CIA and drugs: a comprehensive historical overview of the Central Intelligence Agency's involvement in the global narcotics trade

By Robbie Graham
 

 

Ever wondered how the CIA and other alphabet soup agencies acquire the trillions of dollars required to sustain the blackest of their black projects – including UFO-related programs?

“Drugs!” the well-informed among you might cry. Yes, indeed, the global narcotics trade has long played a major role in sustaining the US government’s immense shadow infrastructure. But understanding the historical intricacies of how and why the CIA embedded itself in the drugs trade is not easy. Usually, to comprehend the CIA-narcotics-industry symbiosis, a researcher would be required to trawl through dozens of rare books and academic journal articles. It would take a very long time.

 

Indeed, it did take a very long time for my brother, Jamie Graham, who, in 2007, wrote his Politics Masters thesis on this very subject. Despite its unconventional and deeply controversial subject matter (a subject that most university professors simply refuse to acknowledge), Jamie’s thesis was nevertheless awarded a Distinction grade – such was the strength of the case it made for the Central Intelligence Agency’s historical involvement in the global narcotics trade.

The contents page alone (below) will give you an idea of the sheer scope of this research project. It is surely one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind to have been produced in recent years. It is now available in-full online. READ IT HERE.

CIA linked to death of Hollywood screenwriter in explosive new documentary

Silver Screen Saucers

Dr Matthew Alford in The Writer with No Hands (2013).

A powerful new documentary feature examining the mysterious death of a Hollywood screenwriter is headed our way.

The scribe of ‘80s and ‘90s action fare such as The Dogs of War, Raw Deal, and Time Cop, Gary Devore disappeared in extremely suspicious circumstances in the summer of 1997. His body was found a year later in the California Aqueduct. His hands were nowhere to be seen.

The Writer with No Hands follows Reel Power author Dr Matthew Alford on his obsessive quest to find the truth about Devore’s death, delving deep into a world of spies, lies and double-lives.

Directed by William Westaway, The Writer with No Hands stars Matthew Alford, Claudia Christian, Wendy Oates-Devore, John Irvin, Haskell Wexler, Robbie Graham, Brain Neve, Frank Thorwald and Dennis O’Keefe.

Currently seeking a distributor (a number of major companies have expressed a serious interest), the film is prepped for release in 2013. Quite how soon in 2013 depends on how much popular support it receives. If you’d like to see this incendiary film in theatres or on TV in the near future, show your support by liking The Writer with No Hands on Facebook and by sharing the trailer through social networking as well as on your websites and blogs. More material will follow, but the viral campaign begins here.

Matthew Alford with Gary Devore's former publicist - and ex-CIA asset - Michael Sands, who died in April 2012.

Robbie Graham cautions his colleague Matthew Alford not to disregard warnings he received about pursuing the Devore case. Alford was told by a DoD contractor: "These people can ruin your life."

Legendary cinematographer Haskell Wexler in The Writer with No Hands. Wexler's credits include classics such as American Graffiti (1973), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), and Days of Heaven (1978).

The director of The Writer with No Hands William Westaway expressing his concerns about Matthew Alford's obsession with the Devore case.

 

Gary Devore's widow, Wendy Oates-Devore, is convinced her husband was the victim of a conspiracy.

Related:

Hollywood Hitmen

Intelligence Activity in Hollywood
 

'The Host': new trailer and poster for body-snatching alien movie

Silver Screen Saucers

 

Open Road Films has released the new trailer and poster for Andrew Niccol's The Host, the big screen adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's novel starring Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Jake Abel, Diane Kruger, William Hurt and Frances Fisher.

Here’s the official blurb:

“The Host is a riveting story about the survival of love and the human spirit in a time of war. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact. Most of humanity has succumbed.”

 

 

 

The Hosthits cinemas March 29, 2013.

Alien life on Jupiter’s moon in new movie (trailer)

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

 

First trailer for ‘The Europa Report’

 

The viral marketing campaign for upcoming sci-fi movie The Europa Report – in which astronauts seek out life on Jupiter’s frigid moon of Europa – has been underway almost a year now. See, for example, the website for faux aerospace corporation Europa Ventures, where you’ll find a ‘live’ video feed showing astronauts onboard the spacecraft Europa 1. The site’s intro text reads:

“For decades, scientists have theorized the existence of liquid water oceans on Jupiter's moon, Europa. We've recently discovered new, captivating evidence that these sub-surface oceans do exist and could support life.

We've sent six astronauts from space programs throughout the world on a three year journey to Europa to explore its oceans and confirm these findings.

We're proud to be at the forefront of the effort to prove the existence of extra-terrestrial life within our solar system, within our lifetimes.”

Now, the first teaser trailer has landed over at ComingSoon.net, giving us the first look at the spaceship Europa and a taste of the score by composer Bear McCready (The Walking Dead and Battlestar Galactica)... 

 

 

 

Directed by Sebastian Codero (Cronicas) The Europa Report stars Sharlto Copley (District 9), Michael Nyqvist (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol), Daniel Wu, Anamaria Marinca (4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days), Christian Camargo and Karolina Wydra.

