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I have a conspiracy theory about conspiracy theories.
I believe they purposely create or perpetuate totally fake ones so that everyone gets used to rolling their eyes and pshawing all the theories so that no one pays attention or believes the ones that are really true.
Am I just naiive or is there something psychologically "off" about the people who construct and believe in these sorts of conspiracies?
There's nothing more "off" about people who construct and believe in them, than there is "off" about the people who think that just because they don't believe in a theory, the theory is therefore impossible, and the people who believe in it, or any part of it, must therefore be "off".
What do you think of the conspiracy theory that the US government has made some drugs illegal and is supposedly fighting against them, but in reality is making money from it?
The wife of a senior U.S. Army colonel who was in charge of anti-drug efforts in Colombia turned herself in to authorities on Thursday after being charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Laurie Anne Hiett, the wife of U.S. Army Col. James Hiett, was served with an arrest warrant in late June after a package containing 2.7 pounds of cocaine was mailed from the U.S. military base in Bogota with her name on the return address label, according to an affidavit.
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A Pentagon official told CNN that Mrs. Hiett surrendered in New York City. As a result of the case, the U.S. military investigated Col. Hiett and cleared him of any wrongdoing. The Village Voice, a New York weekly newspaper, first broke the story about the arrest warrant and CNN later obtained documents related to the case. According to the affidavit, undercover U.S. postal inspectors and New York City police officers delivered the package from Mrs. Hiett -- wrapped in a brown paper bag about 12x4x6 inches -- to an address in New York on May 25 and later questioned a man who tried to flee the residence. Inside the house, authorities found a second bag of cocaine and $13,000. The man said he had received about five or six shipments of cocaine sent from Bogota and that he had been paid $1,500 for each of the previous packages, according to the affidavit. The affidavit says Mrs. Hiett was interviewed and "stated that she had sent six packages to New York through the mail on behalf of her husband's chauffeur. She claimed that she did not know the contents of the packages she had shipped." A spokesman for the U.S. Southern Command told CNN the husband, Col. Hiett, was investigated by the U.S. military after the incident occurred and has been cleared of any wrong-doing. The Army said Col. Hiett requested and was granted a transfer from Bogota, where he was in charge of the U.S. military group providing assistance to the Colombian government's counter-narcotics effort.
The former commander of the U.S. Army's anti-drug operation in Colombia--whose wife pleaded guilty in January to smuggling drugs into the United States while he was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota--has agreed to plead guilty to failing to turn her in for money laundering, according to court documents filed yesterday.
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Sources close to the case said Col. James C. Hiett has dropped his earlier
denials and admitted storing in his apartment and embassy office safe as
much as $45,000 given to him by his wife. After her arrest last summer and
his return to the United States, he deposited the money in small amounts in
U.S. banks and purchased money orders with it, apparently in an attempt
to evade currency reporting requirements. According to government documents filed in federal court for the Eastern
District of New York in Brooklyn, Hiett will plead guilty on April 17 to a
crime called misprision of a felony--that is, not telling authorities what he
knew of his wife's illegal activities. Both Hietts have insisted that he told his wife he did not want to know
where the money came from, and James Hiett--who earlier had been
cleared by Army investigators of any involvement in his wife's crimes--is
not charged with drug smuggling. But his admission of wrongdoing in the
case adds another level of embarrassment to the Clinton administration,
and particularly the Pentagon, at a time when they are asking Congress to
approve a major aid package to fight drug trafficking in Colombia. U.S. officials estimate that as much as 80 percent of all cocaine and a
significant percentage of heroin entering this country comes from
Colombia. The administration has asked for $1.6 billion in aid, most of it in
emergency supplemental funds to be spent on equipment and U.S. training
