There have been 4 of them in the “modern era”: Really big scandals involving the White House. Watergate [Nixon], Iran-Contra [Reagan], Whitewater-Lewinsky [Clinton] and now Putin and the Russians [Trump].
But none of them were quite as effective as Iran-Contra in exposing what many truly do construe to be a “deep state” here in America. And it basically revolves around a foreign policy embraced by both Democratic and Republican presidents bent on sustaining the needs of Wall Street. And, in particular, those banks and corporations that profit [considerably] from sustaining the military industrial complex. Intertwined in a corporate media bent on sustaining what can only really be described as a “war economy”.
It’s all about the bucks. About obtaining and then sustaining markets and natural resources and cheap labor. About those who own and operate the global economy from our side of the fence.
Ah, but even stuff as [at times] brutally serious as this has room for “characters”. And Barry Seal can certainly be described as one of them: “the gringo that always delivers”.
Then it comes down to the extent to which these “characters” have any idea at all as to what [politically and economically] lies behind the tasks that they are recruited to do by those who operate behind the curtain. At the CIA for example. For some, sure, it’s just a lucrative “job”; for others, a “wild adventure”.
Not everyone can be Ollie North. J.B. for example.
After all, it takes all kinds to get these deep-state “missions” accomplished.
Look for the parts where the film transfigures into a situation comedy. Also, the parts where you’re thinking, “holy shit, did this stuff actually happen?!!”
Sort of.
Still, there are folks who will watch this film and continue to make the claim that American foreign policy is not entirely predicated on the interests of Wall Street and the military industrial [media] complex. That there is in fact no “deep state” calling the shots from behind the curtains. It’s all about spreading “democracy” around the globe.
Even some here no doubt.
IMDb
[b]Barry Seal looked nothing like Tom Cruise. He was a big heavy-set guy nicknamed “El Gordo” by members of the Medellin Cartel, which translates to “the fat one”.
Doug Liman has described the film as “a fun lie based on a true story.”
Five U.S. Presidents are characterized, mentioned or have appeared in this movie: Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
Features the Iran-Contra affair senate hearings where Arthur L. Liman, father of director Doug Liman, served as chief counsel.[/b]
trivia at IMDb: imdb.com/title/tt3532216/tr … tt_trv_trv
at wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Made_(film
trailer: youtu.be/HG9lMOUtyXc
American Made [2017]
Directed by: Doug Liman
[b]Monty [from the CIA]: Barry Seal?
Barry: That’s right.
Monty: You have a drop off and pick up service here every other Thursday. Cuban exiles. They pay commercial pilots to smuggle homegrown contraband through Canadian hubs. Vancouver, Montreal. Right?
Barry: I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Monty: No?
Barry: No.
Monty: You’re smuggling cigars.
…
Monty: Revolution’s in the air, Barry. Central America, right now. We’re building nations down there, Barry. We’re building nations. It’s America at its fucking finest. And we could use someone like you.
Barry: Goddamn. You’re CIA.
Monty: Shh.
…
Barry: CIA owns this plane?
Monty: No. No. Uh, Independent Aviation Consultants.
Barry: IAC.
Monty: Yeah.
Barry: Well, what is that? What do they call them? One of them front groups? Is that…
Monty: No, no, no. It’s as real as IBM. You’d run the company, but after hours, you work for us.
…
Barry [noting the cameras under the plane]: Takes pictures?
Monty: We say it “collects intelligence.”
Barry: Where? Russia?
Mointy: South of the border, north of the equator. Let’s just say, uh, “enemies of democracy.”[/b]
Or, perhaps, enemies of Wall Street?
[b]Barry: All of this is legal?
Monty: If you’re doing it for the good guys, yeah. Just don’t get caught.
…
Barry: It’s new business. It’s gonna be my business.
Lucy [wife]: Okay.
Barry: Logistical support for airports.
Lucy: Okay. And you’re calling it IAC? What do you know about business? You are a TWA airline pilot. That’s how you support this family.
Barry: This is gonna be good for us, all right?
Lucy: What about benefits? Our healthcare? We have great healthcare with TWA.
Barry: That’s…You know, I’m sure that’s not gonna be a problem.
Lucy: And what the hell does IAC mean, anyway?
