On Nov. 15, 1996 Michael Ruppert publicly confronted a former CIA director about corruption witnessed as a narcotics investigator with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Tonight, Ruppert will speak on campus about what he feels are the unethical practices of the United States government, the growth of drug trafficking in the country and the ongoing conflict in Iraq.
The event, sponsored by the Coalition for Justice and Democracy, will focus on oil and gas issues facing the world and the detrimental ways the U.S. has changed since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Ruppert will also detail how he believes the Central Intelligence Agency, one of the country's largest police agencies, is actively involved in the world's drug trade.
Tilda Sosaya, director of UNM's Coalition for Justice and Democracy, said she invited Ruppert to speak on campus because people need to hear the information he has.
"Everything he was saying about the drug war and the quest for world dominance through oil was like seeing the writing on the wall," Sosaya said.
Ruppert said he discovered drug trafficking involving the CIA in 1977 and was forced to resign from LAPD as a result in 1978. His outspoken accounts of government corruption were displayed on national television in 1996 when he confronted former CIA director John Deutch with evidence on the CIA's involvement in international drug trades and the injection of drug money by the government into the country's economy and on Wall Street.
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He said the United States and CIA are still "deeply involved" in this trafficking.
"The United States has become dependent on drug cash flowing through Wall Street," Ruppert said.
Ruppert said he enjoys speaking at colleges and universities about the rapid depletion of the world's natural fuel resources, an issue he said will dramatically change the world before this generation's eyes.
Since 9/11, he has spoken at more than 30 university campuses in nine different countries.
"The world is beginning to run out of peak energy," Ruppert said. "You guys (students) are going to live in a world that is drastically different than any previous generation."
Realizing the importance of discussing recent issues, Ruppert said he plans on addressing how the war in Iraq has and will continue to affect Americans.
"I feel strongly that the information he brings to the public can change the face of our democracy," Sosaya said. "Awareness is the only thing that can change our democracy."
Ruppert said he also wants to inform the UNM community about how people everywhere have lost many of their civil liberties after 9/11.
Ruppert's speech at UNM is part of a nationwide tour to inform the country's college generation about what he sees as the truth in our society before the 2004 presidential elections.
For more information on Ruppert or his findings on the United States government go to www.fromthewilderness.com, or attend his lecture at 7 p.m. tonight in the Continuing Education Building.
