The other part of Project Democracy was to use military force in secret operations to overthrow foreign regimes that stood in the way of freedom. The main target was the government of Nicaragua, the Sandinistas. The Sandinistas were Marxist revolutionaries who had seized power in 1979, but since then they had held elections and had been democratically elected. The Reagan administration dismissed this though as a sham. And an operation was set up to enforce the right kind of democracy by overthrowing the Sandinistas if necessary. The man in charge was a leading Neo-Conservative Elliott Abrams. Adam Curtis, The Trap III: We Will Force You to be Free, BBC 2007
The Americans started funding and training a counter-revolutionary army called the Contras. But there was enormous political opposition in the United States. And to get round it the leaders of Project Democracy set out to frighten the American public. An agency called The Office of Public Diplomacy was set up that disseminated what was called White Propaganda. It produced dossiers and fed stories to journalists that proved that Soviet fighter planes had arrived in Nicaragua to attack America. Another story from ‘intelligence sources’ said that the Soviets had given stockpiles of chemical weapons to the Sandinistas. President Reagan appeared on television with maps to show how quickly such a chemical attack could be launched on America itself. It was only a matter of time. ibid.
The Neo-Conservatives were beginning to believe that their ideal of freedom was an absolute. And that this then justified lying and exaggerating in order to enforce that vision. The end justified the means. Although they portrayed the Contras as freedom fighters, it was well known that they used murder, assassination and torture. And also were allegedly using CIA-supplied planes to smuggle cocaine back into the United States. And to finance the Contras, the Neo-Conservatives were even prepared to deal with America’s enemy – the leaders of the Iranian revolution. In 1985 those running the Nicaragua operation held a series of secret meetings with Iranian leaders in Europe. They arranged to sell the Iranians American weapons; in return the Iranians would release American hostages held in Lebanon. Then the money from these sales would be used by those running Project Democracy to fund the Contras. The only problem was that this was completely illegal. And the President knew it. ibid.
It was a [Reagan’s] vision of the world that over the next twenty years would rise up to possess all of us in the West both left and right. Conflicts that in the past would have been seen as political struggles were redefined: they became instead battles against dark demonic forces that threatened innocent people. Adam Curtis, Bitter Lake, 2015
‘Into the hands of America, God has placed the destiny of an afflicted mankind. God bless America.’ Adam Curtis, HyperNormalisation, Reagan, 2016
I want to talk to you about your time as an investigator on the Octopus murders. American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders I: The End, investigator to journalist, Netflix 2024
You’re going to get yourself killed. ibid. journalist to investigator
Christian told me this story about this journalist [Danny Casolaro] who died under mysterious circumstances in the early ’90s. ibid. investigator
Danny had stumbled upon a computer software scandal that led him to a series of high-profile crimes that he said would rewrite US history … Danny called this conspiracy The Octopus. ibid.
Inslaw case: The complex and confusing still-developing case that involves improper conduct by high level Justice Department officials. ibid. Dan Rather
Inslaw … makes software for law enforcement agencies. ibid. commentary
Firm’s Owners Tell Of Ordeal At Hands of Justice Dept. ibid. newspaper article
Thousands of pages of research materials … International crimes starting with the Inslaw case. ibid. investigator
A federal judge could lose his job because he made a ruling against the government. ibid. original footage
Why did the Department of Justice do this? ibid. investigator
That started a process of Bill [Hamilton of Inslaw] and Danny talking every day [investigator] … One of the things about Bill, he used to work at the NSA. ibid.
He starts looking into these powerful people connected to the Reagan administration. ibid.
They are clearly covering something up. What is it? ibid.
Some of the same people kept appearing: Earl Brian. ibid.
If I have an accident, don’t believe it. ibid. brother reports Danny’s warning
Authorities report they found no papers in his room or in his car. ibid.
Was a reporter killed for investigating the government? ibid. TV news
Danny was this suburban dad and all of a sudden he is in this international intrigue. American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders II: The Trap Door, family
Michael told Danny that the PROMIS scandal actually started with Ronald Regan stealing the 1980s election, the so-called October Surprise. ibid. investigator
The hostages from the American Embassy were released hours after he [Reagan] was sworn in. ibid.
Earl Brian made the election happen and he wanted his payoff. There was some kind of deal made in the Justice Department. And the source code for PROMIS was awarded to Earl Brian. ibid.
A backdoor into the software … They wanted to sell PROMIS to other governments and spy on what they were tracking. ibid.
Danger Man told me that the promised software modification was just one tentacle of a larger Intelligence operation in southern California. Here at the Cabazon Indian Reservation a team of gun runners, gamblers, and covert Intelligence operatives would find sanctuary from all state laws. ibid.
Dr John Philip Nichols and the crew that hung about the Reservation … There were only about 26 members of the Cabazon tribe. ibid.
The Wackenhut Corporation has been the shadow CIA for many years. ibid. man in the know on TV
There was also two Contra generals from Nicaragua. They had automatic weapons, machine-guns, semi-automatic weapons and night goggles … Why there? ibid.
June 27 2017: Michael Riconosciuto has finally been released. 26 years earlier Michael gave an affidavit describing his role in hacking the PROMIS software. 8 days later he was arrested on drug charges. American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders III: The Game
They all met the same fate: there’s just too many people dead in this case. ibid. Michael
No matter which direction Danny went in, he hit drugs. ibid. investigator of government as drugs supplier
BCCI is accused of dirty dealing around the world. ibid. TV news
A web of thugs and thieves who roam the earth with their espionage. ibid. investigator
These 8 men came together in the 1950s: Richard Helms, Theodore Shackley, George H Bush, George Pender, Ray Cline, E Howard Hunt, John Philip Nichols, William Casey, Thomas Clines … The Octopus: which moves money and power around the world. ibid.
He [Danny] was talking about how he needed to complete the book and get it published. American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders IV: The Monster, investigator
There must be a full, thorough, impartial, hard-hitting investigation. ibid. Elliot Richardson
Danny was right about so many things. ibid. investigator
Ronald Reagan rode the wave of that fear into the White House. Timothy Naftali, cited Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War V: War Games, Netflix 2024