Barry: Independent Aviation Consultants.
Lucy: Well, that sounds fuckin’ made up, Barry.
Barry: It does?
…
Barry [voiceover]: I do tend to leap before I look. Maybe, uh…Maybe I should have asked a few more questions. Anyway, it was back in '78 and, uh…It was September? October. Anyway, it, uh…That was the day I joined the CIA. Now, in those days, the Cold War was in full swing. The Soviets were backing communist insurgents all over Central America. And the CIA wanted snaps of them insurgents.
…
Barry [voiceover]: The CIA was so happy with my work, they gave me another job. Bagman. See, there was this colonel down in Panama named Noriega. And he was selling the agency’s intel on all the commies down there. My job was just to drop off and pick up. Just drop off and pick up.[/b]
Remember him?
Next up: Columbia, the Medellin Cartel and the cocaine connection. We’re getting closer.
[b]Jorge Ochoa: Good luck, hermano. Christ will keep you safe.
Barry: He ain’t gonna make this runway any longer.
…
Barry: See these fellas right here? I think they know that I am CIA.
Monty: You’re not CIA. You’re a drug smuggler, Barry. Listen. Louisiana PD was notified of your arrest here. They’re gonna raid your house at 6:00 a.m. They’re gonna pick up Lucy and bring her in for questioning. Maybe even keep her overnight.
Barry: Oh, my God. Oh, my God. You gotta get me out of here.
Monty: Well, maybe…Maybe we could figure something out.
…
Barry [voiceover to the camera]: Okay, you can…You can stop now if you want. 'Cause, believe me, shit gets crazy from here…Do you remember them fellas that I told you I was taking snaps of? Turns out they was a bunch of commies. Called themselves Sandinistas. These fellas manage to get their shit together and take control right here in this little country called Nicaragua. Theirs is the first successful revolution in Central America. Now, that may have bee bad news for some people, but not for me. See, there was a new sheriff in town.
[cut to Reagan on the TV]
Reagan: My fellow Americans, I must speak to you tonight about a mounting danger in Central America…
Barry [voiceover]: Even after everything that happened, I…I still love Ronnie Reagan. I mean, any man that can make it from that monkey movie all the way to the White House he’s gotta know what the hell he’s doing. And what he wanted was to kick them commie Sandinistas out of Nicaragua. And he wanted the Nicaraguan freedom fighters, called Contras, to do it.
Reagan [on TV]: They need to know that the U.S. supports them with more than just pretty words and good wishes.
Barry [voiceover]: But Congress, well, they smelled the makings of another Vietnam, and they outright refused to let Ronnie have his war. But do you think them politicians could tell the Gipper what to do? Hell no. He turned to the CIA, and the CIA turned to me.
…
Monty: So, this is all yours. Including everything between here and your house. Almost 2,000 acres. What do you think?
Barry: I own all this? This whole airport?
Monty: Yeah. Congratulations.
…
Monty: AK-47s. Soviet-made for the PLO. The Israelis captured these and then secretly traded them to us. And you’re gonna fly 'em to Nicaragua.
Barry: You didn’t say nothing about guns.
Monty: It’s a war, Barry. Freedom fighters can’t put up much of a fight if they aren’t armed. This was the deal. Or would you rather be in a Colombian prison?
…
Monty: This is every current law enforcement investigation on the Gulf Coast. FBI, ATF, DEA, Customs. These maps will help you avoid all of 'em.
Barry: Holy shit.
Monty: You’d just fly where they ain’t.
…
Barry: This bag is mine?
Monty: What bag?
…
Lucy [after Barry peppers the floor with bundles of money]: Is this all legal?
Barry: All right. What I’m about to tell you, you… You…You gotta swear you can’t ever tell anybody this, Lucy. All right?
[his voice drops to a whisper:
Barry: I…am…working…for…the…CIA.
…
Jorge Ochoa: Barry! Put the bat down, huevón. We’re all friends here.
Barry: Jorge. What the hell are you doing here?
Ochoa: This is Don Adolfo Calero. He works for your government on the revolution to bring down the Sandinistas.
Calero: Jorge tells me you are the crazy gringo who always delivers.