for the Colombian military. Laurie Hiett pleaded guilty on Jan. 27 to planning to smuggle $700,000
worth of heroin into the United States, largely by mailing drug-filled
packages from Colombia and traveling to New York to collect the profits. "I never told him what I was doing," she said, speaking of her husband to
reporters after pleading guilty on Aug. 5. She told the judge she had been
treated for drug addiction and expressed remorse that her activities had
undercut U.S. anti-drug efforts. At the time she was smuggling, Hiett was in charge of the estimated 200
U.S. troops in Colombia who train security forces for counter-drug
operations and protect three large radar bases used primarily to track
aircraft carrying drugs. He asked to be reassigned after his wife's arrest
and was transferred to the Army's Training and Doctrine Command at Fort
Monroe, Va., where he remains on active duty. He is scheduled to retire in
November. James Hiett declined to comment yesterday through a spokesman at Fort
Monroe. The Army and the U.S. Attorney's office in New York said they
would issue no comment. Although Hiett had been cleared by the Army's Criminal Investigative
Division, the U.S. Customs Service continued investigating the case. In a
statement last night, Customs Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said,
"Customs agents have suspected for some time that U.S. Army Col. James
Hiett had knowledge of his wife's actions and may have even had some
complicity." Hiett's involvement, Kelly said, "will be further amplified on April 17,
2000, when the colonel is scheduled to appear in court." Despite her denial of his involvement in January, sources close to the case
said it was Laurie Hiett who implicated her husband and that he
acknowledged his role in November. At the time of her court appearance,
Laurie Hiett told reporters: "At one point, he may have asked me why I
was going to New York. I just told him, 'Don't ask me.' " The two reportedly discussed how to transfer large amounts of cash to the
United States without generating legally mandated currency reports. As
Army CID agents prepared to search their apartment after her arrest, the
sources said, Hiett moved the money to his embassy safe. Once in the
United States, they deposited small sums in various banks to avoid
reporting requirements. Federal sentencing guidelines set the penalty for knowledge and
concealment of a felony at no more than three years in prison and a
possible fine of up to $500. Sources said the plea agreement with Hiett
would likely lead to a sentence of no more than 18 months, to be served
on probation. Laurie Hiett is due to be sentenced April 28. Disclosure of the charges
against her husband and his upcoming guilty plea came in a brief court
document filed by the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn, informing Judge
Edward R. Korman that the two cases "implicate some of the same factual
issues." Assigning both cases to Korman, the filing said, "will result in the
substantial savings of judicial resources." According to the initial charges against Laurie Hiett, the investigation was
set off by what was described as a "routine search" of a package in Miami,
initially thought to contain cocaine but later proven to contain heroin, and
bearing her return address. The scheme allegedly involved mailing six
packages to New York. Two other people were charged in the case: Hernan Arcila, who was
arrested in New York and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import drugs,
and Jorge Alfonso Ayala, who was arrested in Colombia in February. The
United States has requested his extradition.
A US army colonel formerly in charge of running the US military's high-profile anti-drugs effort in Colombia faces up to three years in jail after an astonishing admission that he covered up his wife's illegal heroin smuggling and money laundering activities. Colonel James Hiett is expected to plead guilty to the cover-up charges when he appears in a federal court in New York on April 17. He had previously claimed to be in the dark about his wife Laurie's scheme to smuggle $700,000 (£437,000) worth of heroin into the US from Bogota. Colombia is the source of an estimated 80% of all cocaine imported into the US, and of a significant proportion of the heroin. Even before this year's proposed aid package, Colombia was the third largest recipient of US aid, after Israel and Egypt. But the $1.6bn planned for this year represents a five-fold increase on 1999.
Spoiler
Quote:
A US army colonel formerly in charge of running the US military's high-profile anti-drugs effort in Colombia faces up to three years in jail after an astonishing admission that he covered up his wife's illegal heroin smuggling and money laundering activities.
