REOPEN `DARK ALLIANCE'

A quick comparison of damage to the national security by government
complicity in the spread of cocaine availability and its ravages (see the
Mercury News' 1996 ``Dark Alliance'' series and subsequent book by Gary
Webb) versus President Clinton's study hall antics make it clear that
Webb's story deserved, and still deserves, equal or better attention.

I've completed reading only a third of Webb's book, and I'm shocked by your
treatment of him and this story. Your arguments of inadequate evidence are
absurd, and, as if the book didn't carry enough weight on its own, the
recent edition of Esquire magazine (see the September issue, wherein a
former and highly respected Drug Enforcement Administration agent validates
Webb's contentions) should wake you from your slumbers.

The recent special insert regarding Clinton's porno escapades proves that
the Mercury News is capable of creating column inches for important matters
when the need arises.

The embers of this issue are still hot, and some truth blown in the right
direction could reignite the story and, in so doing, bring light into the
dark closet of American foreign policy actions and their domestic
repercussions.

Redemption is yours to be had. Be brave and reopen the story.

- -- Pat Nichols

San Jose

Checked-by: Pat Dolan