tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61897121443701039432024-03-05T09:59:03.980-08:00Homeline SecuritySecurity News you can use.John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-92098849676834943212013-03-12T05:16:00.001-07:002013-03-12T05:16:12.096-07:0022 Shocking Facts About Fast And Furious<br />
Fast And Furious: 22 Shocking Facts<br />
About The Scandal That Could Bring Down The Obama Administration<br />
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http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/fast-and-furious-22-shocking-facts-about-the-scandal-that-could-bring-down-the-obama-administration<br />
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<br />
Could Fast and Furious be the scandal that brings down the Obama administration?<br />
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With the full knowledge of the Department of Justice, ATF agents facilitated the sale of thousands of guns to Mexican drug cartels and dropped all surveillance of those weapons once they crossed the border.Weapons sold during Operation Fast and Furious have been used to shoot U.S. border control agents.Weapons sold during Operation Fast and Furious have been found at dozens of crime scenes in Mexico.<br />
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Nobody has been held accountable for this scandal yet.U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has been stonewalling all efforts by members of Congress to look into Fast and Furious.A CBS reporter that has been aggressively investigatingthis story was recently screamed at and cussed at by a high ranking official that works in the White House.It has become abundantly clear that the Obama administration desperately wants to hide what went on during Operation Fast and Furious.So will they succeed or will we eventually find out the truth?<br />
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What you are about to read should shock the living daylights out of you.The U.S. overnment purposely armed Mexican drug cartels with thousands of guns and then ordered agents not to follow the weaponsacross the border. This should be a story that the mainstream media is pounding on every single day. But they aren't. In fact, they are mostly ignoring it.<br />
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However, if the truth starts getting out and the American people start grasping what really happenedthis thing could become absolutely huge. In fact, this could end up being Obama's Watergate.<br />
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The following are 22 shocking facts about the scandal that could bring down the Obama administration....<br />
#1 During Operation Fast and Furious, ATF agents purposely allowed thousands of guns to be sold to individuals that they believed would get them into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.<br />
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#2<br />
ATF agents were specifically ordered not to intercept the guns before they crossed the border.The following is a brief excerpt from a CBS News reportthat detailed the fierce objections that many ATF agents expressed when they were ordered to stand down....<br />
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On the phone, one Project Gunrunner source (who didn't want to be identified) told us just how many guns flooded the black market under ATF's watchful eye. "The numbers are over 2,500 on that case by the way. That's how many guns were sold-including some 50-calibers they let walk." 50-caliber weapons are fearsome. For months, ATF agents followed 50-caliber Barrett rifles and other guns believed headed for the Mexican border, but were ordered to let them go. One distraught agent was often overheard on ATF radios begging and pleading to be allowed to intercept transports. The answer: "Negative. Stand down."<br />
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CBS News has been told at least 11 ATF agents and senior managers voiced fierce opposition to the strategy. "It got ugly..." said one. There was "screaming and yelling" says another. A third warned: "this is crazy, somebody is gonna to get killed." <br />
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#3 Operation Fast and Furious remained a secret until the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry last December.Two guns that were sold during Operation Fast and Furious were found at the scene of the murder<br />
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#4 ATF Special Agent John Dodson was one of the first to blow the whistle on Operation Fast and Furious.Dodson explained to the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee on June 15, 2011 that many ATF agents were becoming extremely frustrated when they were ordered to cut off surveillance on the weapons that were being sold because they knew "that just days after these purchases, the guns<br />
that we saw these individuals buy would begin turning up at crime scenes in the UnitedStates and Mexico."<br />
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#5 It appears that Operation Fast and Furious began some time around September 2009.At that time, the ATF began pressuring gun shops near the border with Mexico to participate in a new covert operation that was being set up.The gun store owners were told to help the ATF get guns into the hands of people that would take them back o the Mexican drug cartels.<br />
<br />
The following description of the mechanics of Operation Fast and Furious comes from a recent Los Angeles Times article<br />
....<br />
<br />
In the fall of 2009, ATF agents installed a secret phone line and hidden cameras in a ceiling panel and wall at Andre Howard's Lone Wolf gun store. They gave him one basic instruction: Sell guns to every illegal purchaser who walks through the door. For 15 months, Howard did as he was told. To customers with phony IDs or wads of cash he normally would have turned away, he sold pistols, rifles and semiautomatics.<br />
He was assured by the ATF that they would follow the guns, and that the surveillance would lead the agents to the violent Mexican drug cartels on the Southwest border. WhenHoward heard nothing about any arrests, he questioned the agents. Keep selling, they told him. So hundreds of thousands of dollars more in weapons, including .50- caliber sniper rifles, walked out of the front door of his store in a Glendale, Ariz., strip mall.<br />
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#6 In some gun stores, cameras were set up so that top ATF officials could actually watch these transactions take place.Back in June, U.S. Representative Darrell Issa stated the following ....<br />
"Acting Director Melson was able to sit at his desk in Washington and himself watch a live feed of straw buyers entering the gun stores and purchasing dozens of AK- variants."<br />
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#7 It has also come out that in some cases ATF agents were actually the ones buying the guns and getting them into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.The following is how author Michael A. Walsh recently explained this in an article in the New York Post....<br />
This just might be the smoking gun we’ve been waiting for to break the festering “Fast and Furious” gun-running scandal wide open: the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives apparently ordered one of its own agents to purchase firearms with taxpayer money, and sell them directly to a Mexican drug cartel. Let that sink in: After months of pretending that “Fast and Furious” was a botched surveillance operation of illegal gun-running spearheaded by the ATF and the US attorney’s office in Phoenix, it turns out that the government itself was selling gunsto the bad guys.<br />
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#8 According to the Los Angeles Times, guns that were purchased during Operation Fast and Furious have"turned up at dozens of additional Mexican crime scenes, with an unconfirmed toll of at least 150 people killed or wounded."<br />
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#9<br />
Mexican authorities were never informed that thousands upon thousands of guns were being allowed into Mexic0.<br />
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#10 Authorities in Mexico have asked the U.S. government over and over to explain what in the world happened during Operation Fast and Furious but they have not been given an adequate answer.In fact,<br />
according to the Los Angeles Times , the Obama administration has not even responded to questions from the attorney general of Mexico....<br />
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<br />John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-16455375581261213332012-05-03T12:04:00.003-07:002012-05-03T12:10:10.909-07:00 reposted by <br />
Homeline Ops<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Fast and Furious II<br />
Follow-up to What We Know So Far<br />
byRaquel Okyay 10/04/2011<br />
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=46529<br />
<br />
Digging deeper into the Fast and Furious cover-upreveals initial blame at the US Department of State, direction from the Department of Justice, and a finish at the mercy of a Congressional review.<br />
<br />
As part of a Report issued by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) commencing in October 2010, the Stateagency criticizes the Office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for taking down the little guys but not securing enough convictions against the “higher-level traffickers, smugglers, and the ultimate recipients of trafficked guns,” particularly into Mexico.<br />
<br />
OIG recommends “implementation of Project Gunrunner, including that ATF should improve its intelligence sharing with other federal law enforcement agencies and that ATF should work with the government of Mexico to improve the rate of successful traces.” OIG neglects to recognize that many Mexican officials, from the police to the politicians are corrupted drug dealers themselves; and that the FBI and DOJ is ineffective at sharing intelligence with anyone.<br />
<br />
Project Gunrunner is a program designed to move and track weapons through straw purchasers into the hands of dangerous Mexican drug cartels. While Federal officials are justified in their assertion that Project Gunrunner stems from a 2005 Laredo, Texas ATF program, a national initiativestarting in 2006 led to Operation Fast and Furious. Operation Fast and Furious was cleared at the highest levels of government with their fingers deliberately pointed at ATF. An agency that successfully prosecutes 1000s of cases annually is now subject to complete the job the Justice Department should have been doing all along.<br />
<br />
“In March of 2007, [I began] working in my current post of duty as a Supervisor of the Phoenix Field Office. Within weeks, I was surprised at what I had observed. In my professional opinion, dozens of firearms traffickers were given a pass by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. Despite the existence of “probable cause” many cases, there were no indictments, no prosecutions, and criminals were allowed to walk free. In short, their office policies, in my opinion, helped pave a dangerous path.”<br />
(Testimony of Phoenix ATF Special Agent Peter Forcelli June 15, 2011) Exporting guns from the US is indeed a violation of the Arms Export Control Act, so red flags were raised by “whistleblowers” when ATF agents were expected to circumvent Federal law.<br />
<br />
The ATF limited by jurisdictional, Arizona law, could not arrest straw purchasers of <br />
firearms who were US citizens and could pass a Brady check, even when they knew the weaponry would be delivered to a Mexican drug cartel. Special Agent Peter Forcelli continues: “When I voiced surprise and concern with this tactic to Special Agent in Charge William Newell and ASAC George Gillett, my concerns were dismissed. This operation, which in my opinion endangered the American public, was orchestrated in conjunction with Assistant US Attorney Emory Hurley. I have read documents that indicate that his boss, US Attorney Dennis Burke, also agreed with the direction of this case.Allowing firearms to be trafficked to criminals is a dangerous and deadly strategy.”<br />
<br />
“As a career law enforcement officer, who has had to investigate the deaths of police officers, children and others at the hands of armed criminals, I was and continue to be horrified. Truly horrified. I believe that these firearms will continue to turn up at crimescenes, on both sides of the border, for years to come.”<br />
<br />
While being questioned by members of Congress, former ATF Special Agent in Charge William Newell dodged questions,tripped over answers, and essentially lied under oath to protect a failed, federal law enforcement operation. (Congressional Hearing July 26, 2011)<br />
<br />
Rumor has it that Newell’s actions were not at the behest of ATF, but rather approved by the Justice Department who refused to end the program when ATF Acting Director urged that it be terminated.<br />
On September 21, SAC Newell issued a “supplemental statement,” where Newell continued the false notion that ATF agents did not “knowingly allow thousands of weapons to reach criminal hands. Any concerns raised over the program were never voiced to appropriate authorities.” (FoxNews.com) Now there’s hell to pay for agents who have objected to Operation Fast and Furious and demanded it be stopped early on. Those who publically object to the actions taken by the Federal government in implementing Operation Fast and Furious have been cautioned to keep quiet in their opposition, otherwise suffer the consequences–<br />
Gestapo–style.Watch out America!John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-65544689512961982302012-03-02T13:16:00.000-08:002012-03-02T13:16:50.238-08:00Fukushima DispersionMap of dispersion of radiation and deposition in Northern Hemisphere.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGOb0nHJBl8CAkC0jdm2qfhY1qQCvtiYX9u8UzI61FuWqaSCcMRoXLhAPps5aMKBeoCmyfyQ6ky0RweaWLVKSmcaHyhIZNnoqfWzhFg_yoLpk9ock2z7STdZxgTfyPWsVYKZYgiy6kYBI/s1600/Fukushima+Radiation+Dispersion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGOb0nHJBl8CAkC0jdm2qfhY1qQCvtiYX9u8UzI61FuWqaSCcMRoXLhAPps5aMKBeoCmyfyQ6ky0RweaWLVKSmcaHyhIZNnoqfWzhFg_yoLpk9ock2z7STdZxgTfyPWsVYKZYgiy6kYBI/s640/Fukushima+Radiation+Dispersion.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-42919621046359599852011-07-24T07:13:00.000-07:002011-07-24T07:13:38.068-07:00Zetas may be smuggling US government weaponsReposted from El Paso Times<br />
By Diana Washington Valdez \ El Paso Times<br />
Posted: 07/13/2011 12:00:00 AM MDT<br />
<br />
The brutally violent Zetas drug organization may be smuggling military-grade weapons through El Paso and Columbus, N.M., to feed its ongoing battles against other cartels and to possibly disrupt the 2012 elections in Mexico.<br />
<br />
Phil Jordan, a former director of the DEA's El Paso Intelligence Center and a former CIA operative, said the Zetas have shipped large amounts of weapons through the El Paso area.<br />
<br />
A federal law enforcement agency in El Paso said it has no information about the allegations that the Zetas are smuggling weapons through El Paso.<br />
<br />
"They are purchasing weapons in the Dallas area and are flying them to El Paso, and then they are taking them across the border into Juárez," said Jordan, a law enforcement consultant MEXICO IN FOCUS<br />
Analysis on news out of Mexico and former DEA official who still has contacts in the law enforcement community.<br />
<br />
Jordan said the Zetas were flying weapons caches out of the Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, and after they arrive in the El Paso vicinity, the Zetas smuggled them into Juárez.<br />
<br />
"What's ironic is that the DEA also uses the Alliance Airport for some of its operations," Jordan said. "The Zetas were working out of a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in the Dallas area to smuggle the weapons to the border."<br />
<br />
The DEA has its Aviation Operations Center at Alliance.<br />
<br />
Robert "Tosh" Plumlee, a former CIA contract pilot, supported Jordan's allegations and said the Zetas allegedly also purchased property in the Columbus-Palomas border region to stash weapons and other contraband.<br />
<br />
He said purchasing property and setting up a weapons-smuggling network suggests that the Zetas were establishing a staging area for their operations.<br />
<br />
DEA Special Agent Diana Apodaca, spokeswoman for El Paso's DEA office, said the agency did not have any information about the Zetas allegedly operating in this border region.<br />
<br />
No one from the Border Patrol or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives returned calls Tuesday for comment.<br />
<br />
Earlier this month, Plumlee had a debriefing with the Border Patrol in Las Cruces about the intelligence he gathered when he accompanied the U.S. military's Task Force 7 along the border. The military, which assists civilian law enforcement in counter-drug operations, was looking into allegations of gun smuggling along the border.<br />
<br />
"The military task force became concerned that its information about arms smuggling was being compromised," Plumlee said. "From the intel, it appears that a company was set up in Mexico to purchase weapons through the U.S. Direct Commercial Sales program, and that the company may have had a direct link to the Zetas."<br />
<br />
Under the Direct Commercial Sales program, the U.S. State Department regulates and licenses businesses to sell weapons and defense services and training for export. Last year, according to U.S. statistics, the program was used to provide Mexico $416.5 million worth of weapons and equipment, including military-grade weaponry.<br />
<br />
The program is different from the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program, which operates on a government-to-government basis.<br />
<br />
Plumlee said military-grade weapons were found in a Juárez warehouse two years ago, and some of them were moved later to a ranch elsewhere in Juárez. Arms stash houses have also been reported in places across the border from Columbus and Antelope Wells, N.M.<br />
<br />
"They've found anti-aircraft weapons and hand grenades from the Vietnam War era," Plumlee said. Other weapons found include grenade launchers, assault rifles, handguns and military gear including night-vision goggles and body armor.<br />
<br />
"The information about the arms trafficking was provided to our U.S. authorities long before the 'Columbus 11' investigation began," said Plumlee, referring to recent indictments accusing several Columbus city officials of arms trafficking in conjunction with alleged accomplices in El Paso and Chaparral, N.M.<br />
<br />
Jesús Rejón Aguilar, the number three man in the Zeta's hierarchy, disclosed last week that the Zetas bought weapons in the United States and transported them across the Rio Grande. Mexican federal authorities captured Rejón on July 3 in the state of Mexico, and presented him to the news media the next day. His recorded video statement was uploaded on YouTube.<br />
<br />
Jordan agreed with Plumlee's allegations that the Zetas are operating in the Columbus-Palomas border.<br />
<br />
Plumlee, who has testified before U.S. congressional committees about arms and drug trafficking, said the roads in Southern New Mexico provide smugglers easy access to Mexico's highway networks.<br />
<br />
Recently, Juárez police removed a couple of "narco mantas" (drug cartel banners) allegedly signed by the Zetas that were left in two parts of the city. The message claimed that the Zetas had nothing to do with a July 8 massacre at a nightclub in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.<br />
<br />
Similar banners containing the same message appeared in cities in eight other Mexican states. The messages blamed the Gulf drug cartel for the attack in Monterrey that killed or injured 34 people.<br />
<br />
Zetas have been reported in Juárez and other Chihuahua cities, but so far they have kept a low profile. <br />
<br />
According to an FBI Investigation Intelligence Bulletin, "Los Zetas activities in the United States to date have largely been limited to the U.S./Mexico border area," but have expanded their reach into the Southeast and Midwestern United States.<br />
<br />
Authorities in Arizona previously reported that Zetas dressed up as SWAT officers were implicated in the 2008 murder of a man in Phoenix.<br />
<br />
The FBI said the Zetas emerged from an elite Mexican army unit known as Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales, or GAFE, that was created to fight drug-traffickers. Some GAFE members received special U.S. military training.<br />
<br />
