T.S.A. agents busted at LAX for drug trafficking – airport security questioned

The DEA announced that two former and two current Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners, who worked at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) were arrested on federal narcotics trafficking and bribery charges. The TSA screeners allegedly took cash payments and allowed large shipments of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana to pass through the X-ray machines at security checkpoints.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) also apprehended one drug courier and expects another smuggler to surrender to authorities tomorrow. DEA agents working the case are continuing their search for another alleged drug courier named in the unsealed 22-count grand jury indictment.

The indictment highlights five incidents in which TSA employees acquired cash payments to allow suitcases filled with drugs to slip past the X-ray machines unnoticed.

“This case underscores the unique nature of 21st century drug smuggling,” according to Briane M. Grey, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA in Los Angeles. “Here, the defendants traded on their positions at one the world’s most crucial airport security checkpoints, used their special access for criminal ends, and compromised the safety and security of their fellow citizens for their own profit.”

Aviation security expert, Glen Winn, a 36-year military veteran, airline and airport security industry insider said he “would classify this as a catastrophic break down of security that threatened the airport.”

This case also demonstrates American airports remain under threat from more than just terrorists.

“Airport screeners act as a vital checkpoint for homeland security, and air travelers should believe in the fundamental integrity of security systems at our nation’s airports,” said United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. “The allegations in this case describe a significant breakdown of the screening system through the conduct of individuals who placed greed above the nation’s security needs.”

The unsealed indictment named the following individuals: Naral Richardson, 30, of Los Angeles, (who was terminated by TSA in 2010), John Whitfield, 23, of Los Angeles, (who was currently employed by TSA), Joy White, 27, of Compton, (who was terminated by TSA last year), Capeline McKinney, 25, of Los Angeles, (who was a current TSA screener), Duane Eleby, 28, of Downey, (who is expected to surrender to authorities), Terry Cunningham, 28, of Los Angeles, (an alleged drug courier, who is currently being sought by authorities), Stephen Bayliss, 28, of Los Angeles, (an alleged drug courier, who is currently is state custody).

All the apprehended defendants will be arraigned at United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. “If they are convicted of the charges in the indictment, the current and former TSA officials each face stiff mandatory minimum penalties, and each would face a potential sentence of life imprisonment,” according to U.S. attorney Birotte.

“The indictment outlines five separate incidents in which the TSA officials conspired with either drug couriers or an undercover operative working with the Drug Enforcement Administration to smuggle narcotics through security checkpoints at LAX.”

The incidents under investigation began in February 2011 and continued until early July 2011, according to the indictment.

“One incident, Richardson and White allegedly agreed that Eleby would bring about five kilograms of cocaine through a security checkpoint that was being staffed by White. But when Eleby failed to follow White’s instructions and went to the wrong security checkpoint, TSA officials uninvolved in the scheme seized Eleby’s bag, which was filled with cocaine,” the DEA explained. “In the final incident outlined in the indictment, Richardson and Whitfield allegedly conspired with the DEA’s ‘confidential source’ to allow about eight pounds of methamphetamine to pass through a security checkpoint that was being staffed by Whitfield. After the methamphetamine went through security, Whitfield met the confidential source in an LAX restroom to receive $600 in cash, which was the second half of the agreed-upon $1,200 fee for that pass through.”

If convicted of their respective crimes, Richardson, Whitfield, McKinney, will serve a minimum of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Eleby, Cunningham and Bayliss face a five-year mandatory minimum sentences and a maximum statutory sentence of 40 years in prison for their part in the drug smuggling.

“TSA has assured the investigating agencies we will do everything we can to assist in their investigation,” said Randy Parsons, TSA Federal Security Director at LAX.

“While these arrests are a disappointment, TSA is committed to holding our employees to the highest standards.”

The multi agency investigation was conducted by the DEA, the Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which worked in conjunction with the Transportation Security Administration, the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, the Los Angeles International Airport Narcotics Task Force, and the Los Angeles Airport Police.

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/kimberly-dvorak

© Copyright 2012 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.

SD Sheriff Gore seeks top-secret spy to join its Fusion Center

Former FBI agent and current San Diego Sheriff, Bill Gore is looking for a highly-skilled terrorism analyst to join the Department’s highly coveted Fusion Center. The job requires candidates to obtain top-security clearances, experience with terrorism activities and the ability to work with other federal agencies like the CIA.

Due to San Diego’s proximity to the southwest border, its ties to the 9/11 suicide terrorist attack (two terrorists lived in San Diego when Gore was with the FBI) and his prior work as a G-man, the Sheriff Department participates in the Regional Terrorism Threat Assessment Center (RTTAC) multi-agency task force.

The task force focuses on terrorism-specific intelligence and information gathering in an effort to prevent future attacks inside U.S. borders.

According to the Sheriff Department website, participating agencies include the San Diego Sheriff's Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), California Department of Justice, California Highway Patrol, Federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Governor's Office of Homeland Security. The RTTAC is co-located with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and a Criminal Intelligence component and together comprise the Law Enforcement Coordination Center (LECC), San Diego's Intelligence "Fusion Center."

