Nice to see when someone does their job for the right reasons.

This quality is too often few and far between in many professions.

Thank you sir

A nice gesture - rest in peace Agent Brian Terry
 

Issa Introduces Legislation to Honor Fallen Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry

Facility Located in District of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

http://republicans.oversight.house.g...asesstatements

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The Border Patrol station in Bisbee, Ariz., will be renamed to honor the memory of agent Brian Terry who died December 15, 2010 after being shot in the line of duty. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, introduced the bill in the House of Representatives July 27.

"Our nation's Border Patrol agents have a distinguished history of working to protect our borders. Agent Terry, who served our nation through his military service and his career with the Border Patrol, gave his life defending this country. Naming the Bisbee station in his honor recognizes his sacrifice, service and heroism," Issa said.

"In the past half-century, 70 U.S. Border Patrol agents – including Agent Terry – have been killed while protecting our nation," said Pia Carusone, chief of staff for Rep. Giffords (D-Ariz.), whose office worked with Issa on the legislation. "Congresswoman Giffords has led the fight for increased border security so Agent Terry and others will not have died in vain."

Terry's family issued a statement, saying, "From the very start, Brian loved his job as a Border Patrol agent and loved his fellow agents. The new Naco Station named in Brian's honor will serve as a lasting memory for all those who knew Brian."

In December 2010, Agent Terry was shot and killed while on patrol 14 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border near Rio Rico, Ariz., during an armed confrontation with suspected criminals. Prior to joining the U.S. Border Patrol, Agent Terry served in the U.S. Marine Corps and served as a police officer in Michigan.

Agent Terry's murder is linked to Operation Fast and Furious, a reckless program where federal law enforcement agencies knowingly allowed the trafficking of illegally purchased weapons into Mexico, arming drug cartels. The Oversight and Government Reform Committee is conducting an ongoing investigation to determine which U.S. officials are responsible for creating and authorizing the deadly program.

The bill, H.R. 2668, the "Brian A. Terry Memorial Act," has 52 Democratic and Republican cosponsors including principal cosponsor Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The station, located at 2136 S. Naco Highway, is located in the district of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and is only the second border patrol station to be named for a fallen agent. The Border Patrol's Murrieta, Calif., station is named in honor of Agents Theodore L. Newton, Jr. and George F. Azrak, two agents killed on duty in 1967, by an earlier act authored by Rep. Issa.

Still hiding the pea
 

The spending problems and negotiating taking place in DC have understandably dominated the recent headlines but - IMO, the death of a border patrol agent and the cover up occurring in DC are also indicative of problems with our current political leadership. While there have always been financial and accounting gimmicks in DC - it is particularly distasteful to watch an administration, to date, participate in a cover up that involves murder.

In light of recent hearings before the House Oversight Committee - where SA Newell helped put some names and faces to this fiasco - it is interesting to go back and look at what BATF published back in 2010. I went back over the document and below are a few snips and a link to the document itself.

The sleight of hand and contortions required by politicians (and agency heads) to explain and interpret this document, given some of the inconvenient facts that we now know, could get interesting if more members of the main stream press would dig a little and investigate. To date, most have showed more interest in Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

IMO, it appears from the BATF document (and recent testimony, among other things) that Justice, BATF HQ and the WH seem to be deeply involved in F & F and other similar investigations - can State be far behind? Hillary is already on record, stating that she has no interest in serving a second term if Obama were to be reelected. Recall, in the past, the press has proven that while the chosen one gets a pass - Hillary does not.

Finally, let us not forget:
• December 14th 2010 - US Border Patrol Agent Brain Terry was MURDERED with an AK-47 smuggled into Mexico with the help of BATF.

• June 6, 2011 - CBS News confirms that guns - illegally purchased in the US with the help of the BATF, and then smuggled into Mexico - were used to shoot down a Mexican military helicopter.



U.S. Department of Justice
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Office of Field Operations

UNCLASSIFIED//LAW ENFORCEMENT SENSITIVE

Project Gunrunner – A Cartel Focused Strategy

September 2010

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/se...l_Strategy.pdf

Page 2 - paragraph 5 of Executive Summary:

"Over the past few years the White House, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security and even the U.S. Northern Command have developed various strategies and policies designed to leverage the full capabilities of the U.S. government in this effort. It is essential that our efforts support the strategies and policies of the President and the Attorney General and where possible, complement the strategies of other agencies.“

Page 5 - last paragraph

“Furthermore, over the past few months enforcement strategies (and other guidance) that address firearms trafficking to Mexican cartels have been developed and released by the White House and the Department of Justice. It is essential that ATF efforts support strategies promoted by the White House and Department of Justice. An examination of these and other strategies reveals similarities among the strategies, but also suggests that some revisions to ATF’s current strategy are necessary.”