In 2002, "an unknown number deserted and joined the Gulf cartel, serving as the hired guns for cartel leadership," the FBI bulletin said. "Since that time Los Zetas has grown into a sizeable, semi-independent organization."<br />
<br />
The FBI said the organization has been tied to public corruption, immigrant smuggling, kidnapping, assault, murder, extortion and money laundering.<br />
<br />
"The group is well-armed, highly trained, and reputed for their brutal tactics as cartel enforcers," the FBI memo said.<br />
<br />
Plumlee said most of the military-grade weapons that made their way into Mexico are not showing up at crime scenes where drug violence is rampant.<br />
<br />
"Most of the military-type weapons have been found in stash houses, being stored up," Plumlee said. "This is getting into theory now, but I think the Zetas are saving them for the (2012) election season. They probably want to be included in a part of the government."<br />
<br />
Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140.John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-29760732411658987302011-07-23T08:01:00.000-07:002011-07-23T08:01:46.362-07:00Grassley Suspects Botched Gun-Tracking Program Was Motivated by Desire to ‘Restrict Guns’<span class="title">reposted from CNS News</span><br />
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<!-- END .article-info --><br />
<div class="article-text"><div class="node"><span class="date"><span id="ctl00_ContentArea_lblPostDateTime">Friday, July 22, 2011</span></span><br />
<span class="byline">By <a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/source/72750">Fred Lucas</a> </span><div class="content">(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says the Obama administration may have launched a failed gun-tracking operation along the Mexican border because “they don’t like the Second Amendment” and want to “restrict guns.”<br />
Grassley is leading the Senate’s investigation into Operation Fast and Furious, in which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) knowingly allowed semi-automatic guns such as AK-47s to be straw-purchased in the U.S., then sent to Mexican drug trafficking organizations.<br />
Grassley said he does not know definitively if there was a political motivation, but he suspects there was:<br />
<br />
“My suspicion is they don’t like the Second Amendment the way it is, and they are going to do everything to hurt guns and restrict guns. So they could have been building a case for that. But I can’t prove that.”<br />
<object height="390" width="640"><embed height="390" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YTm1u4_GWBg?version=3&hl=en_US" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></object><br />
Operation Fast and Furious began in September 2009 but was halted after two of the weapons were found at the murder scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in December 2010. Operation Fast and Furious ended with the indictment of 20 straw purchasers but no one from the drug cartels, which were a primary target of the program.<br />
<br />
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a second hearing on the matter next week, on Tuesday.<br />
<br />
Even before the botched gun-tracking operation came to light, President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder and other high-ranking administration officials talked about the need to curb the alleged flow of guns from the United States into Mexico.<br />
<br />
During a joint press conference on April 16, 2009 in Mexico City with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/joint-press-conference-with-president-barack-obama-and-president-felipe-calderon-me">Obama talked</a> about gun-tracing, calling it an area “where I think that we can make some significant progress.”<br />
<br />
Holder mentioned gun smuggling as a priority in a speech to a police group on April 15, 2010.<br />
“In particular, we'll be soliciting your assistance in our reinvigorated drug enforcement efforts -- work that is driving an enhanced focus on Mexico and on our southwest border,” Holder said. “To date, the (Justice) Department has launched a series of efforts aimed at confronting the threats posed by Mexican cartels, by sophisticated criminal organizations, by smugglers of guns, drugs and cash, and by those intent on illegally crossing into our country.”<br />
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Just last month, the Justice Department announced that all gun shops in four Southwest border states will be required to notify the federal government about frequent buyers of rifles.<br />
<br />
Under the new policy, federal firearms licensees in Texas, California, Arizona and New Mexico must report purchases of two or more of some types of rifles by the same person in a five-day span. The requirement applies to purchases of semi-automatic rifles that have detachable magazines and a caliber of greater than .22 – the kind of weapons favored by Mexican drug cartels.<br />
<br />
NRA Executive Director Chris Cox called the reporting requirement "a blatant effort by the Obama administration and ATF to divert focus of Congress and the general public from their gross incompetence in the Fast and Furious scandal."</div></div></div>John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-50847441986778172472011-07-14T10:57:00.000-07:002011-07-14T10:57:54.626-07:00Demand Gunwalker Accountability<div><strong>Its Your Government Hold Them Accountable – Demand Gunwalker Accountability</strong> <br />
<em>By Jeff Knox</em><br />
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_11217" style="width: 235px;"><a href="http://www.ammoland.com/tag/firearms-coalition/"><img alt="FirearmsCoalition.org" class="size-full wp-image-11217" height="132" src="http://www.ammoland.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/firearms-coalition-org-logo.jpg" title="firearms-coalition-org-logo" width="225" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text">FirearmsCoalition.org</div></div><strong>Manassas, VA -</strong>-(<a href="http://www.ammoland.com/" target="_self" title="AmmoLand Reports">Ammoland.com</a>)- Most of the larger national media outlets are doing their best to ignore the Gunwalker scandal, but the word is dribbling out despite the best efforts of the Obama Administration and their lackeys in the mainstream press.<br />
<br />
Those who know about the outrageous project should be demanding answers and accountability.<br />
The recent hearings in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired by Rep. Darrel Issa (R-CA), showed clearly that agents of the ATF and other agencies, working with the approval from the highest levels of the Department of Justice <em>– no more than one desk below Attorney General Erik Holder, if not Holder himself –</em> actively conspired and facilitated the sale of some 2000 or more rifles to suspected illegal firearms traffickers and then intentionally allowed those guns to continue in illicit channels with no attempt to track, interdict, or disable them.<br />
<br />
ATF field agents who objected to the program were threatened and even fired. On one occasion an agent pointed out that people were being killed with guns supplied by the ATF and his manager responded with the callous cliché that if you want to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs.<br />
Mexican authorities report that some 300 Mexican nationals have been killed with these guns along with at least one and possibly two US law enforcement officers. Those are some pretty costly eggs.<br />
The President of the United States has told a Mexican journalist that he did not authorize the program and that Erik Holder didn’t either.<br />
<br />
ATF and DOJ have claimed that the objective was to track guns up to Mexican <em>“drug lords”</em> and possibly topple a Mexican drug cartel, but the whole program was kept a secret from Mexican authorities and agents were ordered to make no effort to track the guns beyond the original purchaser. Agents watched as suspected firearms traffickers purchased dozens of AK-style firearms. They trailed the suspects, and guns, to a rendezvous where the guns were transferred to another vehicle, and then, in accordance with strict orders, they allowed the other vehicle, and the guns, to drive away without even an effort to identify the person or track or interdict the guns.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile the ATF and DOJ have continued to promulgate inaccurate and deceptive statistics regarding firearms trafficking and the involvement of illegally trafficked firearms in crime in Mexico – statistics that are falsely inflated by the Gunwalker project itself. They have also continued with attempts to change congressionally mandated regulations to include the reporting and tracking of purchasers of more than one rifle in a given week.<br />
<br />
While such reporting and tracking might seem reasonable on the surface, even including some firearm owners, the actual utility of the reporting program is questionable, and is a major usurpation of power by ATF. The Bureau is specifically forbidden in the same statute which authorizes such reporting for multiple handguns. What’s more, ATF is notorious for failing to delete information gathered in this manner as required by law, thus building a de facto registration system.<br />
<br />
The evidence does not support the existence of any large-scale gun trafficking rings. The largest and most successful gun trafficking rings uncovered so far were those endorsed and supported by the ATF in Project Gunwalker, aka “Operation Fast and Furious.” Without ATF assistance forcing gun dealers to cooperate, these dealers would never have taken the chance of repeatedly selling large quantities of guns to suspicious-looking cash customers. And even then, ATF ignored the structure of these organizations. They were only interested in the straw buyers, not any of their immediate associates, and, as I mentioned above, ATF specifically forbade any disclosure of the Gunwalker program to anyone within the government of Mexico.<br />
<br />
All that ATF seemed interested in was who bought the guns, how many they bought, and where the guns turned up in crimes. The fact that the guns did turn up at crime scenes<em> – murders, maimings, and massacres, including of Mexican police officers or government officials –</em> seems to have been of little concern to ATF and DOJ officials.<br />
<br />
This limited interest suggests only two possible motivations: to build stronger, more incriminating cases against straw purchasers <em>– the guys ATF has consistently insisted are the bottom of the food chain –</em> or to generate statistical and emotional support for their requested increases in authority. Perhaps one was just a<em> “happy side effect”</em> of the other. In either case, the strategy was seriously flawed and hundreds of people lost their lives.<br />
<br />
This administration intentionally allowed arms to flow into the hands of criminals and the policy factored in the deaths of hundreds of Mexican citizens and at least one US Border Patrol Agent. They have also intentionally blocked congressional and media inquiries into the matter and retaliated against ATF whistleblowers.<br />
<br />
<strong>Compare the scope and reach of Gunwalker to Watergate.</strong> <br />
Watergate began with a handful of overzealous political supporters incompetently trying to bug their opponent’s offices and the administration working to protect those loyal supporters. Gunwalker, from its inception, was a criminal enterprise directed from the cabinet level.<br />
<br />
Where is the outrage and indignation – at the administration, at DOJ and ATF, at politicians for defending the guilty and intentionally obfuscating the issues, and at the media for virtually ignoring the story?<br />
<br />
Don’t allow this story to fizzle out on the back pages, and don’t allow the ATF and this administration to be rewarded for this very bad behavior. Tell them that you want to see the administration held accountable. Write your local paper and television outlets. Tell them that you want to see better coverage of this scandal.<br />
<br />
Your senators and congressmen will be home for the summer recess. Tell them that you want funding and authority to ATF curtailed until more safeguards against usurpation of rights can be established.<br />
<blockquote><em>This is your government. It’s up to you to hold them accountable.</em></blockquote><strong>About:</strong> <br />
The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization provides support to grassroots activists in the form of education, analysis of current issues, and with a historical perspective of the gun rights movement. The Firearms Coalition is a project of Neal Knox Associates, Manassas, VA. Visit: <a href="http://www.firearmscoalition.org/?ammoland" target="_blank" title="AmmoLand Supports the Firearms Coalition">www.FirearmsCoalition.org</a></div>John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-72370264122591633492011-07-11T13:02:00.000-07:002011-07-11T13:02:47.279-07:00The Stimulation Of Murder<h1><span style="font-size: x-small;">Posted 07/08/2011 07:02 PM ET reposted from <span style="font-size: large;">Investors Business Daily</span> opinions</span></h1><div class="newsStory"><div class="quickTools" id="ctl00_ctl00_secondaryContent_leftContent_artBody_mpnlQuickTools" style="display: none;"></div><strong>Scandal:</strong> The ATF's gun-running disaster was funded in the stimulus bill. Think about all the criminal and drug cartel jobs saved or created. And our attorney general once bragged to a Mexican audience about implementing it.<br />
<br />
This could be, no pun intended, the proverbial smoking gun in a growing administration scandal that deserves as much mainstream media attention as Iran-Contra or Watergate.<br />
<br />
Right there in the stimulus bill that no one in Congress bothered to read is $10 million for Project Gunrunner (aka Operation Fast and Furious), which resulted in the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and increased drug cartel violence.<br />
<br />
Right there in the "shovel ready" stimulus, no black humor intended, is a provision for $40 million for "state and local law enforcement assistance" along our border with Mexico and in high drug-trafficking areas, "of which $10 million shall be transferred to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, salaries and expenses for the ATF Project Gunrunner."<br />
<br />
Attorney General Eric Holder's "I know nothing" imitation of TV's Sgt. Schultz has evaporated with the discovery of an April 2, 2009, speech to authorities in Cuernavaca, Mexico, in which he took Gunrunner credit for himself and the rest of the Obama administration.<br />
<br />
Holder told the audience: "Last week, our administration launched a major new effort to break the backs of the cartels. My department is committing 100 new ATF personnel to the Southwest border in the next 100 days to supplement our ongoing Project Gunrunner. DEA is adding 16 new positions on the border, as well as mobile enforcement teams, and the FBI is creating a new intelligence group focusing on kidnapping and extortion."<br />
<br />
So which administration official put the Gunrunner money in the stimulus? Which congressman insisted on this deadliest of earmarks?<br />
<br />
The original Southwest Border Violence Reduction Act of 2009 was sponsored by Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-Texas. Rodriguez's co-sponsors were two other Texans, Henry Cuellar and Silvestre Reyes, plus Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Harry Teague, D-N.M.<br />
<div class="artAtglance"><script language="JavaScript" src="http://podcast.outloudopinion.com/ibd/ibd.php">
</script> <br />
<div id="outloud" style="font-size: 130%;"><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=280972228"><img alt="mp3" border="0" height="30" id="mp3" name="mp3" src="http://www.investors.com/images/editimg/ibded/Microphone.jpg" style="float: left;" width="30" />Subscribe to the IBD Editorials Podcast </a></div></div>Holder is clearly not telling the truth about his role in Gunrunner. He knew about it, boasted of it and took credit for it. Now he's orchestrating a cover-up of it. President Obama needs to man up about Gunrunner and either take responsibility for this tragedy or admit, under oath if need be, that even he didn't know what was in the stimulus bill.<br />
<br />
During an interview with a Univision reporter that aired in March, Obama said he was "absolutely not" informed about the ATF program that deliberately funneled guns into Mexico. "I did not authorize it," he said. "Eric Holder, the attorney general, did not authorize it. He's been very clear that our policy is to catch gunrunners and put them into jail."<br />
<br />
Clearly somebody is lying here. At a House oversight hearing last month, three federal firearms investigators testified they wanted to "intervene and interdict" the guns at the border, but were repeatedly ordered to step aside and let the traffickers proceed.<br />
Acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson, in closed-door testimony in front of Rep. Darrell Issa's committee, said administration officials sought to control and limit his communications with Congress, including withholding documents that made Melson "sick to his stomach" after he reviewed them.<br />
<br />
On Dec. 14, Terry was fatally shot in the Arizona desert while patrolling one of the region's most dangerous drug- and human-smuggling corridors. He was shot in the back with an AK-47 assault rifle. Two weapons that were allowed to cross the border as part of Project Gunrunner were found at the scene.<br />
<br />
The evidence suggests that Agent Terry's death was financed by the president's stimulus package with the full knowledge and support of Attorney General Holder.<br />
It makes us sick to our stomachs too.</div>John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-77190785446122927872011-07-11T12:38:00.000-07:002011-07-11T12:38:06.884-07:00Obama stimulus funded 'guns-to-drug-lords'<!-- deck --><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino, Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><h2>Spending bill gave $10 million of taxpayers' funding to project Gun Runner</h2></span><hr size="1" /><span>Posted: July 09, 2011<br />
1:00 am Eastern<br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Palatino, Times New Roman, Georgia, Times, serif;">By Michael Carl</span><br />
<!-- copyright --><span>© 2011 WND</span><br />
<br />
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</tbody></table>Just a day after <a href="http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=319861">U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., called for Attorney General Eric Holder's removal</a>, alleging a White House connection to the "Project Gunrunner" that allowed weapons to be delivered to Mexican drug lords, confirmation has come that the program originated at the highest levels of the Obama administration.
The link is the $10 million in taxpayer dollars designated to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for Project Gunrunner in Obama's 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, otherwise known as the Stimulus Bill.
Section 5, Division A, Title II, under the heading of "Office of Justice Programs," <a href="http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1/text?version=enr&nid=t0:enr:232"> says the money is set aside for border regions.</a>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
For an additional amount for 'State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance,' $40,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2014, for competitive grants to provide assistance and equipment to local law enforcement along the Southern border and in High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas to combat criminal narcotics activity stemming from the Southern border, of which $10,000,000 shall be transferred to 'Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Salaries and Expenses' for the <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c111:8:./temp/~c111JoFfir:e44678:">ATF Project Gunrunner.</a></div><em><a href="http://superstore.wnd.com/books/WND-Books/Shooting-Back-The-Right-and-Duty-of-Self-Defense-book">Understand the importance of being able to defend yourself, get "Shooting Back: The Right and Duty of Self Defense"</a></em>
Gun Owners of America President Larry Pratt believes stimulus money was given to a drug dealer to buy guns.
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"Ten million dollars, and one of the ways they were spending it was a paid FBI informant who was a drug dealer they had flipped. So he was buying lots of guns with that stimulus money," <a href="http://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2011/07/08/news/fast-and-furious-cover-up/">Pratt said.</a>
Pratt said that the stimulus bill enhanced one industry in particular.