Here’s the official synopsis:

“A group of astronauts, handpicked from around the world, make the arduous journey to Jupiter's frigid, glacial moon Europa in search of extraterrestrial life. The only thing more intimidating and unpredictable than the trip itself is what the team will encounter upon arrival...”

The Europa Reportis scheduled for release in 2013.

UFO movie news round-up (10 Nov. 2012)

Silver Screen Saucers

 

George Clooney to star in Disney’s Top Secret UFO movie, 1952?

 

 

First pic of Tom Cruise in alien invasion flick All You Need is Kill...

 

 

Not content with owning Star Wars, Disney may also soon add Transformersto its collection!

 

 

 

Star Wars Episode VII gets a writer

 

 

 

Ridley Scott talks Prometheus 2

 

 

 

Thor: The Dark World gets an official synopsis

 

 

 

Ben Affleck: "Hollywood is full of CIA agents"

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

 

Discussing his new film Argo this week, Ben Affleck has stated that Hollywood is likely teeming with CIA operatives. In a video interview with the actor, The Guardian's Catherine Shoard asks: "Are there many actors in Hollywood who also moonlight as agents do you think?" At this point, Affleck sits forward in his chair and laughs uncomfortably. He replies: "I think there are probably quite a few, yes. I think probably Hollywood is full of CIA agents and we just don't know it. And I wouldn't be surprised at all to discover that this was extremely common."

Shoard then asks: "Are you CIA?" To which Affleck responds, with a strained smile: "I am yes."

Obligatory laughter then follows from Shoard as Affleck adds: "And now you've blown my cover, so there goes my career, so I hope the directing thing better work out."

Argo is the true story of a CIA mission to rescue six Americans holed up in the Canadian embassy in Tehran during the hostage crisis of 1979. Affleck, who directs and stars in the film, is no stranger to working with the CIA. In 2002, he starred in the big screen version of Tom Clancy’s TheSum of All Fears, whichdepicted the Agency as tracking down terrorists who detonate a nuclear weapon on US soil. For this movie, CIA director George Tenet gave Affleck a personal tour of the Agency’s Langley HQ. The actor also consulted with CIA analysts and worked closely with the Agency’s former Entertainment Liaison Chase Brandon, who served as the movie’s on-set advisor.

Affleck’s wife, Jennifer Garner, enjoyed an even cosier relationship with CIA as the star of the Agency-supported TV series Alias (2001 – 2006). Garner even starred unpaid in a CIA recruitment video in 2004.

Incidentally, Catherine Shoard, who conducted the interview with Affleck, was the Commissioning Editor of an article I co-authored in 2009 for The Guardian’s Film Blog examining DoD involvement in Hollywood’s UFO movies. The Guardian also published a major feature article by myself and Dr Matthew Alford in 2008 looking at CIA infiltration of Hollywood.

For the most up-to-date and comprehensive article yet published on CIA involvement in Hollywood, I highly recommend Matthew Alford’s new article co-authored with Professor Tricia Jenkins, which appears in the June 2012 issue of Scope: An Online Journal of Film and Television Studies. Read it HERE.

Related:

Ben Affleck, Rwanda, and Corporate Sustained Catastrophe

Aliens escape from Area 51 in new UFO movie

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

How genuinely refreshing to see Hollywood filmmakers sticking their necks out on a UFO movie in which the US military is depicted as the hostile force rather than the alien visitors.

The new trailer for Escape from Planet Earth would seem to indicate that Hollywood still has some faith in the non-hostility of potential extraterrestrial intelligences despite Tinseltown’s long and successful history of aggressively demonizing life beyond Earth (UFO buffs will note the references to modern human technology being seeded -- or in this case literally produced -- by ETs... Philip Corso, anyone?).

 

 

 

Here’s the official blurb for the movie:

“The 3D animated family comedy Escape from Planet Earth catapults film goers to planet Baab, where admired astronaut Scorch Supernova (Brendon Fraser) is a national hero to the blue alien population. A master of daring rescues, Scorch pulls off astonishing feats with the quiet aid of his nerdy, by-the-rules brother, Gary, head of mission control at BASA. When BASA's no-nonsense chief Lena (Jessica Alba) informs the brothers of an SOS from a notoriously dangerous planet, Scorch rejects Gary's warnings and bounds off for yet another exciting mission. But when Scorch finds himself caught in a fiendish trap set by the evil Shanker (James Gandolfini), it's up to scrawny, risk-adverse Gary to do the real rescuing. As the interplanetary stakes rise to new heights, Gary is left to save his brother, his planet, his beloved wife Kira (Sarah Jesscia Parker) and their adventure hungry son Kip.”

Okay, so the trailer makes it clear that we shouldn’t be expecting cinematic greatness, but the concept of aliens in peril at the hands of paranoid human officials puts Escape from Planet Earth in the company of E.T. The Extraterrestrial, Super 8, and only a handful of other films of this ilk to have been produced in the history of the UFO subgenre. More like this, please, Hollywood. You can do it if you try.

Escape from Planet Earth is due for release Feb. 14, 2013.