Page 7 - paragraph 3

"This document recognizes that Project Gunrunner is both an ATF strategy and a component of a larger U.S. government counter narcotics strategy."

Page 10 - paragraph 2

“On January 7, 2010, the Department of Justice reemphasized its commitment to combating firearms trafficking to Mexican cartels and the use of the OCDETF program as a means of disrupting the cartels by releasing its own strategy. The strategy is premised on the notion that a significant share of the violence, drug trafficking and corruption along the Southwest border is perpetrated by a relatively small number of hierarchical criminal organizations. The DOJ strategy concludes that “the most effective mechanism to attack those organizations is the use of intelligence-based, prosecutor-led multi-agency task forces that attack all levels of, and all criminal activities of, the operations of the organizations.” A significant component of the DOJ strategy pertains to attacking the southbound flow of firearms. The strategy states that “given the national scope of this issue, merely seizing firearms through interdiction will not stop firearms trafficking to Mexico. We must identify, investigate, and eliminate the sources of illegally trafficked firearms and the networks that transport them.” The DOJ strategy calls for closer collaboration between ATF and the efforts of multi-agency drug task forces along the border, including OCDETF strike forces. All ATF field divisions with an OCDETF strike force must consider assigning a complement of special agents to the multi-agency strike force and/or establishing a collocated ATF-led OCDETF group within the strike force.”

Page 17 - paragraph 1

“ATF is in the process of revising Bureau policy pertaining to cases deemed significant/sensitive and those with national implication. Existing criteria for such cases include investigations with potential for diplomatic or international implications and investigations that are likely to cause contact with headquarters by the news media and/or a major political figure.”

Page 17 - paragraph 2

[I]“To ensure that this strategy is properly implemented and coordinated, ATF headquarters is establishing a mechanism to monitor and, where appropriate, coordinate investigations targeting Mexican cartels.”[/I]

Page 18 - paragraph 3

[I]“The controlled movement of firearms, ammunition, explosives, explosives devices, and/or components or non-functional “props” of such items across the U.S.-Mexico border from the United States shall be coordinated with and approved in advance by Bureau headquarters and the MCO.”[/I]

Page 25 - paragraph 1

[I]“Although it is expected that cases investigated as part of this strategy will be prosecuted by the appropriate local United States Attorney, DOJ has shown interest and support of the approach outlined in this document and has designated a Criminal Division attorney to serve as the Department’s liaison to ATF.”[/I]

Two words: Fire Holder :lifter

https://www.nra.org/fireholder/Default.aspx

The Brian A. Terry Memorial Act - HR 2668 - a face to a name
 

Brian Terry: Semper Fidelis & Honor First

The Brian A. Terry Memorial Act - HR 2668 - will honor the service and sacrifice of fallen Border Patrol Agent Terry, who died protecting Americans and securing the border on December 15, 2010. Semper Fidelis & Honor First.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0jTJq_VfS8

I am confused. :confused:The government allowed guns to be purchased by cartels (maybe even hand-delivered) but earlier this week busted a group of food-terrorists at gunpoint for trafficing in raw milk.

http://www.naturalnews.com/033221_Ra..._raw_milk.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain...k-controversy/

For those that are interested in gunwalker, David Codrea (waronguns.com) has a daily radio show in Phoenix with daily archives covering the gunwalking story.

Being complicit in murder is not just a political problem
 

The F&F story has some legs over at the Huffington Post - but fails to recognize that this is not just a political problem - but that's a start.

The Huffington Post contributor clearly has issues with this administration's handling of the F&F investigation.

Obama's Growing Gun Problem
Adam Winkler. Professor of Law, UCLA
Posted: 8/3/11 10:39 AM ET
Huffington Post

Full article here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-w..._b_917104.html

EXCERPTS:

Now that Republicans in Congress won important concessions from President Obama in the debt ceiling debate, the next partisan battle is likely to be over what promises to be the first major scandal of the Obama administration: the botched gun sting known as "Operation Fast and Furious." The administration should waste no time and come clean about what happened, who approved it, and how it can be avoided again.

Unfortunately, the early signs are that Obama is going to handle this controversy as poorly as he handled the debt ceiling debate.