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"We can say there's one thing that was stimulated by the stimulus bill and that was the Mexican undertaker business," Pratt said. "Mexican authorities say that 150 people were murdered using these guns."<br />
Listen to an interview with Pratt:<br />
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Pratt said that the gun buyer involved was the subject of what he calls an "aspect of tragic comedy."<br />
"This FBI informant was being surveilled by the ATF that was running the Fast and Furious Operation and they had no idea that he was an FBI informant," Pratt observed.<br />
"But obviously they didn't need to be informed because they didn't care. They just wanted the guns to walk," he stated.<br />
Today, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he would support the call for a special prosecutor if members of Congress investigating the issue believe that is the best solution.<br />
<a href="http://www.gillreport.com/">Appearing on the Steve Gill show,</a> he said, "The point of our inquiry is to find out who really signed off on this operation. Who is the one who said 'yeah, this is a good thing to do.' It might have sounded like a good idea, but it ended up with the murder of Mr. Terry, a border control agent, and two of the guns were found at the scene of that murder."<br />
A report in the San Francisco Chronicle says that FBI informants were connected to the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/07/MNBC1K7CFE.DTL">ATF's Project Gunrunner.</a><br />
Firearms law analyst and writer David Codrea believes that even if there is evidence to prove that known criminals used taxpayer money to get guns to take to Mexico, nothing is likely to be done with the evidence.<br />
"If left to Holder's Justice Department, nothing, because it shows this had to be top-level DoJ-authorized," Codrea explained.<br />
Reports say other federal agencies have also been drawn into the operation. The DEA, FBI and upper-level DOJ officers, including the U. S. Attorney's office in Phoenix, have been named.<br />
Attorney General Holder's office has not responded to WND's request for comment.<br />
Codrea believes that it's possible that ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson's office was bypassed in decision-making about the operation.<br />
"It's absolutely possible and may even be probable that they bypassed Melson in the operation. However, that does not excuse him from having no control of his agency," Codrea said.<br />
"But this kind of thing cannot take place in your agency unless you have unless you have people ... who are absolutely flat-out lying to you," he said.<br />
Pratt also believes that some of the guns were purchased by the Mexican cartels directly from federal agents.<br />
"One of the founders of the cartel, one of their top 14 directors if you will, a guy whose nickname is El Mamito, has said that he was buying guns directly from the federal government," Pratt explained.<br />
<a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/05/world/la-fg-mexico-arrest-20110705"></a>Jesus Rejon Aguilar, nicknamed El Mamito or "Pretty Boy," he third highest ranking member of the drug gang Los Zetas, was captured Monday by Mexican authorities. <br />
Pratt said he believes for the guns to go across at a designated location, there had to be coordination between several federal law enforcement agencies.<br />
"There had to be some kind of a deal with the Border Patrol. ... We know that in that '09 meeting that set-up Fast and Furious, those four or five agencies were all part of the deal," Pratt said.<br />
Pratt said that it's not likely that many of the representatives who voted for the stimulus package were aware that money was allocated for Project Gunrunner.<br />
"Anyone who voted for the stimulus bill has another reason to regret their vote. Obviously they didn't read the bill," Pratt asserted. "They don't read most of the bills up there at all."<br />
Pratt illustrated his comment by citing former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's comment about the <a href="http://blog.heritage.org/2010/03/10/video-of-the-week-we-have-to-pass-the-bill-so-you-can-find-out-what-is-in-it/">health care bill:</a> "But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of controversy." <br />
Several border state representatives contacted about the stimulus package and its allocation of $10 million for Project Gunrunner have not returned WND's calls.<br />
Pratt also said that he's supportive of West's call for the removal of Holder and for a special prosecutor to be appointed.<br />
"This is something that is very appropriate. While Rep. Issa <a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/issa-says-he-doesn-t-believe-holder-s-te"> was very correct in his choice of words, </a>he said he didn't think Attorney General Eric Holder told the truth," Pratt said. "He could have said it more sharply, that he thinks Eric Holder is a liar, but it comes out the same in the wash."<br />
Codrea believes that the pressure felt by the administration may be the leverage needed for the Justice Department or the White House to force Melson to resign.<br />
"I think they were hoping they could have him quietly transferred out but he saw what was going on and he has to understand which way the wind blows and he has things on higher ups and they want him to keep quiet," Codrea commented.<br />
"It looks like [Melson] decided that going quietly is not in his best interest. What was in his best interest is to lawyer up and to go and talk to the congressional oversight committee," he said.<br />
Listen in an interview with Codrea:<br />
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Codrea and Pratt believe that the issue is going to get bigger as more details become public. Pratt believes that if Issa's committee continues its work, the entire scenario may rise to the level of Watergate.<br />
"Just like Watergate became the only thing the Richard Nixon administration could think about, I think 'Fast and Furious' is coming to the point where it's going to be an all consuming issue," Pratt said.<br />
"It's going to take the Obama regime off their stride and they're going to have to be playing defense." </div>John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-17472749318564843542011-06-23T08:24:00.000-07:002011-06-23T08:26:35.849-07:00Arizona sheriff blames Mexican smugglers for Border Wild Fires<h1><span moduleid="10036173" modulename="Related News" name="trackingEnabledModule"><script type="text/javascript">
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</script> </span><span id="articleText"><span style="font-size: small;">By </span><a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=tim.gaynor&"><span style="color: #006e97; font-size: small;">Tim Gaynor</span></a> <span style="font-size: x-small;">reprinted from Reuters</span></span></h1><div id="articleInfo"><span class="location">PALOMINAS, Ariz</span> | <span class="timestamp"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;">Tue Jun 21, 2011 7:08pm EDT</span></span> </div><span id="midArticle_0"></span><span class="focusParagraph"> </span><br />
<span class="articleLocation">PALOMINAS, Ariz</span> (Reuters) - Two Arizona wildfires that have scorched a quarter-million acres combined and destroyed dozens of homes just north of the U.S.-<a href="http://www.reuters.com/places/mexico" title="Full coverage of Mexico"><span style="color: #006e97;">Mexico</span></a> border were probably started by Mexican smugglers, the Cochise County sheriff said on Tuesday.<br />
<span id="midArticle_1"></span> <br />
The remarks by Sheriff Larry Dever are likely to add to the furor sparked by Arizona Senator John McCain when he suggested that illegal immigrants were to blame for some of the massive wildfires raging out of control in the state.<br />
<span id="midArticle_2"></span> <br />
The latest of those, the so-called Monument Fire, erupted a week ago at the Coronado National Memorial and spread quickly into the adjacent national forest. It roared through the steep slopes and rugged canyons of the Huachuca Mountains before breaking out into ranch lands and populated areas over the weekend.<br />
<span id="midArticle_3"></span> <br />
A separate blaze in southeastern Arizona known as the Horseshoe 2 Fire has blackened some 223,000 acres and destroyed or damaged nine dwellings since it began May 8, though it is now listed as 90 percent contained.<br />
<span id="midArticle_4"></span> <br />
Cochise Sheriff Dever told reporters the Monument Fire was "man-caused" and started in an area near the border fence that is closed to visitors and known to law enforcement for "high-intensity, drug- and human-trafficking."<br />
<span id="midArticle_5"></span> <br />
"It wasn't the rabbits or the rattle snakes that started this fire, it was human beings, and the only human beings believed to be occupying (the area) were smugglers," he said during a news conference.<br />
<span id="midArticle_6"></span> <br />
Dever said traffickers intentionally light fires to use as signals, to keep themselves warm and as diversions "to keep ... law enforcement off their backs." He added that the Horseshoe 2 Fire was likely sparked in the same way.<br />
<span id="midArticle_7"></span> <br />
Federal officials stressed, however, that origins of the Monument and Horseshoe 2 fires remains under investigation.<br />
<span id="midArticle_8"></span> <br />
Any statements at this point about a cause "would be speculation," said John Morlock, acting National Park Service administrator for the Monument Fire.<br />
<span id="midArticle_9"></span> <br />
He told Reuters that while the grounds of the Coronado Memorial where the Monument Fire began were closed to the public due to extreme fire danger at the time, a road that runs through that 4,700-acre park was open to traffic.<br />
<span id="midArticle_10"></span> <br />
Dever's statements appeared to give credence to statements McCain made on Saturday citing "substantial evidence that some of these fires have been caused by people who have crossed our border illegally."<br />
<span id="midArticle_11"></span> <br />
The Arizona Republican and former presidential candidate made that comment at a news conference after paying a visit to the site of a third, larger blaze farther north in Arizona, the Wallow Fire in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.<br />
<span id="midArticle_12"></span> <br />
Some critics have accused McCain of trying to single out illegal immigrants as scapegoats before the cause of the fires had been officially determined.<br />
<span id="midArticle_13"></span> <br />
But Dever told Reuters, "I wouldn't take issue with the senator at all. In fact, I would support absolutely what he is suggesting."<br />
<span id="midArticle_14"></span> <br />
The Monument fire has gutted at least 62 homes and a number of businesses, and an estimated 11,000 people were forced to flee at the peak of the fire threat in an area southeast of the town of Sierra Vista, Arizona. About 27,000 acres have burned in all.<br />
<span id="midArticle_15"></span> <br />
Diminished winds since Monday have helped firefighters make headway against the flames, and by Tuesday ground crews had managed to carve containment lines around 40 percent of the fire's perimeter. But much of the Monument Fire continues to burn in remote terrain inaccessible to ground crews.<br />
<span id="midArticle_0"></span> <br />
Federal fire authorities have said they suspect that an unattended campfire touched off the Wallow Fire, which has burned over 800 square miles and ranks as the largest ever in Arizona. Two "persons of interest" have been questioned by investigators, but they have not been identified, and no charges have been filed.<br />
<span id="midArticle_1"></span> <br />
In response to McCain's remarks, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman was quoted by ABC News as saying there was no evidence to suggest illegal immigrants were to blame,<br />
<span id="midArticle_2"></span> <br />
McCain has stood by his statement, saying he was speaking generally about "some" of the Arizona fires, not the Wallow Fire specifically.<br />
<span id="midArticle_3"></span> <br />
On Monday, McCain, fellow Arizona Senator Jon Kyl and two Arizona congressmen, U.S. Representatives Jeff Flake and Paul Gosar, issued a joint statement saying that a Forest Service official who briefed them during their Wallow Fire visit told them that "some wildfires in Arizona are regrettably caused by drug smugglers and illegal immigrants."<br />
<span id="midArticle_4"></span> <br />
(Additional reporting and writing by <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=steve.gorman&"><span style="color: #006e97;">Steve Gorman</span></a>; Editing by <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=greg.mccune&"><span style="color: #006e97;">Greg McCune</span></a>)<br />
<br />
<div class="facebookRec" tns="no"><iframe allowtransparency="" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2F2011%2F06%2F21%2Fus-wildfires-arizona-idUSTRE75K6LF20110621&layout=standard&show_faces=false&width=450&action=recommend&colorscheme=light&height=35" style="height: 35px; overflow: hidden; width: 450px;"></iframe></div>John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-171134944783386492011-06-23T08:09:00.000-07:002011-06-23T08:09:32.354-07:00Who OK'd 'Guns To Gangs' Program, And Why?<h1><span style="font-size: x-small;">Editorial:</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> reprinted from Investors Business Daily</span></h1><div class="byline"> <span>Posted 06/21/2011 06:51 PM ET</span></div><div class="byline"><br />
</div><div class="newsStory"><div class="quickTools" id="ctl00_ctl00_secondaryContent_leftContent_artBody_mpnlQuickTools" style="display: none;"></div><strong>Law:</strong> After getting caught doing the unbelievable — arming Mexico's cartels — word is the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms boss is out, and the gun-controller the White House wanted all along is in. How far up does this go?<br />
<br />
Acting ATF director Kenneth Melson is apparently ready to take the fall for what may be the most morally repulsive scandal to befall the Obama administration so far.<br />
<br />
Our neighbor Mexico lies bleeding from a long, vicious war to fight seven major drug cartels at once. Some 38,000 have been left dead since 2006. Amid all this, U.S. ATF agents had orders from on high to supply U.S. weapons to cartel middlemen buying them on U.S. soil for the odd purpose of "tracing" them.<br />
<br />
The news that Melson is resigning seems to be a bid by the Obama administration to paint this as simply an example of Keystone Kop-style bungling being corrected. But many things suggest the operation may have been done for political purposes, and not merely stupidity.<br />
<br />
The idea behind "Operation Fast and Furious" was to let gun dealers sell weapons to cartel middlemen, who would then ship them to criminal gangs in Mexico, and damn the consequences.<br />
The operation was so contrary to the goals of ATF that its agents repeatedly raised anguished protests — only to be rebuffed from their superiors, according to testimony presented to House Oversight Committee chair Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who is investigating the scandal.<br />
<div class="artAtglance"> <script language="JavaScript" src="http://podcast.outloudopinion.com/ibd/ibd.php">
</script> <div id="outloud" style="font-size: 130%;"> </div></div>Nearly 2,000 weapons flowed south to Mexico based on this U.S.-taxpayer-financed program. Not surprisingly, two of these "gunwalker" weapons turned up at the Arizona murder scene of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, killed by illegal aliens in December 2010.<br />
<br />
The Issa hearings are having an effect, with Melson's rumored resignation the first sacrificial offering.<br />
But does it really end there? So much doesn't add up.<br />
<br />
First, as operations go, this one was "felony-stupid," as Issa put it in the hearings. There was no effort to trace the weapons even after letting them get out. If the weapons weren't traced, why was this operation sanctioned? The White House made a big deal about U.S. weapons flowing south to Mexico, claiming 90% of all weapons in the hands of cartels came from U.S. gun merchants.<br />
<br />
But that argument was false, based on the cherry-picked samples Mexico offered for inspection. For Mexico, it was a chance to divert attention from their loose border controls and blame the gringos.<br />
As for Obama, he wanted to reinstate an assault-weapon ban in 2008, but said he did not have the political capital to do it. Bob Owens, writing for Pajamas Media, noted that the administration seemed to want to whip up a crisis requiring a crackdown on guns in the U.S.<br />
<br />
It gets worse. President Obama has long wanted gun-control-oriented ATF agent Andrew Traver to head the agency. Now, with Melson rumored to be ready to quit this week, he may get his way and benefit.<br />
<br />
There are real questions that must be answered about who knew about this, and when. An American lies murdered for what may be political aims. He has a right to justice — as high up as it goes.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ibdeditorials/576079.mp3">Listen to the Podcast</a><br />
<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=280972228">Subscribe through iTunes</a></div>John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-5840357089438275482011-06-15T19:37:00.000-07:002011-06-15T19:37:56.289-07:00Congressional Findings on "Fast and Furious"<span class="a" style="left: 663px; top: 1014px;"></span><div class="ff4"><span class="a" style="left: 733px; top: 989px;"> </span></div><div class="ff0"><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 1014px; word-spacing: -1px;">DOJ and ATF inappropriately and recklessly relied on a <span class="w7"></span>20-year old ATF Order to allow</span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 1131px; word-spacing: 1px;">guns to walk. <span class="w" style="width: 20px;"></span>DOJ and ATF knew from an <span class="l6">early date that guns were <span class="l6">being trafficked to</span></span></span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 1248px;">the DTOs.</span></div><div class="ff6"><span class="a" style="left: 663px; top: 1466px;"></span></div><div class="ff4"><span class="a" style="left: 733px; top: 1442px;"> </span></div><div class="ff0"><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 1467px; word-spacing: -1px;">ATF agents are trained to “follow the <span class="w6"></span>gun” and interdict weapons whenev<span class="w6"></span>er possible.</span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 1584px; word-spacing: -1px;">Operation Fast and Furious required agents to <span class="w6"></span>abandon this training.</span></div><div class="ff4"><span class="a" style="left: 733px; top: 1749px;"> </span></div><div class="ff0"><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 1774px; word-spacing: -1px;">DOJ relies on a narrow, untenable <span class="w6"></span>definition of gunwalking to claim that guns were <span class="w6"></span>never </span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 1876px; word-spacing: 1px;">walked during Operation Fast and Furious. <span class="w" style="width: 16px;"></span>Agents disagree with this <span class="l6">definition,</span></span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 1977px; word-spacing: 1px;">acknowledging that hundreds or possibly <span class="l6">thousands of guns were in fact <span class="l6">walked. <span class="w" style="width: 21px;"></span>DOJ’s</span></span></span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 2079px;">misplaced reliance on this definition does not change the fact that it knew that ATF could</span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 2181px; word-spacing: -1px;">have interdicted thousands of guns that were being trafficked to Mexico, yet chose to do </span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 2283px;">nothing.</span></div><div class="ff6"><span class="a" style="left: 663px; top: 2486px;"></span></div><div class="ff4"><span class="a" style="left: 733px; top: 2461px;"> </span></div><div class="ff0"><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 2486px; word-spacing: -1px;">ATF agents complained about <span class="w6"></span>the strategy of allowing guns to walk in Ope<span class="w6"></span>ration Fast</span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 2588px; word-spacing: 3px;">and Furious. <span class="w" style="width: 17px;"></span>Leadership ignored <span class="l6">their concerns. <span class="w" style="width: 16px;"></span>Instead, supervisors <span class="l9">told the <span class="l6">agents to</span></span></span></span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 2689px; word-spacing: -1px;">“get with the program” because senior ATF <span class="w7"></span>officials had sanctioned the operation.</span></div><div class="ff4"><span class="a" style="left: 733px; top: 2868px;"> </span></div><div class="ff0"><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 2893px;">Agents knew that given the large numbers of weapons being trafficked to Mexico, tragic</span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 3010px; word-spacing: -1px;">results were a near certainty.</span></div><div class="ff4"><span class="a" style="left: 733px; top: 3175px;"> </span></div><div class="ff0"><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 3200px; word-spacing: -1px;">Agents expected to interdict weapons, <span class="w6"></span>yet were told to stand down and <span class="w6"></span>“just surveil.”</span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 3302px; word-spacing: 1px;">Agents therefore did not act. <span class="w" style="width: 17px;"></span>They watched straw purchasers <span class="l6">buy hundreds of weapons</span></span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 3403px; word-spacing: -1px;">illegally and transfer those weapons to unknown <span class="w6"></span>third parties and stash houses.</span></div><div class="ff4"><span class="a" style="left: 733px; top: 3582px;"> </span></div><div class="ff0"><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 3607px;">Operation Fast and Furious contributed to the increasing violence and deaths in Mexico.</span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 3724px; word-spacing: -1px;">This result was regarded with giddy optimism by ATF supervisors hoping that <span class="w6"></span>guns</span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 3841px; word-spacing: -1px;">recovered at crime scenes in Mexico <span class="w6"></span>would provide the nexus to <span class="w6"></span>straw purchasers in</span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 3958px;">Phoenix.</span></div><div class="ff6"><span class="a" style="left: 663px; top: 4148px;"></span></div><div class="ff4"><span class="a" style="left: 733px; top: 4123px;"> </span></div><div class="ff0"><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 4148px; word-spacing: -1px;">Every time a law enforcement official in Arizona was <span class="w6"></span>assaulted or shot by a firearm, ATF</span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 4250px; word-spacing: -1px;">agents in Group VII had great anxiety that guns used to perpetrate the crimes may trace</span><span class="a" style="left: 773px; top: 4352px;"> back to Operation Fast and Furious.</span></div><div class="ff2"><span class="a" style="left: 663px; top: 4557px;"> </span></div><div class="ff4"><span class="a" style="left: 733px; top: 4532px;"> </span></div><div class="ff0"><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 4557px;">Jaime Avila was entered as a suspect in the investigation by ATF on November 25, 2009,</span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 4659px;">after purchasing weapons alongside Uriel Patino, who had been identified as a suspect in</span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 4760px; word-spacing: 1px;">October 2009. <span class="w" style="width: 21px;"></span>Over the next month and a half, Avi<span class="l6">la purchased 13 more weapons, each</span></span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 4862px; word-spacing: 1px;">recorded by the ATF in its <span class="l7">database within days of t<span class="l6">he purchase. <span class="w" style="width: 22px;"></span>Then on January 16,</span></span></span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 4964px;">2010, Avila purchased three AK-47 style rifles, two of which ended up being found at the</span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 5065px; word-spacing: 1px;">murder scene of U.S. Border Patrol <span class="l6">Agent Brian Terry. <span class="w" style="width: 17px;"></span>The death of Border Agent Brian</span></span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 5167px; word-spacing: -1px;">Terry was likely a preventable tragedy.</span></div><div class="ff0"><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 5167px; word-spacing: -1px;"></span> </div><div class="ff0"><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 5167px; word-spacing: -1px;"><div class="ff0"><span class="a" style="left: 3710px; top: 5417px;"></span></div><div class="ff0"><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 653px; word-spacing: -1px;">Phoenix ATF Special Agent <span class="w6"></span>in Charge (SAC) William Newell’s statement that the </span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 770px; word-spacing: -1px;">indictments represent the take-down of a firearms trafficking ring from top to <span class="w6"></span>bottom, and </span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 887px; word-spacing: -1px;">his statement that ATF never allowed gun<span class="w6"></span>s to walk are incredible, false, and <span class="w6"></span>a source of </span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 1004px; word-spacing: -1px;">much frustration to the agents.</span></div><div class="ff4"><span class="a" style="left: 733px; top: 1197px;"> </span></div><div class="ff0"><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 1222px; word-spacing: -1px;">Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, DOJ continues to deny that Operation Fast</span><span class="a" style="left: 795px; top: 1339px;">and Furious was ill-conceived and had deadly consequences.</span></div></span></div><div class="ff2"><span class="a" style="left: 2224px; top: 5142px;"></span></div><div class="image_layer" style="z-index: 1;"><div class="ie_fix"><img class="absimg" src="http://htmlimg2.scribdassets.com/3bqa6tudc0107fjl/images/9-29d43acb90.jpg" style="clipbottom: 3px; clipleft: 1px; clipright: 697px; cliptop: 1px; display: block; height: 4px; left: 101px; top: 171px; width: 698px;" /></div></div><div class="b_tl"></div><div class="b_tr"><script type="text/javascript">
