel in Laos. One of the CIA agents is named Daniel Arnold. This Arnold was a munitions trafficker. There is another one Jerry Daniels who organized trafficking for Richard Armitage. (Now back at the luncheon with Bo) One of the men named by Khun Sa, this is not me naming him. This is Khun Sa, the drug overlord reading from his records, named Richard Armitage as being a chief drug trafficker from 1965 through 1979. You know where Richard Armitage went in 1979? He went to Dole's staff, then he Reagan's campaign staff and now he is the Assistant Secretary of Defense right underneath Mr. Carlucci. Richard Armitage has been responsible for recovery of US prisoners of war way back before we actually got involved with H. Ross Perot. He is still responsible for them. What I'm trying to do is find you Khun Sa's letter because it will say it best. Here it is. Letter from Khun Sa written to the US Justice department dated 28 Jun 1987. I just want to read you a couple sentences. "During the period 1965 to 1975, CIA chief in Laos Theodore Shakley, was in the Drug Business." Now Theodore Shakley would have been director of intelligence of the CIA if George Bush had not been appointed to that post. Theodore Shakley was then posted as the deputy director for covert operations. It said, "Santo Trafficante acted as his buying and transporting agent while Richard Armitage handled the financial section with banks in Australia." All of a sudden the words from Jerry King came back, "Too many bureaucrats don't want to see American prisoners returned alive." Why? Couldn't figure it out. Gunboat at midnight in the middle of the Mekong with Voice of America saying were there to abort our attack. Walsh and the General recaptured before turnover. Why? Now I'll tell you why. If this is true it means Richard Armitage and a lot of other people that are named here are the least men in the world that want to see Americans come home. Because when American prisoners of war do come home, whether we bring them home or they drag themselves across that Mekong river somehow, and report to the US Embassy and aren't destroyed there. When they do come home, because they will, there will be one hell of an investigation as to what took the greatest nation in the world so long to bring home heroes that have been waiting for more than fifteen years. When that investigation is conducted it will show as Khun Sa says that these men, these bureaucrats, appointed not elected, appointed, have broken the faith with you and this country and its law. Have used their office as a cover to run drugs and arms to promote covert operations that the United States Congress did not approve of. Its the parallel government. Now that may be allright, but I'll tell you something. It's not allright to leave hundreds of Americans to die alone in the hands of the enemy to a bunch of wimps that were never there.