Quote:
Colonel James Hiett is expected to plead guilty to the cover-up charges when he appears in a federal court in New York on April 17. He had previously claimed to be in the dark about his wife Laurie's scheme to smuggle $700,000 (£437,000) worth of heroin into the US from Bogota. Col Hiett's confession is potentially a huge embarrassment to the Clinton administration, which has just asked the US Congress to approve a huge increase in aid to Colombia, most of which is to be spent on the programmes which the Col Hiett had been heading until he was transferred after his wife's arrest last year. Court papers show that, far from being marginal to his wife's drug smuggling activities, Col Hiett played an important role in trying to bank the profits from the operations. The couple discussed how to transfer large amounts of cash to the US without arousing suspicion from currency regulators, and the colonel took several actions to launder his wife's proceeds. On one occasion, as army investigators prepared to search the couple's flat, Col Hiett removed around $45,000 in cash and transferred it to his office safe in the US embassy in Bogota. After his wife's arrest, Col Hiett took the money to the US where he divided it and deposited it in several banks. At a court appearance in January, Laurie Hiett pleaded guilty to the smuggling plans but denied that her husband knew about her activities. "I never told him what I was doing," she said. Mrs Hiett faces up to nine years in jail when she is sentenced on April 28. Mrs Hiett has admitted that she posted six packages filled with heroin from Bogota in 1998 to addresses in the US before travelling to New York to collect the profits. Federal agents intercepted two of the packages, each of which contained 1.2kg of heroin. Mrs Hiett told investigators that she sent the packages on behalf of Jorge Ayala, a Colombian driver for US military commanders in Bogota. Mr Ayala was arrested in Colombia in February and the US is seeking his extradition. Another accomplice, Hernan Ancila, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import the drugs. A probe by the US army's criminal investigation division had cleared Col Hiett of any knowledge of what his wife was up to. But an investigation by customs officials implicated the colonel, and he privately acknowledged his involvement late last year. Both Hietts insist that the colonel told his wife he did not want to know where the money came from and Col Hiett has not been charged with drug smuggling. Instead he faces charges of misprision of a felony - not telling authorities what he knew about his wife's illegal activities. "Customs agents have suspected for some time that US Army Col James Hiett had knowledge of his wife's actions and may have even had some complicity," said the US customs commissioner, Raymond Kelly. Colombia is the source of an estimated 80% of all cocaine imported into the US, and of a significant proportion of the heroin. Even before this year's proposed aid package, Colombia was the third largest recipient of US aid, after Israel and Egypt. But the $1.6bn planned for this year represents a five-fold increase on 1999. Under the package, a fifth of the funds would go on economic and human rights aid projects. The rest would be spent on military equipment and training to support anti-drugs operations and to attack the estimated 20,000 guerrillas engaged in Colombia's civil war.
The thing I find interesting is that the conspiracy theories often become exactly what they are accusing the perceived conspirators of. In response to and in support of their stand that something is a conspiracy, they proceed to twist facts and information to bolster their case. I always wondered why, if they have a case to make, they have to change/enhance/or outright lie about information to prove what they are trying to say. Doesn't that work against them?
Take this as an example from one of the above posts: "How did a passport belonging to one of the 'hijackers' end up on the streets of NYC in pristine condition when nothing else survived that day?"
Well, OK. Let's start with the basics. One of the hijackers' passports was indeed found on the street along with all of the other thousands of papers that were flying out of the towers before the collapses, which sounds a bit too coincidental and of course would raise questions. Why isn't that enough? But, as we see here--the poster, or more likely whatever CT forum he or she feeds from, has to proceed to manipulate the information to make the story sound better. The passport--which is burnt and damaged, though still readable, is now elevated to "pristine" condition. This is then followed by a statement which can only be described as completely retarded to anyone who has the most rudimentary knowledge of the WTC collapses, cleanup, and recovery--"Nothing else survived that day." Um, no. You cannot say that and expect to be taken seriously for a second. Tens of thousands of files, photographs, personal articles, etc., were recovered out of the rubble and from the surrounding area. That's not questionable. Not remotely. As a matter of fact, one of the endless oddities of what survived and what did not is that the frequent-flier card of a woman who was on the same plane as the hijacker whose passport was recovered near her hipbone, the only piece of her body that her family got back. Her mother said she tended to put things in the back pocket of her jeans, making this card and the proximity of her hipbone a fascinating, if somewhat gruesome, little note in the tens of thousands of tales that rubble tells.