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</script> </div><div class="outer_page only_ie6_border " id="outer_page_10" style="height: 428px; width: 157px;"></div>John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-17668800725422574072011-06-15T18:34:00.000-07:002011-06-15T18:36:52.199-07:00Congressional Report on "Fast and Furious"<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: x-small;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: x-small;"><div align="LEFT"><br />
</div>reprinted from the Congressional Report on DOJ operation "Fast and Furious" </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Cambria-Bold; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Cambria-Bold; font-size: large;"></span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria-Bold; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Cambria-Bold; font-size: large;"><div align="LEFT">Executive Summary</div></span><div align="LEFT"></div></span><div align="LEFT"></div></b><br />
<div align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">In the fall of 2009, the Department of Justice (DOJ) developed a risky new strategy to combat gun trafficking along the Southwest Border. The new strategy directed federal law enforcement to shift its focus away from seizing firearms from criminals as soon as possible— </span></div><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><div align="LEFT">and to focus instead on identifying members of trafficking networks. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) implemented that strategy using a reckless investigative technique that street agents call “gunwalking.” ATF’s Phoenix Field Division began allowing suspects to walk away with illegally purchased guns. The purpose was to wait and watch, in the hope that law enforcement could identify other members of a trafficking network and build a large, complex conspiracy case. </div><div align="LEFT"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT">This shift in strategy was known and authorized at the highest levels of the Justice Department. Through both the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona and “Main Justice,” headquarters in Washington, D.C., the Department closely monitored and supervised the activities of the ATF. The Phoenix Field Division established a Gun Trafficking group, called Group VII, to focus on firearms trafficking. Group VII initially began using the new gunwalking tactics in one of its investigations to further the Department’s strategy. The case was soon renamed “Operation Fast and Furious,” and expanded dramatically. </div><div align="LEFT"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT">It received approval for Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) funding on January 26, 2010. ATF led a strike force comprised of agents from ATF, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The operation’s goal was to establish a nexus between straw purchasers of assault-style weapons in the United States and Mexican drug-trafficking organizations (DTOs) operating on both sides of the United States-Mexico border. Straw purchasers are individuals who are legally entitled to purchase firearms for themselves, but who unlawfully purchase weapons with the intent to transfer them into the hands of DTOs or other criminals.</div><br />
<div align="LEFT">Operation Fast and Furious was a response to increasing violence fostered by the DTOs in Mexico and their increasing need to purchase ever-growing numbers of more powerful weapons in the U.S. An integral component of Fast and Furious was to work with gun shop merchants, or “Federal Firearms Licensees” (FFLs) to track known straw purchasers through the unique serial number of each firearm sold. ATF agents entered the serial numbers of the weapons purchased into the agency’s Suspect Gun Database. These weapons bought by the straw purchasers included AK-47 ariants, Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifles, .38 caliber revolvers, and the FN Five-seveN.</div><br />
<div align="LEFT">During Fast and Furious, ATF frequently monitored actual transactions between the FFLs and straw purchasers. After the purchases, ATF sometimes conducted surveillance of these weapons with assistance from local police departments. Such surveillance included following the vehicles of the straw purchasers. Frequently, the straw purchasers transferred the weapons they bought to stash houses. In other instances, they transferred the weapons to third parties. The volume, frequency, and circumstances of these transactions clearly established reasonable suspicion required </div></span><br />
<div align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">to <em>question b</em>yers. Agents are trained to use such interactions to develop probable cause to arrest the suspect or otherwise interdict the weapons and deter future illegal </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"> purchases operation Fast and Furious sought instead to <em>allow </em></span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">the flow of guns from straw </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">purchasers to the third parties. Instead of trying to interdict the weapons, ATF purposely avoided contact with known straw purchasers or curtailed surveillance, allowing guns to fall into the hands of criminals and bandits on both sides of the border.</span></div><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"> <br />
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<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><div align="LEFT">Though many line agents objected vociferously, ATF and DOJ leadership continued to prevent them from making every effort to interdict illegally purchased firearms. Instead, leadership’s focus was on trying to identify additional conspirators, as directed by the Department’s strategy for combating Mexican Drug Cartels. ATF and DOJ leadership were interested in seeing where these guns would ultimately end up. They hoped to establish a connection between the local straw buyers in Arizona and the Mexico-based DTOs. By entering serial numbers from suspicious transactions into the Suspect Gun Database, ATF would be quickly notified as each one was later recovered at crime scenes and traced, either in the United States or in Mexico.</div><br />
<div align="LEFT">The Department’s leadership allowed the ATF to implement this flawed strategy, fully aware of what was taking place on the ground. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona encouraged and supported every single facet of Fast and Furious. Main Justice was involved in providing support and approving various aspects of the Operation, including wiretap applications that would necessarily include painstakingly detailed descriptions of what ATF knew about the straw buyers it was monitoring.</div><br />
<div align="LEFT">This hapless plan allowed the guns in question to disappear out of the agency’s view. As a result, this chain of events inevitably placed the guns in the hands of violent criminals. ATF would only see these guns again after they turned up at a crime scene. Tragically, many of these recoveries involved loss of life. While leadership at ATF and DOJ no doubt regard these deaths as tragic, the deaths were a clearly foreseeable result of the strategy. Both line agents and gun dealers who cooperated with the ATF repeatedly expressed concerns about that risk, but ATF supervisors did not heed those warnings. Instead, they told agents to follow orders because this was sanctioned from above. They told gun dealers not to worry because they would make sure the guns didn’t fall into the wrong hands.</div><br />
<div align="LEFT">Unfortunately, ATF never achieved the laudable goal of dismantling a drug cartel. In fact, ATF never even got close. After months and months of investigative work, Fast and Furious resulted only in indictments of 20 straw purchasers. Those indictments came only after the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. The indictments, filed January 19, 2011, focus mainly on what is known as “lying and buying.” Lying and buying involves a straw purchaser falsely filling out ATF Form 4473, which is to be completed truthfully in order to legally acquire a firearm. Even worse, ATF knew most of the indicted straw purchasers to be straw purchasers before Fast and Furios even began. </div></span><br />
<div align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"></span></div><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><div align="LEFT">In response to criticism, ATF and DOJ leadership denied allegations that gunwalking occurred in Fast and Furious by adopting an overly narrow definition of the term. They argue that gunwalking is imited to cases in which ATF itself supplied the guns directly. <br />
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As field agents understood the term, however, gunwalking includes situations in which ATF had </div></span><div align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">contemporaneous knowledge of illegal gun purchases and purposely decided not to attempt any </span></div><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><div align="LEFT">interdiction. The agents also described situations in which ATF facilitated or approved ransactions to known straw buyers. Both situations are even more disturbing in light of the ATF’s certain knowledge that weapons previously purchased by the same straw buyers had been trafficked into Mexico and may have reached the DTOs. When the full parameters of this program became clear to the agents assigned to Group VII, a rift formed among Group VII’s agents in Phoenix. Several agents blew the whistle on this reckless operation only to facepunishment and retaliation from ATF leadership. Sadly, only the tragic murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry provided the necessary impetus for DOJ and ATF leadership to finally indict the straw buyers whose regular purchases they had monitored for 14 months. Even then, it was not until after whistleblowers later reported the issue to Congress that the Justice Department finally issued a policy directive that prohibited gunwalking.</div><br />
<div align="LEFT">This report is the first in a series regarding Operation Fast and Furious. Possible future reports and hearings will likely focus on the actions of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, the decisions faced by gun shop owners (FFLs) as a result of ATF’sacntions, and the remarkably ill-fated decisions made by Justice Department officials in Washington, especially within the Criminal Division and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. This first installment focuses on ATF’s misguided approach of letting guns walk. The report describes the agents’ outrage about the use of gunwalking as an investigative technique and the continued denials and stonewalling by DOJ and ATF leadership. It provides some answers as to what went wrong with Operation Fast and Furious. <br />
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Further questions for key ATF and DOJ decision makers remain unanswered. For example, what leadership failures within the Department of Justice allowed this program to thrive? Who will be held accountable and when?</div></span><br />
<div align="LEFT"></div>John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-53308501824423811382011-03-30T06:56:00.000-07:002011-03-30T06:56:11.480-07:00Fukushima MeltdownFukushima Daiichi nuclear plant lost<br />
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Published 30 March 2011<br />
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The radioactive core in the Unit 2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant appears to have melted through the bottom of its containment vessel and is now resting on a concrete floor; officials are now struggling with two crucial but contradictory efforts: pumping in water to keep the fuel rods cool and pumping out contaminated water; an investigation found that Tokyo Electric Power Co. officials had dismissed scientific evidence and geological history that indicated that a massive earthquake -- and subsequent tsunami -- was far more likely than they believed; more than 11,000 bodies have been recovered, but officials say the final death toll is expected to exceed 18,000. Hundreds of thousands of people remain homeless, their homes and livelihoods destroyed. Damage could amount to $310 billion -- the most expensive natural disaster on record<br />
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Workers at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant appeared to have “lost the race” to save one of the reactors, a U.S. expert told the Guardian.<br />
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Richard Lahey, who was head of safety research for boiling water reactors at General Electric when the company installed the units at the Japan plant, says the radioactive core in the Unit 2 reactor appears to have melted through the bottom of its containment vessel and on a concrete floor.<br />
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“The indications we have, from the reactor to radiation readings and the materials they are seeing, suggest that the core has melted through the bottom of the pressure vessel in unit two, and at least some of it is down on the floor of the drywell,” Lahey told the paper.<br />
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Lahey did add there was no danger of a Chernobyl-style catastrophe.<br />
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Japan was hit by another earthquake Wednesday after a magnitude-5.5 earthquake struck off the east coast of Honshu, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.<br />
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Fox News reports that Japan’s government vowed Tuesday to overhaul nuclear safety standards once its radiation-leaking reactor complex is under control, admitting that its safeguards were insufficient to protect the plant against the 11 March tsunami.<br />
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The struggle to contain radiation at the complex has unfolded with near-constant missteps — including two workers drenched Tuesday with radioactive water despite wearing supposedly waterproof suits. The unfolding drama has drawn increasing criticism of the utility that owns the plant as well as scrutiny of Japan’s preparedness for nuclear crises.<br />
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“Our preparedness was not sufficient,” Edano told reporters. “When the current crisis is over, we must examine the accident closely and thoroughly review” safety standards.<br />
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An AP investigation found that Tokyo Electric Power Co. officials had dismissed scientific evidence and geological history that indicated that a massive earthquake — and subsequent tsunami — was far more likely than they believed.<br />
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That left the complex with nowhere near enough protection against the 11 March tsunami.<br />
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A massive offshore earthquake triggered the tsunami that slammed into Japan’s northeast, wiping out towns, killing thousands of people and knocking out power and backup systems at the coastal nuclear power plant.<br />
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More than 11,000 bodies have been recovered, but officials say the final death toll is expected to exceed 18,000. Hundreds of thousands of people remain homeless, their homes and livelihoods destroyed. Damage could amount to $310 billion — the most expensive natural disaster on record.<br />
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The mission to stabilize the power plant has been fraught with setbacks, as emergency crews have dealt with fires, explosions and radiation scares in the frantic bid to prevent a complete meltdown.<br />
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The plant has been leaking radiation that has made its way into vegetables, raw milk and tap water as far away as Tokyo. Residents within twelve miles of the plant have been ordered to leave and some nations have banned the imports of food products from the Fukushima region.<br />
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Highly toxic plutonium was the latest contaminant found seeping into the soil outside the plant, TEPCO said Monday.<br />
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Safety officials said the amounts did not pose a risk to humans, but the finding supports suspicions that dangerously radioactive water is leaking from damaged nuclear fuel rods.<br />
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“The situation is very grave,” Edano told reporters Tuesday.<br />
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Fox News reports that workers succeeded last week in reconnecting some parts of the plant to the power grid. As they pumped in water to cool the reactors and nuclear fuel, however, they discovered numerous pools of radioactive water, including in the basements of several buildings and in trenches outside of them.<br />
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The contaminated water has been emitting four times as much radiation as the government considers safe for workers. It must be pumped out before electricity can be restored and the regular cooling systems powered up.<br />
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That has left officials struggling with two crucial but contradictory efforts: pumping in water to keep the fuel rods cool and pumping out contaminated water.<br />
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Officials are hoping tanks at the complex will be able to hold the water, or that new tanks can be trucked in. On Tuesday, officials from the Nuclear Safety Commission, an expert panel of nuclear watchdogs, said other possibilities include digging a storage pit for the contaminated water, recycling it back into the reactors or even pumping it to an offshore tanker.<br />
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The latest mishap came Tuesday, when three workers trying to connect a pump outside the Unit 3 reactor were splashed by radioactive water that gushed from a pipe. Though they were wearing suits meant to be waterproof and protect against high levels of radiation, nuclear safety official Hidehiko Nishiyama said the men were soaked to their underwear with the contaminated water.<br />
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They quickly washed it off and were not injured, officials said.John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-11840082874292092442011-01-12T14:25:00.000-08:002011-01-12T14:25:10.256-08:00Interview with Mexico Drug War expert Sylvia Longmire<div class="cat"> </div><div class="cat">reposted from AllTreatment.com</div><div class="cat">Categorized under: <a href="http://blog.alltreatment.com/category/current-events/" rel="category tag" title="View all posts in Current Events"><span style="color: #b63d13;">Current Events</span></a>, <a href="http://blog.alltreatment.com/category/drug-news/" rel="category tag" title="View all posts in Drug News"><span style="color: #b63d13;">Drug News</span></a>, <a href="http://blog.alltreatment.com/category/interview/" rel="category tag" title="View all posts in Interview"><span style="color: #b63d13;">Interview</span></a>, <a href="http://blog.alltreatment.com/category/legalization/" rel="category tag" title="View all posts in Legalization"><span style="color: #b63d13;">Legalization</span></a></div><h2>Interview with Mexico Drug War expert Sylvia Longmire</h2><div>After reading an especially <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/world/americas/09mexico.html"><span style="color: #b63d13;">disturbing news piece</span></a> on drug related decapitations in Acapulco, Mexico, we here at AllTreatment.com decided it was time to talk to an expert about the violence in Mexico, the Drug Cartels, how that affects us here in the US, and what we can possibly do to help the situation. So we contacted Sylvia Longmire of <a href="http://www.longmireconsulting.com/"><span style="color: #b63d13;">Longmire Consulting</span></a> and the writer of the blog <a href="http://borderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com/"><span style="color: #b63d13;">Mexico’s Drug War</span></a>, an informative and revealing blog which we highly recommend for those wanting to learn more.</div><div><img alt="" height="310" id="il_fi" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01799/mex_1799774i.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="496" /><br />
<strong>Question:</strong> First, could you please briefly explain who you are and what you do?<br />
<strong>Sylvia Longmire:</strong> I’m a former Air Force officer and Special Agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and also a former senior border security analyst for the State of California. I’m currently a consultant, freelance writer, and author on Mexico’s drug war.<br />
<strong>Q:</strong> For readers with little or knowledge of what is going on down in Mexico, could you lay out some of the basics of the situation?<br />
<strong>SL:</strong> Right now, Mexican drug trafficking organizations, or DTOs, are the number one source for illegal drugs consumed by Americans. Because illegal drugs command such high prices on the black market, manufacturing and distributing these drugs to American consumers is a highly profitable business. Currently, there are seven major DTOs in Mexico fighting each other and the Mexican government for control of the drug smuggling routes that DTOs use to move drugs from their source to American consumers across the southwest border. The fighting between DTOs and with Mexican government forces has resulting in escalating violence since President Felipe Calderón took office in 2006. The violence includes beheadings, public hangings of corpses, mutilation and torture, mass killings, grenade attacks, and shootings in public places with high-powered weapons.<br />
<strong> </strong></div><img alt="Cartel influence in mex 2010" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a011279457f1228a40148c782473f970c image-full" height="349" src="http://borderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com/.a/6a011279457f1228a40148c782473f970c-800wi" title="Cartel influence in mex 2010" width="501" /><br />
<div><strong>Q:</strong> You call the situation in Acapulco the most complex situation<br />
right now. Why is it so complex?<br />
<strong>SL:</strong> The situation in Acapulco is complex because there is more than one DTO fighting for control of that drug smuggling area, and those DTOs are themselves going through organizational changes. One of them, the Cartel Pacifico del Sur, split off from another major DTO, the Sinaloa Federation, a few years ago, and just recently split in half itself. The name is even new, as it used to be known as the Beltrán Leyva Organization, and also goes by two other names – “El H” and “La Empresa.” Keeping track of who’s doing the smuggling and who’s killing whom gets very complicated when so many DTO players are involved in just one corridor.<br />
