Parry is no stranger to Dogskinreport.com. We have often reproduced his articles and his two previous books, Trick or Treason and Lost History are required reading.

Secrecy & Privilege is superficially about the rise of the Bush dynasty. But as Parry’s crowbar pries open the Bush family crypt, an entire cabal of deep power politicians and their subterranian backers are found within.

Briefly, here are the major events cataloged:

• October Surprise I: The secret deal between the Nixon campaign and the South Vietnamese to torpedo peace negotiations prior to the 1968 election (the Nixon campaign promised a better deal if elected). When Nixon/Kissinger finally did reach a “peace” agreement in 1973, it was for basically the same terms as those on the table in 1968. The difference was that, between 1968–1973, Cambodia was invaded and destroyed (giving rise to the Khmer Rouge) while thousands of American GIs and hundreds of thousands of SE Asians died. Sweet!
• Watergate: Not content to simply accept the Washington Post-mortem, Secrecy & Privilege features extensive info from R. Spencer Oliver, whose office was the one actually bugged. Oliver was a major source for this book, and his insider insight is a tremendous addition not just to Watergate, but later scandals.
• October Surprise II: The secret deal the Reagan campaign made with Iran to hold US hostages until after the election. Due to his support for the Iraq War, Christopher Hitchens is today a darling of the right. This is what he had to say about Parry’s previous book on October Surprise, Trick or Treason:

  The ‘October Surprise’? Didn’t that all get looked into? Didn’t it get debunked? If you half-think this, or have half-heard it, then you owe it to yourself to read Bob Parry’s scrupulous account of a story within a story.

  In Secrecy & Privilege Parry fills in many of the previous October Surprise blanks. Based on the current evidence, there is little doubt that, like the 1968 election, in 1980 Republicans engaged in what can only be described as both trick and treason.

• Sun Myung Moon: Reverend Moon and his mysterious money machine have purchased much influence among Washington’s right wing. Moon owns the Washington Times newspaper and has thrown tens of millions of dollars at the Bush family and other right-wing Republicans. Indeed, Moon provided the funds to bail out Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University. And yet this same man, one who has bankrolled so many on the American Right, makes bizarre statements such as: “The country that represents Satan’s harvest is America.” Hmmm…
• Iran-Contra: What can one say? From illegal weapons sales and profiteering to illegal war-making, this was treason at the highest levels of government.
• The rise of Dubya: It’s amazing what a bunch of crooked judges can pull off.

Through these events, Parry charts the past 35 years of history of the Republican Party, one that could be summed up with the phrase: “by any means necessary.” Willing to use any means to gain power, then willing to use any means to maintain it.

As Parry details, when Watergate put the public spotlight on this cynical criminal cabal, the right wing vowed never to let it happen again. Not the crimes, but the getting-caught part. Thus they systematically built a propaganda machine that would brainwash the American public. Following Watergate, nary a discouraging word would be heard. The man behind the curtain remained unseen.

A right-wing newspaper, the Washington Times was founded. Right-wing “think tanks” such as the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute were put in place. Right-wing magazines such as the American Spectator were floated. Blatantly biased right-wing radio shows flooded the airways, while a right-wing cable news network, Fox, began broadcasting. Propaganda experts from the CIA moved into the domestic field, working their psy-ops on the American psyche. This was war—war on the truth—and it was pursued with Stalin-like ruthlessness.

Journalists such as Gary Webb who dared to report the truth found themselves shouted down and had their careers destroyed. Leading the way in these attacks were journalists from the so-called “liberal media” New York Times and Washington Post.

By the 1980’s, that “liberal media” no longer existed. Via the systematic relaxation of regulations on media ownership, the once-independent media morphed into an echo-box for corporate owners. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the rise to power of the current president, George W. Bush. Parry’s Secrecy & Privilege details these stories and more.

If I have to find fault with this volume, it’s simply that so much ground remains unmined. The ties of the CIA’s Frank Carlucci (now of the Carlyle Group), along with Ted Shackley and Richard Armitage to drug kingpin Khun Sa are MIA. Nor is there any mention of the seminal work, Silent Coup, which ties the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward to what may have been a de facto military coup. And certain elements of the CIA, such as Frank Sturgis, Felix Rodrizuez, E. Howard Hunt and Barry Seal go largely unmentioned.

But these are errors of omission, rather than commission. As a longtime Parryphile, I know that he will not just bend over backwards, but twist his body into yogi-like shapes to maintain a neutral stance in his writing. In other words, if Parry doesn’t have somebody’s crimes stapled, glued and duct-taped to the wall, he doesn’t print it.

And that, is perhaps the strongest recommendation I can make regarding his latest work. When Bob Parry tells you something stinks, don’t expect just a whiff of scandal, but some seriously skanky deep doo-doo. Keep that in mind as you read Secrecy & Privilege. Parry should really bundle each copy with a pair of waders, for from the moment you crack this puppy open, you’ll be knee-deep in it.

Parry maintains an excellent website at Consortiumnews.com with his sons, Nat and Sam. All of his books can be purchased there. I got my copy there, and recommend you also purchase direct, for this helps support truly independent journalists.

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