---
category: "Private Organization"
tags:
  - organization
  - media
  - contra-war
summary: Newsweek was a major American news magazine that covered the Dark Alliance story, calling it a powerful series.
---
Newsweek was a major American news magazine that covered the [[Dark Alliance]] story. The magazine was also connected to the Contra war's origins: according to one account, [[Central Intelligence Agency]] director [[William J. Casey]] himself leaked news of the Contra project to Newsweek to ensure it could not be abandoned.[^1]

### Casey's Leak

According to reports, Casey wanted to ensure that the Contra project did not get shelved. Once it became public knowledge that the Reagan administration was helping the [[Contras]], Casey reasoned, stopping it would look like a sellout, another [[Bay of Pigs|Bay of Pigs]]. The deliberate leak to Newsweek illustrated how the CIA used the media to build political support for its covert operations and to box in congressional opponents.[^2]

### Footnotes

[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 6.
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 6.