<strong>Q:</strong> How much effect do the cartels in Mexico have for us north of the border? How much effect do we have on them?<br />
<strong>SL:</strong> DTOs operating in Mexico have a huge presence here in the United States, but most of us don’t know it. They’re actually active in more than 270 U.S. cities, and hundreds more small communities and towns. They use local gangs across the country to distribute drugs for them, and Mexican DTOs even grow marijuana in U.S. National Parks and National Forests. As a result of their proximity in Mexico and their infiltration of our communities, they have become America’s biggest supplier of illegal drugs. Because they’re so in tune with our drug market, Mexican DTOs are impacted by – and usually respond well to – changes in consumer demand. Cocaine demand has steadily gone down over the past several years, but demand for high-potency marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine has gone up. DTOs have made adjustments to their production and cocaine imports from South America to account for these changes.<br />
<img alt="drug money and arms in Mexico Drug Cartel Wars in Mexico: Worse in 2009" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-30988" height="317" src="http://trendsupdates.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/drug-money-and-arms-in-Mexico.jpg" title="Drug Cartel Wars in Mexico: Worse in 2009" width="480" /><strong> </strong></div><div><strong>Q:</strong> Some have expressed the opinion that legalizing drugs (most specifically marijuana) in the US would end the drug war in Mexico. In your opinion, would this course of action work? What do you think would be the most effective legislation despite public opinion? Finally, what do you think is the most likely legislation, if any?<br />
<strong>SL:</strong> I think legalization of marijuana would make a financial difference in DTO profits, but would not end the drug war. DTOs are making a lot of money from the production, distribution and sale of other illegal drugs, as well as from kidnapping and extortion operations. They could also ostensibly go into the legal marijuana business, although the profits would be smaller. Just like organized crime groups in the U.S. didn’t go out of business after Prohibition ended, DTOs will still be around if marijuana were ever legalized. As far as legislation and policy goes, I think most of the pro-gun-lobby-backed legislation that limits what the ATF can do needs to be repealed so we can attack the southbound weapons trafficking problem head-on, starting with the Tiahrt Amendment. I think more resources – specifically money and trained people – need to go to border agencies like the Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the ATF, etc. But before those resources are distributed, the Department of Homeland Security needs to take a realistic look at what and where the need are. I think DHS management in Washington is too far removed from the border, and doesn’t fully comprehend the challenges along the border and what it takes to meet them head on. I also think both the U.S. and Mexican governments need to stop treating the Mexican DTOs like criminals and start regarding them as hybrid organizations, a cross between organized crime, insurgency, and terrorist groups.</div><div><img alt="US-Mexico border fence, Tijuana: Photo by Nathan Gibbs (CC)" class="image image-_original" height="333" src="http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/files/images/us-mexico-border-fence-tijuana.jpg" title="US-Mexico border fence, Tijuana: Photo by Nathan Gibbs (CC)" width="500" /><br />
<strong>Q:</strong> Is there anything specific you think readers need to know regarding the cartels which we have not covered?<br />
<strong>SL:</strong> Readers need to know that the drug war south of the border affects everyone in the U.S., no matter where we live. DTOs use our highways to transport drugs to every U.S. state. They grow illegal drugs on our taxpayer-funded public lands, and they kidnap and kill people on U.S. soil. Worse yet, they use violent American street gangs to sell illegal drugs to our kids, our brothers and sisters, cousins, parents, coworkers, and friends. All of us have to pay attention to what’s going on if we’re ever going to successfully work with the Mexican government to stop it.<br />
Thank you Sylvia for the eye opening interview. For more information, please visit her <a href="http://borderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com/"><span style="color: #b63d13;">blog</span></a>.</div>John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-17959952463780956962011-01-11T18:47:00.000-08:002011-01-12T09:04:49.407-08:00Miexico- an overview of who's fighting whom, and where<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><div style="clear: both;"><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><table align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; width: 680px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><div style="clear: both;"><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>reposted from Search Mexico's Drug War</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></div><div style="clear: both;"><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1> </p$1></p$1></p$1></div><div style="clear: both;"><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>I was recently reading a story in the L.A. Times by Daniel Hernandez about the 31 deaths and 15 decapitations in Acapulco in the last week, and how three different cartels were battling for control of the city. I honestly thought it was only two, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw some of the unfamiliar details Hernandez quoted from a story in Mexico's Proceso magazine. I quickly familiarized myself with what was going on (and I've since found clearer sources than the Proceso story), and thought I'd take the opportunity to provide my readers with a very brief overview of which cartels are fighting each other and where.<br />
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Let's start with the most complex situation (in my opinion) right now, and that's Acapulco. Over the last couple of years, the Beltrán Leyva Organization (BLO) under the local command of Edgar "La Barbie" Valdez <br />
Villareal had been fighting with La Familia Michoacana (LFM) for control of drug deliveries into and trafficking out of the resort city. That got completely messed up with La Barbie's arrest and the death of Arturo Beltrán Leyva. Hector Beltrán Leyva, who took over the BLO after Arturo's death, wanted to distance himself from La Barbie (who was breaking off anyway), so he renamed his faction of the old BLO to the Cartel Pacífico del Sur (CPS), or South Pacific Cartel - also known as "El H" or "La Empresa." In April of last year, graffiti started showing up all over the state of Guerrero with the initials "CPS," and La Barbie's breakaway faction was bearing the brunt of many CPS-initiated murders of hitmen in the area.<br />
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Now, the 15 headless corpses that were recently found in Acapulco reportedly had a note attached implying that the Sinaloa Federation's Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera ordered the killings. So here's where it gets ugly. According to Stratfor's Scott Stewart, the CPS has aligned itself with Los Zetas (and old friend of the BLO) against the Federation and LFM. I always thought Acapulco was a BLO/LFM problem, and to an extent I was right; the old BLO is just under the new name of CPS, and La Barbie's faction seems to no longer be a player. But now it looks like El Chapo may be stoking the fire in Guerrero, and that doesn't bode well for residents or tourists in the city.<br />
<br />
Moving to Tijuana, things are actually relatively quiet there - for now. Although the AFO emerged victorious after breakaway faction leader Teodoro "El Teo" Garcia Simental was arrested, AFO leader Fernando "El Ingeniero" Sanchez Arellano seems to have entered into an agreement of sorts with the Federation (El Teo's employer after he defected) to move drugs through Tijuana. This explains the relative calm in the city, but we'll see how long that lasts. </p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></div><div style="clear: both;"><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>Of course, the hottest spot in Mexico has been Ciudad Juárez for a few years now, but the way cartel dynamics are changing there, it may not last the next couple of years. The Federation and the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization (VCFO) have been fighting for control of this most lucrative corridor, although the VCFO has been backed into a corner there recently, and most of the drugs being moved through Juárez belong to the Federation. Some of the local politicians say the majority of the violence stems from gangs fighting for control of the local drug trade, but I don't buy into that.<br />
<br />
Moving east into Tamaulipas, the shrinking Gulf cartel (or CDG, for Cartel del Golfo) are fighting with their former enforcers, Los Zetas, for control of routes along the east Texas border and transshipment cities like <br />
Monterrey. The border cities of Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and Matamoros have been hit particularly hard by fights between these two DTOs, and the wealthy enclave of Monterrey is still reeling from the bloody transformation of their city.<br />
<br />
There are other hot spots scattered throughout Mexico where the DTOs are fighting each other, so the violence is not just limited to these areas. You'll hear bad news out of places like Michoacán, Morelia, San Luís Potosí, Durango, and others. This is just meant to give you a general idea of who is fighting where and over what.<br />
</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></div><div style="clear: both;"><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1> </p$1></p$1></p$1></div><div style="clear: both;"><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1> </p$1></p$1></p$1></div><div style="clear: both;"><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>For more information <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f?Search=691526">Search Mexico's Drug War</a></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></div><div style="clear: both;"><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></div></p$1><div><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms",geneva; font-size: 11pt;"> <a href="http://borderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com/.a/6a011279457f1228a40148c782473f970c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Cartel influence in mex 2010" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a011279457f1228a40148c782473f970c image-full" height="277" src="http://borderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com/.a/6a011279457f1228a40148c782473f970c-800wi" title="Cartel influence in mex 2010" width="400" /></a> <br />
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<p$1><div style="clear: left; font-size: 8pt;"><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f?FBLike=http://borderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com/mexicos_drug_war/2011/01/a-quick-overview-of-whos-fighting-who-and-where.html" title="Like this article on Facebook"><img border="0" src="http://assets.feedblitz.com/images/icons/fblike.png" title="Like on Facebook" /></a> • <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?Fwd2FriendEdit=691526;21148995;http://borderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com/mexicos_drug_war/2011/01/a-quick-overview-of-whos-fighting-who-and-where.html;A%20quick%20overview%20of%20who%27s%20fighting%20whom,%20and%20where;3957071">Email to a friend</a> • <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?Search=691526;21148995;DTOs,Current%20Affairs,General%20Violence;A%20quick%20overview%20of%20who%27s%20fighting%20whom,%20and%20where;3957071" title="Search based on this article's keywords, tags and categories">Article Search</a> • <a href="http://www.talkr.com/app/text_to_audio.app?feed_url=http%3a%2f%2fborderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com%2fmexicos_drug_war%2fatom.xml&permalink=http%3a%2f%2fborderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com%2fmexicos_drug_war%2f2011%2f01%2fa-quick-overview-of-whos-fighting-who-and-where.html&src=5"><img border="0" src="http://assets.feedblitz.com/images/audio.png" title="Listen to this article" /></a> •</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></div><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></div></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></td></tr>
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</tbody></table></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><div align="center" style="clear: both;"><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><div style="clear: both;"><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></div><p$1><div align="center"><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000030694218&pubid=21000000000250080"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_impression?lid=41000000030694218&pubid=21000000000250080" /></a></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></div><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></td></tr>
</tbody></table><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></div><p$1><hr style="clear: both;" /><p$1><i><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?EmailRemove=_MjExNDg5OTV8NjkxNTI2fGFrc293bmVyQGdtYWlsLmNvbXwzOTU3MDcx_" rel="NOFOLLOW"><u>C</u></a></span></i></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1>John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-80107232084782711282010-11-10T17:07:00.000-08:002010-11-10T17:07:52.460-08:00"Ciudad Mier evacuates after Zetas threaten to kill residents."<table align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; width: 680px;"><tbody>
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<div align="center"><a href="http://borderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com/mexicos_drug_war/"><img align="center" border="0" src="http://assets.feedblitz.com/images/blank.gif" /></a></div><br />
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</><td><div align="left"> </div><!-- aksowner@gmail.com --><h2 style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><a href="" name="0"></a><a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/t2.asp?/691526/21148995/3916107/http://borderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com/mexicos_drug_war/2010/11/ciudad-mier-evacuates-after-zetas-threaten-to-kill-residents.html">"Ciudad Mier evacuates after Zetas threaten to kill residents." <!-- _!fbztxtlnk!_ http://borderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com/mexicos_drug_war/2010/11/ciudad-mier-evacuates-after-zetas-threaten-to-kill-residents.html--> </a></h2><br />
<div><br />
<div style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></div><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms",geneva; font-size: 12pt;">Here is an excerpt from this story in <em>The Monitor</em>:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms",geneva; font-size: 12pt;">"Hundreds of families have fled this<em>Pueblo Magico </em>amid<br />
reported death threats from drug cartel thugs. About 300 people are <br />
seeking shelter in nearby Miguel Alemán, the nearest city to this town <br />
across the border from western Starr County. Sources said after [Antonio<br />
Ezequiel 'Tony Tormenta] Cárdenas’ slaying Friday, members of Los <br />
Zetas, the drug cartel controlling Mier, were yelling in the streets <br />
that they were going to kill everybody who remained in the town, <br />
sparking the exodus from town. Mexican Army officials in Reynosa and <br />
Nuevo Laredo denied knowing of any recent violence in Ciudad Mier. The <br />
military sources denied any knowledge about the threats. And today, <br />
authorities said they will need to open another shelter... Authorities <br />
in Miguel Aleman are helping the people, but nothing is being done to <br />
solve the situation in Ciudad Mier." <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/t2.asp?/691526/21148995/3916107/http://www.themonitor.com/articles/mier-44352-residents-tamps.html" target="_self">Link to Full Article</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms",geneva; font-size: 12pt;">And here is an excerpt from a separate but related story by Melissa Del Bosque in </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms",geneva; font-size: 12pt;"><em>The Texas Observer</em>:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms",geneva; font-size: 12pt;">"Residents in Mexican border cities including Ciudad Mier and Nuevo Guerrero have <br />
been living unde siege-like conditions for the past year. They are <br />
living without electricity, water. Their gas stations have been <br />
incinerated in a scorched earth campaign to take over the area as a <br />
prime drug smuggling route. One resident of Ciudad Mier, said cartel <br />
members have threatened to dynamite her town of 6,000 inhabitants, which<br />
neighbors Roma, Texas. With the death of Gulf Cartel capo Tony <br />
Tormenta in Matamoros last week, the bloody fighting over territory with<br />
the Zeta cartel has escalated to the point that Ciudad Mier residents <br />
started fleeing their town last Friday to take refuge in the neighboring<br />
city of Miguel Aleman... A resident of Ciudad Mier in the Monitor <br />
article described his city as a ghost town: 'The authorities do not go <br />
there. There are no soldiers there. There is nobody,' the former Mier <br />
resident said. 'The mayor is not there anymore, there is no police, no <br />
traffic authority — nobody. It’s a ghost town. All the businesses are <br />
closed. If you want an aspirin, you have to travel to Miguel Alemán, and<br />
by bus, because if you drive they take away your car.'" <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/t2.asp?/691526/21148995/3916107/http://www.texasobserver.org/lalinea/drug-war-refugees" target="_blank">Link to Full Article</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms",geneva; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #ff7f00;"><em><strong>Analysis: </strong></em></span>I'll be the first to admit that I've never heard of Ciudad Mier prior to <br />
reading these stories, let alone know about the extent of the violence <br />
going on there. This isn't the first time something this extreme has <br />
happened there, either. Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed <br />
there this year, although there's no official body count. In nearby <br />
Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, the town's only gas station has been blown up by <em>narcos, </em>food<br />
is in short supply, and federal police forces have moved out - <br />
essentially ceding control to the DTOs. On the other side of Ciudad Mier<br />
in Ciudad Miguel Alemán, the commander of the state police there had <br />
his severed head recently delivered to a nearby military post.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms",geneva; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Here's a map image of the area so you can get a better idea of where this is <br />
going on. Also, I need to show you something interesting:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms",geneva; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/t2.asp?/691526/21148995/3916107/http://borderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com/.a/6a011279457f1228a4013488dda6b9970c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Screen shot 2010-11-10 at 1.13.53 PM" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a011279457f1228a4013488dda6b9970c image-full" src="http://borderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com/.a/6a011279457f1228a4013488dda6b9970c-800wi" title="Screen shot 2010-11-10 at 1.13.53 PM" /></a> <br />
</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms",geneva; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">You see that large lake in the northwest corner of the map? That's Falcon <br />
Lake, where David Hartley was reportedly shot and killed by junior <br />
members of Los Zetas last month in a possible case of mistaken identity.<br />
So the violent activity in these towns comes as no surprise because we <br />
know it's a hotbed of DTO activity.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms",geneva; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">What does blow my mind is the threats by Los Zetas to kill everyone in the <br />
town of Ciudad Mier. The immediate, dramatic, and desperate response by <br />
the town tells me these threats were not overestimated, misunderstood, <br />
or mistranslated. The threats to kill hundreds of innocent men, women, <br />
and children also goes well beyond any traditional definition of <br />
activity carried out by mere organized crime.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms",geneva; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Here's<br />
some raw video of what Ciudad Mier looks like now (i.e. a ghost town), <br />
and how its residents are waiting things out in Ciudad Miguel Alemán:</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/t2.asp?/691526/21148995/3916107/http://borderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com/mexicos_drug_war/2010/11/ciudad-mier-evacuates-after-zetas-threaten-to-kill-residents.html"><img border="0" src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/W-ALt4pPA1o/hqdefault.jpg" title="Play YouTube video" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms",geneva; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">I welcome any civil, logical, and intelligent attempts to convince me <br />
that this is just criminal activity and not some form of terrorism. And <br />
before you respond, do a little bit of research on the history of the <br />
AUC (United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia) and their methods. Just a <br />
hint: The AUC had no ideology and no desire to take over the government;<br />
they were paramilitaries acting as enforcers for Colombian drug lords. <br />
They were also designated a terrorist group by the US government in <br />
2001.</span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div></td><>
</></tr>
<>
</></tbody></table>reprinted from 'Mexico's Drug War"<br />
<div style="clear: both;"> </div>John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-71355086487031628252010-08-29T20:09:00.000-07:002010-08-29T20:09:05.882-07:00Travel WarningU.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE<br />
Bureau of Consular Affairs <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">August 27, 2010</span><br />
<br />
The Department of State has issued this Travel Warning to inform U.S. citizens traveling to and living in Mexico about the security situation in Mexico. The authorized departure of family members of U.S. government personnel from U.S. Consulates in the northern Mexico border cities of Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros remains in place. However, based upon a security review in Monterrey following the August 20, 2010 shooting in front of the American Foundation School in Monterrey and the high incidence of kidnappings in the Monterrey area, U.S. government personnel from the Consulate General in Monterrey have been advised that the immediate, practical and reliable way to reduce the security risks for children of U.S. Government personnel is to remove them from the city. Beginning September 10, 2010, the Consulate General in Monterrey will become a partially unaccompanied post with no minor dependents of U.S. government employees. This Travel Warning supersedes the Travel Warning for Mexico dated July 16, 2010 to note the changing security situation in Monterrey.<br />
<br />
Millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year. This includes tens of thousands who cross the border every day for study, tourism or business and at least one million U.S. citizens who live in Mexico. The Mexican government makes a considerable effort to protect U.S. citizens and other visitors to major tourist destinations. Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major drug trafficking routes. Nevertheless, crime and violence are serious problems. While most victims of violence are Mexican citizens associated with criminal activity, the security situation poses serious risks for U.S. citizens as well.<br />
<br />
<br />