The new Terrorism Liaison Officer will work with other San Diego first responders to “outsmart” potential terrorists by strategically formulating a possible threat and create contingency plans to prevent a terrorist incident.

“The concept is simple: Prior to terrorists flying jet liners into buildings, there are certain planning actions they must do to prepare for such an attack. These actions are often accompanied by indicators/warnings ("clues") that an attack is being planned. By providing an awareness of these indicators, the goal is to encourage reporting of suspicious circumstances/incidents, thus preventing an attack,” according to the Sheriff Department.

Some of the job duties Sheriff Gore requires from potential candidates include: Evaluating data from a variety of law enforcement sources, conduct extensive research, and prepare intelligence products for dissemination by other agencies familiar with terrorism threats.

Specifically the top-secret position also requires past intelligence analyst experience pertaining to counter-terrorism, international terrorism, critical infrastructure knowledge and the ability to work with other federal agencies.

The intelligence analysts should have analytical work experience on the southwest border and work experience involving products developed from High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) initiatives.

The Sheriff Department directs those wishing to be considered to register with Morgan Franklin Clearance Jobs.

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/kimberly-dvorak

© Copyright 2012 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.



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Afghanistan War- Operational deception or political hoodwink?

“I suggest the White House spokesman Jay Carney join the military and see what it’s like himself before he condemns our troops,” Last week, The Los Angeles Times posted graphic pictures taken by service members two years ago in an effort to disparage the troops. Predictably, the liberal politicos went bananas. White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney, demonstrated his naiveté regarding the ugliness of war, and daily threats U.S. soldiers on patrol in Afghanistan (many are on third or fourth deployment) encounter each day by making the following comment.

“[The] conduct depicted in those photographs is reprehensible and does not in any way represent the high standards of the US military,” Carney woefully said aboard Air Force One. “The president certainly shares in the defense secretary's opinion (Leon Panetta) that this should be investigated and those held responsible will be held accountable.

”Wow, military enlistees must feel completely appreciated by those in DC who travel first class, react with distain to a Los Angeles Times story that showed U.S. service members posing with body parts of a terrorist who just blew himself up trying to kill Americans two years ago, and gauge foreign policy by the political winds in the nation’s Capitol.Army LTC Ralph Peters (ret) angrily responded on Fox News. “I’m especially appalled that those in uniform, General [John R.] Allen, our commander in Afghanistan, just jumped to trash our troops.”

Here’s a news flash for those drinking martinis and smoking cigars in Washington DC, “War is hell.”

Far to often coverage of the Afghanistan War by U.S. journalists is strictly packaged by military leaders to propagandize the message “they” want ordinary Americans to read with their morning “cup of Joe.” The real stories are generally left in the “classified” reports. In other words, if the media wants continued access to military leaders in DC and Afghanistan, they must “sell” the story officials are feeding them.

Lucky for Americans there’s a new political wind blowing in the Pentagon and it’s in the form of bucking the military brass.

After a year stint in Afghanistan compiling the details, observing the successes and failures, Army Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Daniel Davis, discovered a stark difference in the news being reported to Americans and the reality on the ground. The Army Colonel did something few military leaders do—he broke his silence.

LTC Davis paints a different picture

LTC Davis is a 17-year Army veteran who served multiple tours in the Middle East and was tasked with information gathering on his most recent (and most likely final) tour to Afghanistan. He saw the troops on the ground achieving extraordinarily compassionate feats with the Afghan tribes, but acknowledged that most of the good work would be unraveled by the time with the next military unit that rotated into the region arrived.

After a year, 9,000 zigzagging miles in the tribal nation, LTC Davis began to assemble the puzzle pieces and what he learned was shocking. Once he arrived home to Washington, LTC Davis agonized about his sworn duties as a military officer and his compelling need to set the record straight. He decided to write two reports, one document archived “classified” details for Pentagon leadership, and the other included “unclassified” information detailing the conditions service members described to the colonel during his year long observations.

Up first, misinformation fed to Congress

LTC Davis highlighted four years of noteworthy statements made by General Petraeus that the fighting was "going to get worse before it gets better." However, LTC Davis demonstrates the war “has only gotten worse, each and every year.”

Davis questioned the Afghanistan War military strategy and wondered when someone in a senior leadership position would demand an explanation as to why the casualties and violence have continue on the same arc of destruction and death that began in 2005. The annual deployment of thousands more troops, despite Petraeus’ claim made every year since 2008, things aren’t getting better. By using news stories and testimony from those in charge Davis compiled a litany of falsehoods fed to members of the media as well as Congress.

From The New York Times, October 1, 2008, U.S. General urges troop surge in Afghanistan. “After quoting General McKiernan as saying he needed another 10,000 troops, the article said, "McKiernan's comments came after General David Petraeus, who is preparing to take up his new post to; head of the U.S. Central Command, said in an interview in London this week that he also expected the fight against the insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan to get worse before it gets better."