Ochoa: We have a new business proposition to you, Barry. You bring your American guns to Colombia, deliver our cocaine here, to the Contras, the Contras take it by fishing boats to Miami, and everybody’s happy.
Calero: It’s for the war effort, Mr. Seal.
…
Barry [voiceover]: Turns out, the Contras didn’t really want to fight a war. They just wanted to make money. Like the rest of us. Meanwhile, the Medellín Cartel wanted guns. So they worked out a little trade. What was I gonna tell 'em? I’m just a gring who always delivers. Here’s how the operation worked. I’d load up with guns in Mena, then, using Schafer’s intel I’d bypass any law enforcement and fly straight to the cartel’s airstrip in Medellín. The Colombians, well, they loved them guns. And I’d load up with fresh powder and fly on to the Contra training camp. The Contras hid the coke in fishing boats and sailed it up to Miami. Meanwhile, I’d get another load of powder, take it back to the States with a quick stop to refuel in Panama under the protection of my old friend, Colonel Noriega.[/b]
You know, all in the name of democracy.
[b]Monty [to Barry]: We need to borrow some of your land.
…
Barry [voiceover to the camera]: Them Contras were damn excited about being in the U.S. of A. And they were running away almost faster than we could bring 'em in.
…
Barry [voiceover]: I opened a few front corporations. But the money was coming in faster than I could launder it. I was taking pictures, delivering guns, dropping off and picking up. Damn, I was building an air force…I had my fingers in every pie on the rack. 10 million in Mena National, 12 million in Mena State, 15 in Mena Trust. I had 40 parked in Miami, 20 in Panama, 7 million in lawn bags, 8 in Samsonites, 4 buried in the woods behind my house, and 90 pounds of gold in my closet. Hot damn!vIf this ain’t the greatest country in the world!!
…
Barry [voiceover]: We had cash flooding in from every direction. Who… Who thought that was gonna be a problem? I mean…We were running out of places to put it.
…
Gary [reading from a newspaper]: “A plane crashed in Louisiana with 200 kilos of Colombian powder.” Two hundred.
Monty: Right.
Gary: Is that your boy?
Monty: I’m sorry, are you working for the fucking DEA now?
Gary: Interesting read.
…
Barry [voiceover]: I wasn’t the only one having trouble with the DEA. Pablo Escobar’s gone crazy and declared war on the government. Thanks to Pablo Escobar’s unique management style, the cartel found themselves kicked out of Colombia. The only place the DEA couldn’t touch him? That’s right. Nicaragua.
…
J.B: Jesus Christ! I’m fuckin’ family. We’re family!
Barry: That’s right. We’re family.
[Barry tosses a bag into the back seat]
J.B: What’s this?
Barry: Inside’s a passport, first-class ticket to Bora Bora, and enough cash…Enough cash to make a damn good life for yourself. Now, you’re gonna get in that car and you’re gonna drive straight to Dallas/Fort Worth airport. And nowhere else. You don’t even stop to take a piss. You hear me?
J.B.: Yeah, I hear you.
Barry: Good luck, kid.
…
CIA official: In the calendar year, your operations have transported 10,500 Russian AKs to the Contras.
Monty: Yeah.
CIA official: 5,000 of which have found themselves in the hands of the Colombian cartel.
Monty: Right. But…
CIA official: Out of the 916 Contras brought into the United States to train, only half made itback to Nicaragua.
Monty: Half is…
CIA official: The other half are in the wild.
…
Barry: What’s going on here?
Monty: Oh, yeah. We had to send the Contras home.
Barry: Home?
Monty: Yeah. They weren’t fighting. That’s the reality of that situation. You know, it didn’t help that their guns were in Colombia. Did it, Barry?
…
Barry: So…What now?
Monty: We’ll call ya.
Barry: Call me?
[Monty turns and walks away]
Barry: Schafer? Hey, Schafer!
Monty: Who the fuck’s Schafer?
…
Monty [at the CIA]: Okay, everybody, you know the drill. Everybody gets a burn bag. Into it, you put anything with Barry Seal’s face or name on it. Into the burn bag. Go! Purchase orders Aircraft invoices. Anything with the word “Mena.” Fuel bills, memos, names, directives, photos. Anything like that. Anything which can link us with him, you put it in the burn bag. And what do you do with it?