It is imperative that U.S. citizens understand the risks involved in travel to Mexico, how best to avoid dangerous situations, and who to contact if one becomes a victim of crime or violence. Common-sense precautions such as visiting only legitimate business and tourist areas during daylight hours, and avoiding areas where criminal activity might occur, can help ensure that travel to Mexico is safe and enjoyable. U.S. citizen victims of crime in Mexico are urged to contact the consular section of the nearest U.S. Consulate or Embassy for advice and assistance. Contact information is provided at the end of this message.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">General Conditions</span> <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Since 2006, the Mexican government has engaged in an extensive effort to combat drug-trafficking organizations (DTOs). Mexican DTOs, meanwhile, have been engaged in a vicious struggle with each other for control of trafficking routes. In order to prevent and combat violence, the government of Mexico has deployed military troops and federal police throughout the country. U.S. citizens should expect to encounter military and other law enforcement checkpoints when traveling in Mexico and are urged to cooperate fully. DTOs have erected unauthorized checkpoints, and killed motorists who have not stopped at them. In confrontations with the Mexican army and police, DTOs have employed automatic weapons and grenades. In some cases, assailants have worn full or partial police or military uniforms and have used vehicles that resemble police vehicles. According to published reports, 22,700 people have been killed in narcotics-related violence since 2006. The great majority of those killed have been members of DTOs. However, innocent bystanders have been killed in shootouts between DTOs and Mexican law enforcement or between rival DTOs. <br />
<br />
Recent violent attacks and persistent security concerns have prompted the U.S. Embassy to urge U.S. citizens to defer unnecessary travel to Michoacán and Tamaulipas, to parts of Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, and Coahuila, (see details below) and to advise U.S. citizens residing or traveling in those areas to exercise extreme caution.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Violence Along the U.S.-Mexico Border</span> <br />
<br />
Much of the country’s narcotics-related violence has occurred in the northern border region. For example, since 2006, three times as many people have been murdered in Ciudad Juarez, in the state of Chihuahua, across from El Paso, Texas, than in any other city in Mexico. More than half of all Americans killed in Mexico in FY 2009 whose deaths were reported to the U.S. Embassy were killed in the border cities of Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana.<br />
<br />
Since 2006, large firefights have taken place in towns and cities in many parts of Mexico, often in broad daylight on streets and other public venues. Such firefights have occurred mostly in northern Mexico, including Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana, Chihuahua City, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Piedras Negras, Reynosa, Matamoros and Monterrey. Firefights have also occurred in Nayarit, Jalisco and Colima. During some of these incidents, U.S. citizens have been trapped and temporarily prevented from leaving the area.<br />
<br />
<br />
The situation in northern Mexico remains fluid; the location and timing of future armed engagements cannot be predicted. U.S. citizens are urged to exercise extreme caution when traveling throughout the region, particularly in those areas specifically mentioned in this Travel Warning.<br />
<br />
<br />
The level of violence in Monterrey is increasing and has spread to areas near a school which many U.S. citizen children attend. Local police and private patrols do not have the capacity to deter criminal elements from areas around schools. Given the increasing level of violence that is occurring all over Monterrey, school children are at a significantly increased risk. Based on this, and combined with the high incidence of kidnappings in the Monterrey area, U.S. government personnel from the Consulate General have been advised that the immediate, practical and reliable way to reduce the security risks for their children is to remove them from the city. Beginning September 10, 2010, the Consulate General in Monterrey will become a partially unaccompanied post with no minor dependents of U.S. government employees.<br />
<br />
<br />
In recent months, DTOs have used stolen trucks to block major highways and thus prevent the military from responding to criminal activity, most notably in the area around Monterrey. Also in Monterrey, DTOs have kidnapped guests out of reputable hotels in the downtown area, blocking off adjoining streets to prevent law enforcement response. DTOs have also attacked Mexican government facilities such as military barracks and a customs and immigration post.<br />
<br />
<br />
The situation in the state of Chihuahua, specifically Ciudad Juarez, is of special concern. Mexican authorities report that more than 2,600 people were killed in Ciudad Juarez in 2009. Three persons associated with the Consulate General were murdered in March, 2010. U.S. citizens should defer unnecessary travel to Ciudad Juarez and to the Guadalupe Bravo area southeast of Ciudad Juarez. . From the United States, these areas are often reached through the Fabens and Fort Hancock, TX ports-of-entry. In both areas, American citizens have been victims of drug related violence. There have been recent incidents of serious narcotics-related violence in the vicinity of the Copper Canyon in Chihuahua.<br />
<br />
The Consular agency in Reynosa, Tamaulipas was closed temporarily in February 2010 in response to firefights between police and DTOs and between DTOs. In April 2010, a grenade thrown into the Consulate compound at 11:00 PM caused damage to the U.S. Consulate General in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. The Consulate General in Nuevo Laredo and the Consular Agency in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, were closed for one day as a result. The Consulate General in Nuevo Laredo prohibits employees from entering the entertainment zone in Nuevo Laredo known as “Boys Town” because of concerns about violent crime in that area.<br />
<br />
Between 2006 and 2009, the number of narcotics-related murders in the state of Durango increased ten-fold. The cities of Durango and Gomez Palacio, and the area known as “La Laguna” in the state of Coahuila, which includes the city of Torreon, have experienced sharp increases in violence. In late 2009 and early 2010, four visiting U.S. citizens were murdered in Gomez Palacio, Durango. These are among several murders in the state of Durango that have been cause for particular concern and that remain under investigation. <br />
<br />
<br />
Travelers on the highways between Monterrey and the United States (notably through Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros) have been targeted for robbery that has resulted in violence and have also been caught in incidents of gunfire between criminals and Mexican law enforcement. Travelers should defer unnecessary travel on Mexican Highway 2 between Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo due to the ongoing violent competition between DTOs in that area. Criminals have followed and harassed U.S. citizens traveling in their vehicles in border areas including Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, and Tijuana. U.S. citizens traveling by road to and from the U.S. border through Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Durango, and Sinaloa should be especially vigilant. Criminals appear to especially target SUVs and full-size pick-up trucks for theft and car-jacking along these routes. <br />
<br />
<br />
Continued concerns regarding road safety along the Mexican border have prompted the U.S. Mission in Mexico to impose certain restrictions on U.S. government employees transiting the area. Effective July 15, 2010, Mission employees and their families may not travel by vehicle across the U.S.-Mexico border to or from any post in the interior of Mexico. This policy also applies to employees and their families transiting Mexico to and from Central American posts. This policy does not apply to employees and their family members assigned to border posts (Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, and Matamoros), although they may not drive to interior posts as outlined above. Travel is permitted between Hermosillo and Nogales, but not permitted from Hermosillo to any other interior posts.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Crime and Violence Throughout Mexico</span> <br />
<br />
<br />
Although narcotics-related crime is a particular concern along Mexico’s northern border, violence has occurred throughout the country, including in areas frequented by American tourists. U.S. citizens traveling in Mexico should exercise caution in unfamiliar areas and be aware of their surroundings at all times. Bystanders have been injured or killed in violent attacks in cities across the country, demonstrating the heightened risk of violence in public places. In recent years, dozens of U.S. citizens living in Mexico have been kidnapped and most of their cases remain unsolved. <br />
<br />
<br />
One of Mexico’s most powerful DTOs is based in the state of Sinaloa. Since 2006, more homicides have occurred in the state’s capital city of Culiacan than in any other city in Mexico, with the exception of Ciudad Juarez. Furthermore, the city of Mazatlan has experienced a recent increase in violent crime, with more murders in the first quarter of 2010 than in all of 2009. U.S. citizens should defer unnecessary travel to Culiacan and exercise extreme caution when visiting the rest of the state.<br />
<br />
The state of Michoacán is home to another of Mexico’s most dangerous DTOs, “La Familia”. In June 2010, 14 federal police were killed in an ambush near Zitacuaro in the southeastern corner of the state. In April 2010, the Secretary for Public Security for Michoacán was shot in a DTO ambush. Security incidents have also occurred in and around the State’s world famous butterfly sanctuaries. In 2008, a grenade attack on a public gathering in Morelia, the state capital, killed eight people. U.S. citizens should defer unnecessary travel to the area. If travel in Michoacán is unavoidable, U.S. citizens should exercise extreme caution, especially outside major tourist areas.<br />
<br />
U.S. citizens should exercise extreme caution when traveling in the northwestern part of the state of Guerrero, which likewise has a strong DTO presence. U.S. citizens should not take the dangerous, isolated road through Ciudad Altamirano to the beach resorts of Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo. The popular beach resort of Acapulco has been affected by narcotics-related violence. In April 2010, three innocent bystanders were killed in a shootout between Mexican police and DTO members in broad daylight in one of the city’s main tourist areas. In the same month, numerous incidents of narcotics-related violence occurred in the city of Cuernavaca, in the State of Morelos, a popular destination for American language students. <br />
<br />
<br />
U.S. citizens should also exercise extreme caution when traveling in southern Nayarit in and near the city of Tepic which has recently experienced unpredictable incidents of DTO violence. The number of violent incidents involving DTOs has increased in recent months throughout Jalisco, Nayarit and Colima.<br />
<br />
U.S. citizens traveling to towns and villages with large indigenous communities located predominantly but not exclusively in southern Mexico, should be aware that land disputes between residents and between residents and local authorities have led to violence. In April 2010, two members of a non-governmental aid organization, one of whom was a foreign citizen, were murdered near the village of San Juan Capola in Oaxaca. <br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Safety Recommendations</span><br />
<br />
<br />
U.S. citizens who believe they are being targeted for kidnapping or other crimes should notify Mexican law enforcement officials and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City or the nearest U.S. consulate as soon as possible. Any U.S. visitor who suspects they are a target should consider returning to the United States immediately. U.S. citizens should be aware that many cases of violent crime are never resolved by Mexican law enforcement, and the U.S. government has no authority to investigate crimes committed in Mexico. <br />
<br />
U.S. citizens should make every attempt to travel on main roads during daylight hours, particularly the toll ("cuota") roads, which generally are more secure. When warranted, the U.S. Embassy and consulates advise their employees as well as private U.S. citizens to avoid certain areas, abstain from driving on certain roads because of dangerous conditions or criminal activity, or recommend driving during daylight hours only. When this happens, the Embassy or the affected consulate will alert the local U.S. citizen Warden network and post the information on their respective websites, indicating the nature of the concern and the expected time period for which the restriction will remain in place. <br />
<br />
U.S. citizen visitors are encouraged to stay in the well-known tourist areas. Travelers should leave their itinerary with a friend or family member not traveling with them, avoid traveling alone, and check with their cellular provider prior to departure to confirm that their cell phone is capable of roaming on GSM or 3G international networks. Cell phone coverage in isolated parts of Mexico, for example, the Copper Canyon, is spotty or non-existent. <br />
<br />
Do not display expensive-looking jewelry, large amounts of money, or other valuable items. Travelers to remote or isolated venues should be aware that they may be distant from appropriate medical, law enforcement, and consular services in an emergency situation. <br />
<br />
<br />
U.S. citizens applying for passports or requesting other fee-based services from consulates or the Embassy are encouraged to make arrangements to pay for those services using a non-cash method. U.S. citizens should be alert for credit card fraud, especially outside major commercial establishments. <br />
<br />
<br />
American employees of the U.S. Embassy are prohibited from hailing taxis on the street in Mexico City because of frequent robberies. U.S. citizens are urged to only use taxis associated with the organized taxi stands (“sitios”) that are common throughout Mexico. <br />
<br />
<br />
U.S. citizens should be alert to pickpockets and general street crime throughout Mexico, but especially in large cities. Between FY 2006 and FY 2009 the number of U.S. passports reported stolen in Mexico rose from 184 to 288. <br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Demonstrations and Large Public Gatherings</span><br />
<br />
Demonstrations occur frequently throughout Mexico and usually are peaceful. However, even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate to violence unexpectedly. Violent demonstrations have resulted in deaths, including that of an American citizen in Oaxaca in 2006. During demonstrations or law enforcement operations, U.S. citizens are advised to remain in their homes or hotels, avoid large crowds, and avoid the downtown and surrounding areas. <br />
<br />
Demonstrators in Mexico may block traffic on roads, including major arteries, or take control of toll-booths on highways. U.S. citizens should avoid confrontations in such situations. <br />
<br />
Since the timing and routes of scheduled marches and demonstrations are always subject to change, U.S. citizens should monitor local media sources for new developments and exercise extreme caution while within the vicinity of protests. <br />
<br />
<br />
The Mexican Constitution prohibits political activities by foreigners, and such actions may result in detention and/or deportation. U.S. citizens are therefore advised to avoid participating in demonstrations or other activities that might be deemed political by Mexican authorities. As is always the case in any large gathering, U.S. citizens should remain alert to their surroundings. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Further Information</span><br />
<br />
<br />
U.S. citizens are urged to monitor local media for information about fast-breaking situations that could affect their security.<br />
<br />
U.S. citizens are encouraged to review the U.S. Embassy’s Mexico Security Update. The update contains information about recent security incidents in Mexico that could affect the safety of the traveling public. <br />
<br />
For more detailed information on staying safe in Mexico, please see the State Department's Country Specific Information for Mexico. Information on security and travel to popular tourist destinations is also provided in the publication: "Spring Break in Mexico- Know Before You Go!!" <br />
<br />
<br />
For the latest security information, U.S. citizens traveling abroad should regularly monitor the State Department's internet web site, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Warnings, and Travel Alerts can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States and Canada, or, for callers from Mexico, a regular toll line at 001-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). American citizens traveling or residing overseas are encouraged to register with the appropriate U.S. Embassy or Consulate on the State Department's travel registration website. <br />
<br />
For any emergencies involving U.S. citizens in Mexico, please contact the U.S. Embassy or the closest U.S. Consulate. The numbers provided below for the Embassy and Consulates are available around the clock. The U.S. Embassy is located in Mexico City at Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, telephone from the United States: 011-52-55-5080-2000; telephone within Mexico City: 5080-2000; telephone long distance within Mexico 01-55-5080-2000. You may also contact the Embassy by e-mail.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Consulates (with consular districts):<br />
Ciudad Juarez (Chihuahua): Paseo de la Victoria 3650, tel. (011)(52)(656) 227-3000.<br />
Guadalajara (Nayarit, Jalisco, Aguas Calientes, and Colima): Progreso 175, telephone (011)(52)(333) 268-2100.<br />
<br />
Hermosillo (Sinaloa and the southern part of the state of Sonora): Avenida Monterrey 141, telephone (011)(52)(662) 289-3500.<br />
Matamoros (the southern part of Tamaulipas with the exception of the city of Tampico): Avenida Primera 2002, telephone (011)(52)(868) 812-4402.<br />
Merida (Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo): Calle 60 no. 338-K x 29 y 31, Col. Alcala Martin, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico 97050, telephone (011)(52)(999) 942-5700 or 202-250-3711 (U.S. number).<br />
Monterrey (Nuevo Leon, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, and the southern part of Coahuila): Avenida Constitucion 411 Poniente, telephone (011)(52)(818) 047-3100.<br />
Nogales (the northern part of Sonora): Calle San Jose, Nogales, Sonora, telephone (011)(52)(631) 311-8150.<br />
<br />
Nuevo Laredo (the northern part of Coahuila and the northwestern part of Tamaulipas): Calle Allende 3330, col. Jardin, telephone (011)(52)(867) 714-0512.<br />
Tijuana (Baja California Norte and Baja California Sur): Tapachula 96, telephone (011)(52)(664) 622-7400.<br />
<br />
All other Mexican states, and the Federal District of Mexico City, are part of the Embassy’s consular district.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Consular Agencies: <br />
<br />
<br />
Acapulco: Hotel Continental Emporio, Costera Miguel Aleman 121 - local 14, telephone (011)(52)(744) 484-0300 or (011)(52)(744) 469-0556.<br />
<br />
Cabo San Lucas: Blvd. Marina local c-4, Plaza Nautica, col. Centro, telephone (011)(52)(624) 143-3566.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cancún: Plaza Caracol two, second level, no. 320-323, Boulevard Kukulcan, km. 8.5, Zona Hotelera, telephone (011)(52)(998) 883-0272 or, 202-640-2511 (a U.S. number).<br />
<br />
<br />
Ciudad Acuña: Closed until further notice.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cozumel: Plaza Villa Mar en el Centro, Plaza Principal, (Parque Juárez between Melgar and 5th ave.) 2nd floor, locales #8 and 9, telephone (011)(52)(987) 872-4574 or, 202-459-4661 (a U.S. number).<br />
<br />
<br />
Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo: Hotel Fontan, Blvd. Ixtapa, telephone (011)(52)(755) 553-2100.<br />
<br />
Mazatlán: Playa Gaviotas #202, Zona Dorada, telephone (011)(52)(669) 916-5889.<br />
<br />
<br />
Oaxaca: Macedonio Alcalá no. 407, interior 20, telephone (011)(52)(951) 514-3054, (011) (52)(951) 516-2853.<br />
<br />
<br />
Piedras Negras: Abasolo #211, Zona Centro, Piedras Negras, Coah., Tel. (011)(52)(878) 782-5586.<br />
<br />
<br />
Playa del Carmen: "The Palapa," Calle 1 Sur, between Avenida 15 and Avenida 20, telephone (011)(52)(984) 873-0303 or 202-370-6708(a U.S. number).<br />
<br />
<br />
Puerto Vallarta: Paradise Plaza, Paseo de los Cocoteros #1, Local #4, Interior #17, Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit, telephone (011)(52)(322) 222-0069.<br />
<br />
<br />
Reynosa: Calle Monterrey #390, Esq. Sinaloa, Colonia Rodríguez, telephone: (011)(52)(899) 923 - 9331.<br />
<br />
<br />
San Luis Potosí: Edificio "Las Terrazas", Avenida Venustiano Carranza 2076-41, Col. Polanco, telephone: (011)(52)(444) 811-7802/7803.<br />
<br />
San Miguel de Allende: Dr. Hernandez Macias #72, telephone (011)(52)(415) 152-2357 or (011)(52)(415) 152-0068.John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-51629653991337497112010-08-03T09:27:00.000-07:002010-08-03T09:27:37.858-07:00Immigration Memo proposes bypassing Immigration Reformreprinted from Homeland Security News Wire article on Immigration<br />
<br />
<br />
U.S. mulls legalizing classes of undocumented aliens in absence of immigration reform<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPprybFE2ewPBSNoOuDIeCZyrmsehOdfnGUWFJrvigJe-nBqUUfkAlowwOeDPJBdoMUWdJInZbsL__fYU4JM5WcJlkb2OVQXrUfb8jjFyP59715TpK2_cg8YTIg02TzIgUfssNrACa0Q/s1600/Homeland+1logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPprybFE2ewPBSNoOuDIeCZyrmsehOdfnGUWFJrvigJe-nBqUUfkAlowwOeDPJBdoMUWdJInZbsL__fYU4JM5WcJlkb2OVQXrUfb8jjFyP59715TpK2_cg8YTIg02TzIgUfssNrACa0Q/s320/Homeland+1logo.png" /></a></div>Published 3 August 2010 <br />
<br />
<br />
An internal U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) memo, titled "Administrative Alternatives to Comprehensive Immigration Reform," indicates that high level officials within the Obama administration may be considering ways to legalize classes of undocumented immigrants in case Congress does not deal with formal legalization for the estimated 10.8 million immigrants without papers<br />
<br />
<br />
It is not likely that Congress would pass a comprehensive immigration reform this year, so the Obama administration is considering ways it could act without congressional approval to achieve many of the objectives of the initiative, including giving permanent resident status, or green cards, to large numbers of people in the country illegally.<br />
<br />
<br />
ProPublica’s Marcus Stern writes that the ideas were outlined in an unusually frank draft memoprepared for Alejandro N. Mayorkas, director of the federal agency that handles immigration benefits, U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS). The memo lists ways the government could grant permanent resident status to tens of thousands of people and delay the deportation of others, potentially indefinitely.<br />
<br />
“In the absence of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, CIS can extend benefits and/or protections to many individuals and groups by issuing new guidance and regulations,” said the memo, which was prepared by four senior officials from different branches of USCIS.<br />
<br />
<br />
The Miami Herald’s Alfonso Chardy notes that one group that could receive green cards are the almost 400,000 current holders of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) who include Salvadorans, Haitians, Hondurans, and Nicaraguans.<br />
<br />
The memo says young students who could qualify for green cards under pending legislation known as the DREAM Act could be granted deferred action, an immigration measure that delays deportation.<br />
<br />
<br />
Another option for potential DREAM Act beneficiaries, the memo says, would be to “move forward” to 1996 — or another date — the registry provision of immigration law that makes eligible for green cards undocumented immigrants present in the United States since before 1 January 1972.<br />
<br />
<br />