So while some of the theories may be sparked by very real questons, the mentality of conspiracy-lovers is often that they don't stick to the facts, but rather become the cloak-and-dagger mirror images of those they are accusing, and in the process, they usually lose all credibility and the points they wanted to get across in the first place are lost in the mess.
So far as the government and their motivation to do something or not, that can quickly be determined by looking at who (which groups and large corporations) run our government - direct our government to do or not do things.
And that many times boils down to American companies making money. The reason our government does various things in foreign countries.
Also for motivation of our governments actions, look at past history. There have been horrible things which have happened in the past - they don't want those things repeated. They see some dictator heading that direction, then do things to prevent another disaster from happening again. (An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!)
And what is the CIA doing? Well making money for large American corporations of course! Read non-fiction books like the following and you will learn quite a bit about how things work...
Op, by your premise then, government NEVER has a hidden agenda?. Then that is quite naïve.
Start with researching the Jonestown massacre.
In this day and age it is a form of denial to not question what your government has done. Its no longer 1940, people are smarter. Unless you want to live in a communist country or Stasi state where all your freedom of speech is illegal.
If the OP would do some reading about the CIA, FBI, NSA and other various government agencies in our country and others and some of their activities over the years, you might find the conspiracies more credible. Don't be so naive that the press and the government always tell the truth.
The one I've been most interested in over the years has been President Kennedy's assassination. I remember that as soon as Oswald was killed, most people knew there was something funny going on in the govt. Even when the Warren Commission report was released, most people didn't believe it. Personally, IMHO, if someone buys everything the govt. sells, you're a chump.
well said. Media kits and press talking points are often a form of propaganda.
Corporate media in America today is trash and distraction. You won't see the news about 911 War Crime tribunal unless you get Canadian tv.
We should NEVER stop questioning our government. NEVER. One of the oddest statements some conspiracy buffs make is to the effect that so many people just believe what the government says. Well, no. I've never met a single person who believes whatever the government says, and that includes elderly people who grew up in a time when supposedly the government was doing what was in your best interests. Some of them saw it in the opposite way--my grandfather and his family never voted because they believed the elections were all fixed anyway, and those people have been dead now for 40 years.
What doesn't make sense is when people who don't believe what the government says then turn around and believe what they read on some conspiracy website just because it says and NEVER QUESTION what the conspiracy pushers are telling them or do independent checking to see if the information being put forth is indeed accurate.
I'm a 9/11 survivor who worked close to the cleanup/recovery operations and then for a while on the rebuilding, and some of the bizarre stuff people believe about the WTC is just...unbelievable. And the basic factual information that people simply do not seem to know is mind-boggling. I don't know what anyone in the government knew or didn't know before the attacks. But I sure as hell know that all the steel wasn't quickly shipped off to China, ROFL (a popular CT tale) and that the "government" didn't swoop down on lower Manhattan, cordon it off to everyone else and then run and control the recovery and cleanup efforts in secret (which is the story the CT-ers put forth to make their CT work).
There certainly was--and continues to be--plenty of political posturing using the 9/11 attacks to put forth agendas and political careers, and I suspect that will continue as long as they can get away with it.
The thing I find interesting is that the conspiracy theories often become exactly what they are accusing the perceived conspirators of. In response to and in support of their stand that something is a conspiracy, they proceed to twist facts and information to bolster their case. I always wondered why, if they have a case to make, they have to change/enhance/or outright lie about information to prove what they are trying to say. Doesn't that work against them?
You made no comment about mine
I didn't twist any facts, I stated my opinion and I showed you a clear example from reliable newspapers that support my opinion.
Yes, some conspiracy theories are plain crap
but you can't say that all of them are crap, just because some of them are.
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