When Sen. Grassley asked ATF if the guns that had been "used" in the killing of the border agent were part of the Fast and Furious operation, the bureau said no. The bureau failed to acknowledge, however, that two of the guns found at the scene were indeed part of the program on the shaky grounds that the evidence didn't conclusively show the Fast and Furious guns fired the fatal shots.
That kind of logic may work for a lawyer in a court of law, but won't work for politicians in the halls of Congress.

The administration claims there are current law enforcement efforts that require secrecy. Yet those reasons shouldn't prevent disclosure of information about the planning of the sting.

The administration's stalling is also likely to impede its efforts to adopt new gun control. Efforts to shore up the background checks required for many gun purchases and a proposal to restrict high-capacity ammunition clips won't go anywhere so long as Republicans in Congress can point to the ATF scandal. Nor will the administration gain confirmation of its new choice to head ATF so long as Melson is seen as a whistleblower.

Obama took office promising unparalleled transparency, yet top officials have been anything but with regard to Fast and Furious. Instead of addressing the questions head on, which might end the controversy quickly, the administration is guaranteeing that the investigation will drag on and on. Soon it will develop into a full-blown political scandal and Obama will wish that instead of ignoring this controversy, he'd dealt with it fast and furious.

ATF promotes supervisors in controversial gun operation
 

"Hush money" ?
SnT


ATF promotes supervisors in controversial gun operation

The ATF has promoted three key supervisors of a controversial sting operation that allowed firearms to be illegally trafficked across the U.S. border into Mexico.
The three supervisors have been given new management positions at the agency's headquarters in Washington
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-at...tory?track=rss

After they received the good news of promotions, they realized the Metro DC housing market is different than Phoenix.:eek:

One guy becomes a special assistant, another guy is transfered to tobacco, and 3rd guy gets to investigate unprofessional conduct...not too hard to read between the lines.:munchin

Carrying the water for a corrupt administration appears to have paid off - paid off - these pigs should review their taped testimony before the House Oversight Committee - have they no shame - these guys probably hit the peter principle about 4 positions ago - in DC they may rise to politician.

One step in the game of obfuscation. The longer they can dissemble, and the longer key people can be sitting an a position un-related to what they were doing before, the easier it is to testify:

"I'm sorry Senator, it's been awhile since I've even been in Arizona (or Florida or Texas or Int'l Falls, MN), let me just check my notes and refresh my memory so that we're giving you the most accurate picture of the events that may or may not have transpired during a time I might have been in a position to, perhaps, have had some level of awareness of things that might have been out of my jurisdiction." (covers mic, confers with attorney)

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011...est=latestnews

This hole just keeps getting deeper and deeper. It makes you wonder just how many crimes have been committed on American soil with the weapons these bozos allowed to get across the border. Hopefully, we will see some real consequences for those who originated and supervised this fiasco.

ATF Responds to Inaccurate News Reports Regarding "Fast and Furious" Personnel
 

Anyone who watched Newell's testimony before the House Oversight Committee can guess what a big help Newell will be in his new position - and now he is in a prime blocking position "...we did not let guns walk."

“The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.”

Joseph Goebbels



ATF Responds to Inaccurate News Reports Regarding "Fast and Furious" Personnel

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following statement is from Scot Thomasson, chief, Public Affairs Division, Office of Public and Governmental Affairs, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF):

"Recent media reports have inaccurately characterized personnel changes involving ATF agents associated with the Fast and Furious operation as promotions. Special Agents Voth, Newell and McMahon were laterally transferred from operational positions and moved into administrative roles, they were not promoted. They did not receive salary or grade increases nor did they assume positions with greater responsibility.

On May 13, 2011, Deputy Assistant Director McMahon, Field Operations was reassigned to a position within the Office of Professional Responsibility and Security Operations back filling a position that had been vacant for over a year. His transfer was one of six other transfers announced on that day involving various other positions.

On August 1, 2011, Special Agent Newell, who had been selected as Country Attache Mexico City, was reassigned to the Office of Management to assist with the OIG investigation and Congressional inquiry.

Furthermore, Special Agent Voth was reassigned to a headquarters position, a lateral move into a program area.

These transfers/reassignments have never been described as promotions in any of the documents announcing them."Contact: Public Affairs Division

(202) 648-8500

SOURCE Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea...127966138.html

Actually that sounds like punishment; if someone told me I couldn't work with Soldiers any more and, instead, was now HMFIC of Powerpoint production or some such krap the grape smoke would be filling the halls.

'Course after they get him in the room with Agent K and the neuralyzer all will be well.

That's probably what ATF senior management will claim in all seriousness when the truth comes out..."hey, he's already been punished."

Damn bureaucracies.