Besides listing possible options for TPS holders and DREAM Act candidates, the memo also lists other options for multiple categories of undocumented immigrants as well as legal workers, professionals, and investors.<br />
<br />
Stern notes that the 11-page document was made public last Thursday by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who with six other senators wrote to Obamamore than a month ago, asking for his assurance that rumors that some sort of reprieve was in the works for millions of illegal immigrants were not true.<br />
<br />
Christopher Bentley, a USCIS spokesman, told Stern that the agency would not comment on details of the memo, which he described as an internal draft that “should not be equated with official action or policy of the Department…We continue to maintain that comprehensive bipartisan legislation, coupled with smart, effective enforcement, is the only solution to our nation’s immigration challenges.”<br />
<br />
Bentley said that internal memos help the agency “do the thinking that leads to important changes; some of them are adopted and others are rejected” and that “nobody should mistake deliberation and exchange of ideas for final decisions.”<br />
<br />
“To be clear,” he wrote Stern in an e-mail, the Obama administration “will not grant deferred action or humanitarian parole to the nation’s entire illegal immigrant population.”<br />
<br />
<br />
Topics: <br />
<br />
Border / Immigration controlJohn Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-34026984540793869842010-06-08T20:26:00.000-07:002010-06-08T20:39:22.276-07:00ON SHEEP, WOLVES, AND SHEEPDOGSBy LTC(RET) Dave Grossman, RANGER, Ph.D.,author of "On Killing." <br />
<br />
Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, <br />
about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a <br />
high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or <br />
as always, even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth <br />
dying for? What is worth living for? - William J. Bennett - in a lecture to the United States Naval <br />
<br />
Academy November 24, 1997 <br />
<br />
One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: "Most of the people in our <br />
society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by <br />
accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the <br />
aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of <br />
Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. <br />
<br />
<br />
Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, <br />
staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 <br />
million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably <br />
less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are <br />
committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than <br />
two million. <br />
<br />
Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the <br />
most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens <br />
are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under <br />
extreme provocation. They are sheep. <br />
<br />
I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. <br />
<br />
Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot <br />
survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, <br />
and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful? For now, though, <br />
they need warriors to protect them from the predators. <br />
<br />
<br />
"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep <br />
without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without <br />
mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. <br />
<br />
The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in <br />
denial. <br />
<br />
"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and <br />
confront the wolf." <br />
<br />
<br />
If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you <br />
have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an <br />
aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for <br />
your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking <br />
the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human <br />
phobia, and walk out unscathed. <br />
<br />
<br />
Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We <br />
know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe <br />
that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they <br />
want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools. <br />
<br />
But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. <br />
<br />
Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence <br />
than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of <br />
someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial. <br />
<br />
<br />
The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the <br />
capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not <br />
ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be <br />
punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative <br />
democracy or a republic such as ours. <br />
<br />
Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the <br />
land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand <br />
at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much <br />
rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa." <br />
<br />
<br />
Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely <br />
sheepdog. <br />
<br />
The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and <br />
under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They <br />
were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, <br />
however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically <br />
peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their <br />
sheepdog when the wolf is at the door. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. <br />
<br />
Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement <br />
officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero? <br />
<br />
<br />
Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you <br />
choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around <br />
out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and <br />
yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The <br />
old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed <br />
right along with the young ones. <br />
<br />
<br />
Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never <br />
come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the <br />
sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The <br />
sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. <br />
<br />
Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have <br />
truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a <br />
difference. <br />
<br />
<br />
There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real <br />
advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that <br />
destroys 98 percent of the population. There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. <br />
<br />
These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing <br />
law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body <br />
language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like <br />
big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself. <br />
<br />
<br />
Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves <br />
or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm <br />
proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs. <br />
<br />
Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his <br />
hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over <br />
Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the <br />
hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, <br />
<br />
Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a <br />
signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation <br />
occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents. -- from sheep to <br />
sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives<br />
on the ground. <br />
<br />
There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. - Edmund <br />
<br />
Burke <br />
<br />
<br />
Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I <br />
speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that <br />
way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, <br />
you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision. <br />
<br />
<br />
If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand <br />
the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not <br />
a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs <br />
are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want <br />
to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral <br />
decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive <br />
moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door. <br />
<br />
For example, many officers carry their weapons in church. They are well concealed in ankle <br />
holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs. <br />
<br />
Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police <br />
officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your <br />
place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones. <br />
<br />
I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his <br />
friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, "I will never be caught without <br />
my gun in church." I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he <br />
knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally <br />
deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He <br />
said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. <br />
<br />
His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body and wait to die. <br />
That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with <br />
yourself after that?" <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in <br />
church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals <br />
would be enraged and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that the airbags in their cars <br />
were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids' school did not work. <br />
They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be <br />
safeguards against them. <br />
<br />
Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the <br />
sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, "Do you have and idea <br />
how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones attacked and killed, and you had to <br />
stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?" <br />
<br />
<br />
It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because <br />
their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, <br />
helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up. <br />
<br />
Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically<br />
prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. <br />
<br />
Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, <br />
you are psychologically shattered by your fear helplessness and horror at your moment of truth. <br />
Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be <br />
required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: "...denial <br />
can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they <br />
get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more <br />
unsettling." <br />
<br />
Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long <br />
run, the denying person knows the truth on some level. <br />
<br />
And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for <br />
the day when evil comes. <br />
If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that <br />
weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one <br />
can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a <br />
weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself... <br />
<br />
"Baa." <br />
<br />
This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-<br />
nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-<br />
in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on <br />
one end or the other. <br />
<br />
<br />
Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up <br />
that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and <br />
appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree <br />
to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which <br />
you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-243265129659299352010-05-09T06:02:00.000-07:002010-05-09T06:02:39.607-07:00Mexican Cartels Attacking Law EnforcementMexico says cartels turning attacks on authorities<br />
<br />
reprinted from API article <br />
By MARK STEVENSON (AP) – Apr 25, 2010<br />
<br />
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<br />
MEXICO CITY — Mexico's drug cartels have changed tactics and are turning more attacks on authorities, rather than focusing their fire on rivals gangs, the country's top security official said Sunday.<br />
Interior Secretary Fernandez Gomez-Mont said at a news conference that two back-to-back, bloody ambushes of government convoys — both blamed on cartels — represent a new tactic.<br />
"In the last few weeks the dynamics of the violence have changed. The criminals have decided to directly confront and attack the authorities," Gomez-Mont said.<br />
"They are trying to direct their fire power at what they fear most at this moment, which is the authorities," he said.<br />
<br />
Officials here have long said that more than 90 percent of the death toll in Mexico's wave of drug violence — which has claimed more than 22,700 lives since a government crackdown began in December 2006 — are victims of disputes between rival gangs.<br />
<br />
<br />
Mexican drug gangs have been known to target security officials. The nation's acting federal police chief was shot dead in May 2008 in an attack attributed to drug traffickers lashing back at President Felipe Calderon's offensive against organized crime.<br />
But such high-profile attacks were rare in comparison to inter-gang warfare. But after the large-scale attacks on officials Friday and Saturday, "casualties among the authorities are beginning to increase in this battle," Gomez-Mont said.<br />
On Saturday, gunmen armed with assault rifles and grenades attacked a convoy carrying the top security official of the western state of Michoacan, in what appeared to be a carefully planned ambush.<br />
The official survived with non-life-threatening wounds — she was traveling in a bullet-resistant SUV — but two of her bodyguards and two passers-by were killed. Of the other nine people wounded, most were bystanders, including two girls ages 2 and 12.<br />
Gomez-Mont said the attack was carried out by a group known as "The Resistance," an outgrowth of the Michoacan-based La Familia drug cartel.<br />
It came a day after, gunmen ambushed two police vehicles at a busy intersection in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, killing seven officers and a 17-year-old boy caught in the crossfire. Two more officers were seriously wounded.<br />
Hours after that attack, a painted message directed at top federal police commanders and claiming responsibility for the attack appeared on a wall in downtown Ciudad Juarez. It was apparently signed by La Linea, the enforcement arm of the Juarez drug cartel. The Juarez cartel has been locked in a bloody turf battle with the Sinaloa cartel, led by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.<br />
<br />
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<br />
"This will happen to you ... for being with El Chapo Guzman and to all the dirtbags who support him. Sincerely, La Linea," the message read. The authenticity of the message could not be independently verified.<br />
Gomez-Mont, who is responsible for domestic security affairs, said the United States has to do more to stop cross-border gangs and illicit trade in weapons and money.<br />
<br />
He said some gangs "find a certain kind of sanctuary on the other side of the border," referring to Los Aztecas, a Ciudad Juarez gang that also operates in the United States, where it is known as the Barrio Azteca gang.<br />
<br />
<br />
"They (the United States) contribute very important components in the dynamic of violence," Gomez-Mont said.<br />
<br />
"We need the Americans to step up and recognize the fact that it is their money, their drug demand, that foments and encourages the violence in Mexico. We need the Americans to assume their responsibility," he said.<br />
<br />
<br />
The U.S. has supported Mexico's offensive, providing helicopters, dogs, surveillance gear and other law-enforcement support through the $1.3 billion Merida Initiative. "That is not a small amount, but it is not sufficient," Gomez-Mont said.<br />
<br />
A few hours before his comments, the military reported that Mexican soldiers killed five men Saturday in a shootout with assailants in a town near the northern city of Monterrey and detained six police officers on suspicion of helping the attackers. The Defense Department alleged the police tried to interfere with the troops during the confrontation.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Drug cartels are known to operate in the area, and many members of local police forces are suspected of aiding the gangs.<br />
<br />
<br />
In the Pacific coast state of Guerrero, a drive-by shooting killed the local leader of the tiny Labor Party outside his home Sunday, state police reported. Former legislator Rey Hernandez Garcia was hit by seven gunshots.<br />
<br />
<br />
Police did not offer any information on a possible motive in the attack.John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-15442719180896374192010-01-13T18:14:00.000-08:002010-01-13T18:14:21.269-08:00Al Qaeda linked to rogue aviation networkAl Qaeda linked to rogue aviation network<br />
<br />
<br />
By Tim Gaynor and Tiemoko Diallo Tim Gaynor And Tiemoko Diallo – Wed Jan 13, 11:53 am ET<br />
<br />
TIMBUKTU, Mali (Reuters) – In early 2008, an official at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent a report to his superiors detailing what he called "the most significant development in the criminal exploitation of aircraft since 9/11."<br />
<br />
The document warned that a growing fleet of rogue jet aircraft was regularly crisscrossing the Atlantic Ocean. On one end of the air route, it said, are cocaine-producing areas in the Andes controlled by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. On the other are some of West Africa's most unstable countries.<br />
<br />
The report, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, was ignored, and the problem has since escalated into what security officials in several countries describe as a global security threat.<br />
<br />
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</div><br />
The clandestine fleet has grown to include twin-engine turboprops, executive jets and retired Boeing 727s that are flying multi-ton loads of cocaine and possibly weapons to an area in Africa where factions of al Qaeda are believed to be facilitating the smuggling of drugs to Europe, the officials say.<br />
<br />
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has been held responsible for car and suicide bombings in Algeria and Mauritania.<br />
<br />
Gunmen and bandits with links to AQIM have also stepped up kidnappings of Europeans for ransom, who are then passed on to AQIM factions seeking ransom payments.<br />
<br />
The aircraft hopscotch across South American countries, picking up tons of cocaine and jet fuel, officials say. They then soar across the Atlantic to West Africa and the Sahel, where the drugs are funneled across the Sahara Desert and into Europe.<br />
<br />
An examination of documents and interviews with officials in the United States and three West African nations suggest that at least 10 aircraft have been discovered using this air route since 2006. Officials warn that many of these aircraft were detected purely by chance. They caution that the real number involved in the networks is likely considerably higher.<br />
<br />
Alexandre Schmidt, regional representative for West and Central Africa for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, cautioned in Dakar this week that the aviation network has expanded in the past 12 months and now likely includes several Boeing 727 aircraft.<br />
<br />
"When you have this high capacity for transporting drugs into West Africa, this means that you have the capacity to transport as well other goods, so it is definitely a threat to security anywhere in the world," said Schmidt.<br />
<br />
The "other goods" officials are most worried about are weapons that militant organizations can smuggle on the jet aircraft. A Boeing 727 can handle up to 10 tons of cargo.<br />
<br />
The U.S. official who wrote the report for the Department of Homeland Security said the al Qaeda connection was unclear at the time.<br />
<br />
The official is a counter-narcotics aviation expert who asked to remain anonymous as he is not authorized to speak on the record. He said he was dismayed by the lack of attention to the matter since he wrote the report.<br />
<br />
"You've got an established terrorist connection on this side of the Atlantic. Now on the Africa side you have the al Qaeda connection and it's extremely disturbing and a little bit mystifying that it's not one of the top priorities of the government," he said.<br />
<br />
Since the September 11 attacks, the security system for passenger air traffic has been ratcheted up in the United States and throughout much of the rest of the world, with the latest measures imposed just weeks ago after a failed bomb attempt on a Detroit-bound plane on December 25.<br />
<br />
"The bad guys have responded with their own aviation network that is out there everyday flying loads and moving contraband," said the official, "and the government seems to be oblivious to it."<br />
<br />
The upshot, he said, is that militant organizations -- including groups like the FARC and al Qaeda -- have the "power to move people and material and contraband anywhere around the world with a couple of fuel stops."<br />
<br />
The lucrative drug trade is already having a deleterious impact on West African nations. Local authorities told Reuters they are increasingly outgunned and unable to stop the smugglers. <br />
<br />
And significantly, many experts say, the drug trafficking is bringing in huge revenues to groups that say they are part of al Qaeda. It's swelling not just their coffers but also their ranks, they say, as drug money is becoming an effective recruiting tool in some of the world's most desperately poor regions. <br />
<br />
U.S. President Barack Obama has chided his intelligence officials for not pooling information "to connect those dots" to prevent threats from being realized. But these dots, scattered across two continents like flaring traces on a radar screen, remain largely unconnected and the fleets themselves are still flying. <br />
<br />
THE AFRICAN CONNECTION <br />
<br />
The deadly cocaine trade always follows the money, and its cash-flush traffickers seek out the routes that are the mostly lightly policed. <br />
<br />
Beset by corruption and poverty, weak countries across West Africa have become staging platforms for transporting between 30 tons and 100 tons of cocaine each year that ends up in Europe, according to U.N. estimates. <br />
<br />
Drug trafficking, though on a much smaller scale, has existed here and elsewhere on the continent since at least the late 1990s, according to local authorities and U.S. enforcement officials. <br />
<br />
Earlier this decade, sea interdictions were stepped up. So smugglers developed an air fleet that is able to transport tons of cocaine from the Andes to African nations that include Mauritania, Mali, Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau.What these countries have in common are numerous disused landing strips and makeshift runways -- most without radar or police presence. Guinea Bissau has no aviation radar at all. As fleets grew, so, too, did the drug trade. <br />
<br />
The DEA says all aircraft seized in West Africa had departed Venezuela. That nation's location on the Caribbean and Atlantic seaboard of South America makes it an ideal takeoff place for drug flights bound for Africa, they say. <br />
<br />
A number of aircraft have been retrofitted with additional fuel tanks to allow in-flight refueling -- a technique innovated by Mexico's drug smugglers. (Cartel pilots there have been known to stretch an aircraft's flight range by putting a water mattress filled with aviation fuel in the cabin, then stacking cargoes of marijuana bundles on top to act as an improvised fuel pump.) <br />
<br />
