Typical revisionism from McClendon. That airbase existed for decades before Clinton. The "Mena scandal" started with Democrats trying to portray Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Oliver North and the CIA as cocaine smugglers.
When Bush lost the election, a couple of guys (Terry Reed and Gene Wheaton) came up with the bright idea to shift substitute Clinton as the culprit in this phony scandal.
The net result of the Mena scandal was to provide a cover for the Tyson cocaine-smuggling operation in Arkansas, where Clinton received most of his money while he was governor. The whole mess was buried when Clinton pardoned everyone who was successfully prosecuted by Independent Counsel Donald Smaltz. But that led to the Pardons for Sale scandal...
so, those two press releases by the CIA, one in late 98 and one in February of 1999 where the CIA said that they've been involved in smuggling drugs into the US for 20 years were just lies, just propaganda put out by the democrats to blame the republicans.
I can remember that idiot who led the CIA in LA back in 97 or so talking to locals after the San Jose article came out. He was saying emphatically that all the stories about CIA involvement in cocaine epidemic were lies. Then in late 98 and early 99 they (CIA) themselves issued a press release admitting to the involvement in drug smuggling.
But it doesn't matter, blind ideologues don't care about reality. Republicans are happy if only we can blame the Democrats. Democrats are happy if only they can blame the Republicans. America's welfare, truth, right & wrong, these things mean nothing.
Meanwhile, the Republicans and the democrats work together to do things that the overwhelming majority of americans disapprove of and that are bad for our country. And the slimeballs who rule us privately smile at our stupidity and think smugly that they are superior to us masses lost in our primitive passions.