... I was winning awards, getting raises, lecturing college classes, appearing on TV shows, and judging journalism contests. And then I wrote some stories that made me realize how sadly misplaced my bliss had been. The reason I'd enjoyed such smooth sailing for so long hadn't been, as I'd assumed, because I was careful and diligent and good at my job ... The truth was that, in all those years, I hadn't written anything important enough to suppress...

Webb's reporting generated fierce controversy and the San Jose Mercury News backed away from the story effectively ending Webb's career as a mainstream media journalist. Journalist George Sanchez states that "the CIA's internal investigation by Inspector General Frederick Hitz vindicated much of Gary's reporting and observes that despite the campaign against Webb "the government eventually admitted to more than Gary had initially reported" over the years. Though he was criticized and outcast from the mainstream journalism community his reportage was eventually vindicated as many of his findings have since been validated: since Webb's death both the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune have defended his "Dark Alliance" series.