Ploys used by the cartel aviators to mask the flights include fraudulent pilot certificates, false registration documents and altered tail numbers to steer clear of law enforcement lookout lists, investigators say. Some aircraft have also been found without air-worthiness certificates or log books. When smugglers are forced to abandon them, they torch them to destroy forensic and other evidence like serial numbers. <br />
<br />
The evidence suggests that some Africa-bound cocaine jets also file a regional flight plan to avoid arousing suspicion from investigators. They then subsequently change them at the last minute, confident that their switch will go undetected. <br />
<br />
One Gulfstream II jet, waiting with its engines running to take on 2.3 tons of cocaine at Margarita Island in Venezuela, requested a last-minute flight plan change to war-ravaged Sierra Leone in West Africa. It was nabbed moments later by Venezuelan troops, the report seen by Reuters showed. <br />
<br />
Once airborne, the planes soar to altitudes used by commercial jets. They have little fear of interdiction as there is no long-range radar coverage over the Atlantic. Current detection efforts by U.S. authorities, using fixed radar and P3 aircraft, are limited to traditional Caribbean and north Atlantic air and marine transit corridors. <br />
<br />
The aircraft land at airports, disused runways or improvised air strips in Africa. One bearing a false Red Cross emblem touched down without authorization onto an unlit strip at Lungi International Airport in Sierra Leone in 2008, according to a U.N. report. <br />
<br />
Late last year a Boeing 727 landed on an improvised runway using the hard-packed sand of a Tuareg camel caravan route in Mali, where local officials said smugglers offloaded between 2 and 10 tons of cocaine before dousing the jet with fuel and burning it after it failed to take off again. <br />
<br />
For years, traffickers in Mexico have bribed officials to allow them to land and offload cocaine flights at commercial airports. That's now happening in Africa as well. In July 2008, troops in coup-prone Guinea Bissau secured Bissau international airport to allow an unscheduled cocaine flight to land, according to Edmundo Mendes, a director with the Judicial Police. <br />
<br />
"When we got there, the soldiers were protecting the aircraft," said Mendes, who tried to nab the Gulfstream II jet packed with an estimated $50 million in cocaine but was blocked by the military. <br />
<br />
"The soldiers verbally threatened us," he said. The cocaine was never recovered. Just last week, Reuters photographed two aircraft at Osvaldo Vieira International Airport in Guinea Bissau -- one had been dispatched by traffickers from Senegal to try to repair the other, a Gulfstream II jet, after it developed mechanical problems. Police seized the second aircraft. <br />
<br />
FLYING BLIND <br />
<br />
One of the clearest indications of how much this aviation network has advanced was the discovery, on November 2, of the burned out fuselage of an aging Boeing 727. Local authorities found it resting on its side in rolling sands in Mali. In several ways, the use of such an aircraft marks a significant advance for smugglers. <br />
<br />
Boeing jetliners, like the one discovered in Mali, can fly a cargo of several tons into remote areas. They also require a three-man crew -- a pilot, co pilot and flight engineer, primarily to manage the complex fuel system dating from an era before automation. <br />
<br />
Hundreds of miles to the west, in the sultry, former Portuguese colony of Guinea Bissau, national Interpol director Calvario Ahukharie said several abandoned airfields, including strips used at one time by the Portuguese military, had recently been restored by "drug mafias" for illicit flights. <br />
<br />
"In the past, the planes coming from Latin America usually landed at Bissau airport," Ahukharie said as a generator churned the feeble air-conditioning in his office during one of the city's frequent blackouts. <br />
<br />
"But now they land at airports in southern and eastern Bissau where the judicial police have no presence." <br />
<br />
Ahukharie said drug flights are landing at Cacine, in eastern Bissau, and Bubaque in the Bijagos Archipelago, a chain of more than 80 islands off the Atlantic coast. Interpol said it hears about the flights from locals, although they have been unable to seize aircraft, citing a lack of resources. <br />
<br />
The drug trade, by both air and sea, has already had a devastating impact on Guinea Bissau. A dispute over trafficking has been linked to the assassination of the military chief of staff, General Batista Tagme Na Wai in 2009. Hours later, the country's president, Joao Bernardo Vieira, was hacked to death by machete in his home. <br />
<br />
Asked how serious the issue of air trafficking remained for Guinea Bissau, Ahukharie was unambiguous: "The problem is grave." <br />
<br />
The situation is potentially worse in the Sahel-Sahara, where cocaine is arriving by the ton. There it is fed into well-established overland trafficking routes across the Sahara where government influence is limited and where factions of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have become increasingly active. <br />
<br />
The group, previously known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, is raising millions of dollars from the kidnap of Europeans. <br />
<br />
Analysts say militants strike deals of convenience with Tuareg rebels and smugglers of arms, cigarettes and drugs. According to a growing pattern of evidence, the group may now be deriving hefty revenues from facilitating the smuggling of FARC-made cocaine to the shores of Europe. <br />
<br />
UNHOLY ALLIANCE <br />
<br />
In December, Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, told a special session of the UN Security Council that drugs were being traded by "terrorists and anti-government forces" to fund their operations from the Andes, to Asia and the African Sahel. <br />
<br />
"In the past, trade across the Sahara was by caravans," he said. "Today it is larger in size, faster at delivery and more high-tech, as evidenced by the debris of a Boeing 727 found on November 2nd in the Gao region of Mali -- an area affected by insurgency and terrorism." <br />
<br />
Just days later, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials arrested three West African men following a sting operation in Ghana. The men, all from Mali, were extradited to New York on December 16 on drug trafficking and terrorism charges. <br />
<br />
Oumar Issa, Harouna Toure, and Idriss Abelrahman are accused of plotting to transport cocaine across Africa with the intent to support al Qaeda, its local affiliate AQIM and the FARC. The charges provided evidence of what the DEA's top official in Colombia described to a Reuters reporter as "an unholy alliance between South American narco-terrorists and Islamic extremists." <br />
<br />
Some experts are skeptical, however, that the men are any more than criminals. They questioned whether the drug dealers oversold their al Qaeda connections to get their hands on the cocaine. <br />
<br />
In its criminal complaint, the DEA said Toure had led an armed group affiliated to al Qaeda that could move the cocaine from Ghana through North Africa to Spain for a fee of $2,000 per kilo for transportation and protection. <br />
<br />
Toure discussed two different overland routes with an undercover informant. One was through Algeria and Morocco; the other via Algeria to Libya. He told the informer that the group had worked with al Qaeda to transport between one and two tons of hashish to Tunisia, as well as smuggle Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi migrants into Spain. <br />
<br />
In any event, AQIM has been gaining in notoriety. Security analysts warn that cash stemming from the trans-Saharan coke trade could transform the organization -- a small, agile group whose southern-Sahel wing is estimated to number between 100 and 200 men -- into a more potent threat in the region that stretches from Mauritania to Niger. It is an area with huge foreign investments in oil, mining and a possible trans-Sahara gas pipeline. <br />
<br />
"These groups are going to have a lot more money than they've had before, and I think you are going to see them with much more sophisticated weapons," said Douglas Farah, a senior fellow at the International Assessment Strategy Center, a Washington based security think-tank. <br />
<br />
NARCOTIC INDUSTRIAL DEPOT <br />
<br />
The Timbuktu region covers more than a third of northern Mali, where the parched, scrubby Sahel shades into the endless, rolling dunes of the Sahara Desert. It is an area several times the size of Switzerland, much of it beyond state control. <br />
<br />
Moulaye Haidara, the customs official, said the sharp influx of cocaine by air has transformed the area into an "industrial depot" for cocaine. <br />
<br />
Sitting in a cool, dark, mud-brick office building in the city where nomadic Tuareg mingle with Arabs and African Songhay, Fulani and Mande peoples, Haidara expresses alarm at the challenge local law enforcement faces. <br />
<br />
Using profits from the trade, the smugglers have already bought "automatic weapons, and they are very determined," Haidara said. He added that they "call themselves Al Qaeda," though he believes the group had nothing to do with religion, but used it as "an ideological base." <br />
<br />
Local authorities say four-wheel-drive Toyota SUVs outfitted with GPS navigation equipment and satellite telephones are standard issue for smugglers. Residents say traffickers deflate the tires to gain better traction on the loose Saharan sands, and can travel at speeds of up to 70 miles-per-hour in convoys along routes to North Africa. <br />
<br />
Timbuktu governor, Colonel Mamadou Mangara, said he believes traffickers have air-conditioned tents that enable them to operate in areas of the Sahara where summer temperatures are so fierce that they "scorch your shoes." He added that the army lacked such equipment. A growing number of people in the impoverished region, where transport by donkey cart and camel are still common, are being drawn to the trade. They can earn 4 to 5 million CFA Francs (roughly $9-11,000) on just one coke run. <br />
<br />
"Smuggling can be attractive to people here who can make only $100 or $200 a month," said Mohamed Ag Hamalek, a Tuareg tourist guide in Timbuktu, whose family until recently earned their keep hauling rock salt by camel train, using the stars to navigate the Sahara. <br />
<br />
Haidara described northern Mali as a no-go area for the customs service. "There is now a red line across northern Mali, nobody can go there," he said, sketching a map of the country on a scrap of paper with a ballpoint pen. "If you go there with feeble means ... you don't come back." <br />
<br />
TWO-WAY TRADE <br />
<br />
Speaking in Dakar this week, Schmidt, the U.N. official, said that growing clandestine air traffic required urgent action on the part of the international community. <br />
<br />
"This should be the highest concern for governments ... For West African countries, for West European countries, for Russia and the U.S., this should be very high on the agenda," he said. <br />
<br />
Stopping the trade, as the traffickers are undoubtedly aware, is a huge challenge -- diplomatically, structurally and economically. <br />
<br />
Venezuela, the takeoff or refueling point for aircraft making the trip, has a confrontational relationship with Colombia, where President Alvaro Uribe has focused on crushing the FARC's 45-year-old insurgency. The nation's leftist leader, Hugo Chavez, won't allow in the DEA to work in the country. <br />
<br />
In a measure of his hostility to Washington, he scrambled two F16 fighter jets last week to intercept an American P3 aircraft -- a plane used to seek out and track drug traffickers -- which he said had twice violated Venezuelan airspace. He says the United States and Colombia are using anti-drug operations as a cover for a planned invasion of his oil-rich country. Washington and Bogota dismiss the allegation. <br />
<br />
In terms of curbing trafficking, the DEA has by far the largest overseas presence of any U.S. federal law enforcement, with 83 offices in 62 countries. But it is spread thin in Africa where it has just four offices -- in Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt and South Africa -- though there are plans to open a fifth office in Kenya. <br />
<br />
Law enforcement agencies from Europe as well as Interpol are also at work to curb the trade. But locally, officials are quick to point out that Africa is losing the war on drugs. <br />
<br />
The most glaring problem, as Mali's example shows, is a lack of resources. The only arrests made in connection with the Boeing came days after it was found in the desert -- and those incarcerated turned out to be desert nomads cannibalizing the plane's aluminum skin, probably to make cooking pots. They were soon released. <br />
<br />
Police in Guinea Bissau, meanwhile, told Reuters they have few guns, no money for gas for vehicles given by donor governments and no high security prison to hold criminals. <br />
<br />
Corruption is also a problem. The army has freed several traffickers charged or detained by authorities seeking to tackle the problem, police and rights groups said. <br />
<br />
Serious questions remain about why Malian authorities took so long to report the Boeing's discovery to the international law enforcement community. <br />
<br />
What is particularly worrying to U.S. interests is that the networks of aircraft are not just flying one way -- hauling coke to Africa from Latin America -- but are also flying back to the Americas. <br />
<br />
The internal Department of Homeland Security memorandum reviewed by Reuters cited one instance in which an aircraft from Africa landed in Mexico with passengers and unexamined cargo. <br />
<br />
The Gulfstream II jet arrived in Cancun, by way of Margarita Island, Venezuela, en route from Africa. The aircraft, which was on an aviation watch list, carried just two passengers. One was a U.S. national with no luggage, the other a citizen of the Republic of Congo with a diplomatic passport and a briefcase, which was not searched. <br />
<br />
"The obvious huge concern is that you have a transportation system that is capable of transporting tons of cocaine from west to east," said the aviation specialist who wrote the Homeland Security report. <br />
<br />
"But it's reckless to assume that nothing is coming back, and when there's terrorist organizations on either side of this pipeline, it should be a high priority to find out what is coming back on those airplanes." <br />
<br />
(Additional reporting by Tiemoko Diallo in Mali, Alberto Dabo in Guinea Bissau and Hugh Bronstein in Colombia, editing by Jim Impoco and Claudia Parsons)<br />
<br />
<br />
Terrorism Video:Defcon3: 1/13 FOX News .<br />
<br />
<br />
Play Video Terrorism Video:New Approach Needed to Fight Terrorism? FOX News .<br />
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Play Video Terrorism Video:Birds Are Biggest Threat to Airplanes? FOX NewsJohn Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-13576171780275820722009-11-25T14:05:00.000-08:002009-11-25T14:05:27.840-08:00Sheep Dog to protect SocietySheep, Wolves & Sheepdogs<br />
February 8, 2008 By CJ<br />
Posted in Why We Serve<br />
By Lt. Col Dave Grossman<br />
<br />
Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.” This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another.<br />
<br />
We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.<br />
<br />
Then there are the wolves and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy. Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.<br />
<br />
Then there are sheepdogs and I’m a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf. Or, as a sign in one California law enforcement agency put it, “We intimidate those who intimidate others.”<br />
<br />
If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen: a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath–a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? Then you are a sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.<br />
<br />
We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids’ schools. But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid’s school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep’s only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.<br />
<br />
The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The<br />
difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.<br />
<br />
Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn’t tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports, in camouflage fatigues, holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, “Baa.” Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.<br />
<br />
The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.<br />
<br />
Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?<br />
<br />
Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed, right along with the young ones.<br />
<br />
Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, “Thank God I wasn’t on one of those planes.” The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, “Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference.” When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.<br />
<br />
There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.<br />
<br />
There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious,<br />
predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically<br />
targeted victims by body language: Slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.<br />
<br />
Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that<br />
most people can choose which one they want to be, and I’m proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.<br />
<br />
Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, “Let’s roll,” which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers – athletes, business people and parents. — from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.<br />
<br />
There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. – Edmund Burke<br />
<br />
Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the<br />
sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn’t have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.<br />
<br />
If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior’s path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.<br />
<br />
This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a<br />
matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between.<br />
<br />
Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. It’s okay to be a sheep, but do not kick the sheepdog. Indeed, the sheep dog may just run a little harder, strive to protect a little beter and be fully prepared to pay an ultimate price in battle and spirit with the sheep moving from “baa” to “thanks”. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.<br />
<br />
We do not call for gifts or freedoms beyond our lot. We just need a small pat on the head, a smile and a thank you to fill the emotional tank which is drained protecting the sheep. And when our number is called by the Almighty, and day retreats into night, a small prayer before the heavens just may be in order to say thanks for letting you continue to be a sheep. And be grateful for the thousands, millions of American sheepdogs who permit you the freedom to express even bad ideas.<br />
<br />
By Lt. Col Dave Grossman<br />
<br />
Note Bene-<br />
The original posting came with this foreward: <br />
<br />
"With all the hype about Berkeley and the many efforts to block their stupidity, I thought about an essay that I read once called “Sheep, Wolves, & Sheepdogs”. It’s a poignant essay that people like the Berkeley City Council and others can’t afford NOT to read."John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189712144370103943.post-700641613994858182009-11-17T12:00:00.000-08:002009-11-17T12:02:22.252-08:002009 Increase in Somali Piracy - from IMOUnprecedented Increase in Somali pirate activity<br />Wednesday, 21 October 2009<br /><br /><br />Global piracy figures have already surpassed the total number of attacks recorded in 2008, according to the latest quarterly piracy report released today by the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB). The report also revealed that the total number of incidents in which guns were used had risen by more than 200%, compared to the corresponding period in 2008.<br /><br />A total of 306 incidents were reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) in the first nine months of 2009, while in 2008, the total number of attacks for the year was 293.<br /><br />The increase in attacks is directly attributed to heightened piracy activity off the Somali Coast, where 47 incidents were reported compared to just 12 for the same period of the previous year, and in the Gulf of Aden, which had 100 incidents compared to 51 for the same period of the previous year.<br /><br />Despite the overall rise in figures, there has been a decrease in the number of incidents recorded in the third quarter of 2009 (63 incidents) compared to the first and second quarters of 2009, which recorded 103 and 140 incidents respectively. The decrease in piracy activity in that period in the Gulf of Aden and off the East Coast of Somalia can be credited primarily to monsoons.<br /><br />Global piracy statistics reveal that in the first nine months of 2009, 114 vessels were boarded, 34 vessels hijacked and 88 vessels fired upon. A total of 661 crewmembers were taken hostage, 12 kidnapped, six killed and eight reported missing.<br /><br />There has been a marked decrease globally, however, in the number of vessels hijacked in the first nine months of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008 – from an average of one in 6.4 vessels in 2008 to one in nine vessels in 2009.<br /><br />The third quarter report showed that Somali pirates have extended their reach, threatening not only the Gulf of Aden and East Coast of Somalia but also the southern region of the Red Sea, the Bab el Mandab Straits and the East Coast of Oman. This area still ranks as the number one piracy hotspot, with a total of 168 incidents reported in the first three quarters of 2009, accounting for more than half of the overall number of reported attacks.<br /><br />“The naval vessels operating off the Coast of Somalia continue to play a critical role in containing the piracy threat,” said IMB Director Captain Pottengal Mukundan. “Enhanced security measures by vessels have also made it difficult for pirates to succeed in their attacks.”<br /><br />Captain Mukundan added: “It is vital that regions in Somalia such as Puntland continue to take firm action in investigating and prosecuting the pirates. This will be a far better deterrent against Somali pirates than prosecution and punishment in a foreign country.”<br /><br />A total of 32 vessels were hijacked by Somali pirates in the first nine months of 2009, with 533 crew members taken hostage. A further 85 vessels were fired upon and as of 30 September 2009, four vessels, with over 80 crew held hostage, were still under negotiation.<br /><br />Nigeria remains another area of high concern. While only 20 attacks were officially reported to IMB in 2009, information received from external sources indicates that at least 50% of attacks on vessels, mostly related to the oil industry, have gone unreported. The IMB report noted that of the 20 incidents reported, eight were in the waters around Lagos.<br /><br />Chittagong port in Bangladesh has also seen an increase in the number of incidents as compared to the same period in 2008. There have been 12 reported attacks so far in 2009 –10 successfully carried out – compared to nine for the same period in 2008, when all the vessels were successfully boarded and looted.<br /><br />The South China Sea has once again proven to be an area of concern and enhanced risk, with 10 incidents reported so far in 2009. This is the highest recorded number of incidents in the corresponding period over the last five years. Additionally, all of the attacks were successful and in some of the incidents the bridge of the vessel was left unmanned for some time.<br /><br />IMB urges all ship masters, owners and managers, and others involved in the shipping industry, to report piracy or armed robbery incidents to its PRC. The PRC is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and is the only 24-hour manned centre able to receive and process reports of attacks from around the world. This timely, first hand information from ship masters enables IMB to identify high-risk areas to the governments concerned and is the first essential step in the attack response chain.John Etheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00168029533854294298noreply@blogger.com0