Nexus - 0208 - New Times Magazine-pages

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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 actu- ally, 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. executive branch that has for more than a twenty years oper- _ they said, “Bo, you better listen, because for three years ated in what Ollie North called a parallel government. _ we’ve had prisoners literally within our grasp and something When the Congress says no, it makes no difference. They’re has happened at the last minute.” (I said), “Each time I’ve gonna do it anyway. And it is special intelligence - top made every effort to cooperate with government officials. I secret. Why? Not because the communists don’t know _ can’t believe that people in the US government would actu- what were doing, it’s to keep it a secret from you. ally, either overtly or covertly, do anything to undermine a You're not capable of making those kinds of decisions rescue operation. “ according to those in parallel government. The reason I Well, we’re still without Prisoners of War and there is no know .. I was there. I’ve been a product of parallel govern- _ interest, we’re told at the White House, in stopping the flow ment myself. of drugs coming in from the Golden Triangle into the free The thing that I was most concemed about was - andI _—_- world. thought was fantastic - was the general’s offer to stop the I’ve had the opportunity to do a lot of things that other ' flow of opium and heroin into the free world. When I asked _ officers have not. I was the first recon chief and intelligence him (Tom Harvey) officer for Delta- he said “that’s fan- ges Force. I com- tastic”. There was manded the first © poset, then he Lieutenant Colonel James ‘Bo’ Gritz is the most decorated goeille forces that said, “Bo, there’s z : went behind no ane here beat Green Beret commander of the Vietnam era. General enemy _ lines. supports that.” William Westmoreland, in writing his memoirs, singled When I command- And 7 said, out Bo Gritz as the “American Soldier” for his exemplary ed Special Forces Wher! Vios- courage in combat and outstanding ingenuity in recover- in Lali Penman. President Bush has = hishi t black-b he Viet-C had tak we did it exactly bees appeimad by ing a highly secret black-box the Viet-Cong had taken right. And we did president Reagan from a crashed U2 spyplane. The feature films “Rambo”, exactly what men as the Number One “Uncommon Valour” and “Missing in Action” were based in camouflage are policeman to con- in part upon his real-life military experiences. supposed to do. trol drug entry into : : : It was very nat- the United States. Raised by his maternal grandparents in Oklahoma, young ural that Harold R. How can you say Bo Gritz began training at Fort Union Military Academy Aaron (sp?) would there's ie tater in Virginia. Gritz won his Green Beret in the Army single me out and no support 5 ial f b P iI in th 5 because, besides wien wa intee pecial forces by passing all courses in the unconvention- cenlinl = atele back a video tape al warfare training. After graduating from Officer's degree black belt with a direct inter- Candidate school, the newly-commissioned second lieu- in karate, I have Ly bei ae tenant then insisted on Ranger training. Assigned to the established an pred su bart command of the first mobile South Vietnamese guerilla —— in expanse ioe ee forces to be organized, Gritz also operated secretly in ois i; free world every Cambodia and Laos with his force of Cambodian merce- when Aaron said, year and is willing naries, or “Bo’s”, as he called them. “Bo, we want you to stop it?” And He to do this”, he he said, “Bo, what in all Bo Gritz was awarded 62 citations for valour, five undersigad hat can | tell you? All Silver Stars, eight Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts and a I’m also hard I can tell you is Presidential Citation. | headed enough there is no interest in doing that here.” Well that made that 1 wouldn’t cave in. He said, “I want you to me wonder. That's consider retiring. because it doesn’t sound American and it doesn’t sound It would only be temporary. We have overwhelming evi- right. dence now that people are still there, being held in commu- That's when we began to do our own investigation because _ nist prisons.” for about three years people had told me, both in Mr. H. Ross Perot had been asked by Eugene Tighe, direc- Washington DC and, interestingly enough, in Oklahoma city _ tor of the Defence Intelligence Agency, to back a private that the whole POW situation was being undermined by US __ mission that would look into the POW situation. Perot said, government Officials involved in drug trafficking. I “Bo, I want you to go there. I want you to do everything wouldn’t believe it. I said, “You guys aren’t playing witha you have to do. You come and tell me there aren’t any pris- full deck... you’ve got yourselves strung out too thin.” And an NEXUS#41 JUNE-JULY 1992