Agent: Burn it.
…
Dana: You know who I am, Mr. Seal?
Barry: No, ma’am.
Dana: I’m Dana Sibota, state attorney general. You’ve got DEA, ATF, FBI, all wanting their pound of flesh.
Barry: Yes, ma’am. It’s…It’s quite a room.
Dana: Yeah. Well, you hit the trifecta, didn’t you? I mean, guns, drugs, money laundering. And the state of Arkansas is gonna rip the bark right off of you, boy. We are gonna put you in a four-by-six cell for the rest of your life.
Barry: Ma’am, that’s a long time.
Dana: Yeah.
Woman [on speraker phone ]: Miss Sibota, I have Governor Clinton on the line. He says it’s urgent.
…
Barry [to all of the law enforcement men in the room]: I’m gonna walk out of here. I’m gonna walk out of here. And there ain’t a damn thing any one of you can do about it.[/b]
Cue the irony:
[b]Reagan [addressing the nation from the White House]: Usually, I talk with you from my office in the West Wing of the White House, but tonight, there’s something special to talk about. And I’ve asked someone very special to join me. Nancy.
Nancy Reagan: Not long ago, I was asked by a group of children what to do if they were offered drugs. And I answered, “Just say no.” Drug criminals are ingenious. So we must be smarter and stronger and tougher than they are. Say yes to your life. And when it come to drugs and alcohol, just say no.
…
Barry [voiceover]: This fella here is with the DEA. And this fella here is a colonel named Ollie North. Reagan’s go-to guy. The DEA just wants to nail the Medellín Cartel once and for all. Now, at the same time, Colonel North wants to prove the commies in Central America are involved in the drug trade. Let me say that again. Colonel North wants to prove the commies are dealing drugs. And why am I in the room? 'Cause I’m the gringo who always delivers.
…
Barry: So, you want me to keep going?
Ollie North: For your country.
…
Barry [voiceover]: They put me right back in business. Now, I’m working for the White House.
…
Barry: Listen. What’s gonna happen with these photos? Who exactly is going to be looking at 'em?
Rangel: These photos are gonna be on a need-to-know basis.
Barry: Need-to-know.
Rangel: They’re gonna be classified at the highest levels, Barry. We do recognize the dangers involved here.
Barry: No, you don’t.
Rangel: Well, you could always tell us to fuck off and spend the next 30 years in Leavenworth.[/b]
More irony still…
[b]Reagan [on TV addressing the nation]: There seems to be no crime to which the Sandinistas will not stoop. This is an outlaw regime. The Sandinistas have even involved themselves in the international drug trade. I know every American parent concerned about the drug problem will be outraged to learn that top Nicaraguan government officials are deeply involved in drug trafficking. This picture, secretly taken at a military airfield outside Managua shows Federico Vaughan, a top aide to one of the nine comandantes who rule Nicaragua …loading an aircraft with illegal narcotics bound for the United States. This is an outlaw regime.
Lucy: Those motherfuckers! That’s your fucking face, Barry!
…
Rangel [on phone]: I am truly sorry, Barry. North jumped the gun.
Barry: Yeah, well, you boys fucked me good.
Rangel: We all got fucked. Those photos weren’t supposed to be released, and certainly not until we had the Colombians in custody.
Barry: Yeah, well, they ain’t gonna be coming for you.
…
Dana [in court]: How can we have a war on drugs when the biggest enemy of the state is being protected by our side?
Barry [voiceover]: And that lady prosecutor she never, ever did give up.[/b]
But the fix is in…
[b]Judge: Defendant will rise. Barry Seal.
Barry: Your Honor.
Judge: You are sentenced to 1,000 hours community service. Dismissed.
…
Reporter [on TV]: Authorities believe last night’s machine gun killing of Barry Seal was ordered by drug bosses in Medellín, Colombia.
…
Monty [at the CIA]: Iran. We get the Iranians to arm the Contras…[/b]
For that part go here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–Contra_affair#Arms_sales_to_Iran
Reporter: Mr. President, what do you know about money going to the Contras?
Reagan: All I know is this is gonna taste wonderful and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
Reporter: Vice President Bush, did you know about the Contra aid or not, sir?
Bush: Want some sauce with that?