The Boston Globe, April 22, 2009,Military Situation in Afghanistan will get worse, Petraeus says. Cambridge: "General David Petraeus, architect of the US military surge credited with dramatically reducing violence in Iraq, told a forum at the John F. Kennedy School of Government yesterday that the military situation in Afghanistan will probably deteriorate in the near term. 'We do believe we can achieve progress, but it's going to get worse before it gets better,' said Petraeus, the leader of the US Central Command, which oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 'When you got into the enemy's sanctuaries, they will fight you for it. There will be tough months ahead, without question' he said."

General David H. Petraeus, Commander ISAF, Senate Armed Services Committee, June 29, 2010.During his confirmation hearing, General Petraeus said, "Recent months in Afghanistan have, as you noted, Mr. Chairman, seen tough fighting and tough casualties. This was expected. Indeed, as I noted in testimony last year and again earlier this year, the going inevitably gets tougher before it gets easier when a counterinsurgency operations tries to reverse insurgent momentum. My sense is that the tough fighting will continue; indeed, it may get more intense in the next few months. As we take away the enemy's safe havens and reduce the enemy's freedom of action, the insurgents will fight back."

The Associated Press, March 9, 2011, with General David Petraeus, Petraeus Says Tough Summer Ahead. “Explaining that he has made progress since last year, the progress was ‘fragile and reversible.’ But in terms of expectations in the near term: As Taliban fighters start trying to take back southern strongholds during the traditional spring and summer fighting season, violence may spike considerably, he said. Many intelligence estimates say that it will be as violent or perhaps with even more violence than 2010, Petraeus said in an interview at his office in Kabul. They will come back in force. There is some concern that there will be sensational attacks that could be indiscriminate in nature,” he warned.

Further, during this year in command of ISAF General Petraeus frequently cited a number of Taliban senior leaders killed, sanctuaries taken away, capturing “birth places” of certain Taliban leaders, huge caches of weapons seized and its untold numbers of insurgent foot soldiers tiring of the fight, putting aside their weapons and reentering Afghan society. This was allegedly done during the same time when ISAF troops increased by almost 40,000 and Afghan troops and police increased by a reported 70,000.

Shortly before taking American’s top spy job, General David H. Petraeus testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on 15 March 2011 providing Congress with his update on the Afghanistan surge.

His opening statement read in part, “While the security progress achieved over the past year is significant, it is also fragile and reversible. Moreover, it is clear that much difficult work lies ahead with our Afghan partners to solidify and expand our gains in the face of the expected Taliban spring offensive. Nonetheless, the hard-fought achievements in 2010 and early in 2011 have enabled the Joint Afghan-NATO Transition Board to recommend initiation this spring of transition to Afghanistan lead in several provinces. The achievements of the past year are also very important as I prepare to provide options and a recommendation to President Obama for commencement of the drawdown of the U.S. surge forces in July. Of note, as well, the progress achieved has put us on the right azimuth to accomplish the objective agreed upon at last November's Lisbon Summit, that of Afghan forces in the lead throughout the country by the end of 2014.”

After researching the U.S. military propaganda inside the beltway, Davis offered some theories of his own. “How is it, then, that with the addition of over 100,000 troops allied with the ISAF team and apparently significant reductions in the Taliban fighters, was there not a massive reduction in enemy attacks as we saw in 2007 Iraq? By any rational accounting, there ought to have been a significant drop of enemy capabilities. Instead they continued to increase their capability throughout the tenure of General Petraeus and have only started to slightly drop at the same time the number of American and Allied troops have begun to drop. If that hard-to-follow logic weren’t enough, there’s this; even though this massive infusion of troops has been proven incapable of bring the Taliban neither to its knees nor to the negotiating table with hat in hand? We now project we’re going to accomplish our objectives over the next three years as we remove all these combat troops who have been incapable of succeeding.”

Davis challenges the military leadership’s logic as optimistic at best and asinine at worst.

“You are being told to believe that the best of the combined armies of the Western World have proven incapable of beating the Taliban, that even the surge of almost 40,000 of them, equipped with the most modern arms and technology known to man will succeed after drawing down the troops?”

The next senior leadership assessment came in April 2011 from the DoD. “Since the last Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and its Afghan partners have made tangible progress, arresting the insurgents' momentum in much of the country and reversing it in a number of important areas. The coalition's efforts have wrested major safe havens from the insurgents' control, disrupted their leadership networks, and removed many of the weapons caches and tactical supplies they left behind at the end of the previous fighting season. The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) continued to increase in quantity, quality, and capability, and have taken an ever-increasing role in security operations. Progress in governance and development was slower than security gains in this reporting period, but there were notable improvements nonetheless, particularly in the south and southwest. Over all, the progress across Afghanistan remains fragile and reversible, but the momentum generated over the last six months has established the necessary conditions for the commencement of the transition of security responsibilities to Afghan forces in seven areas this summer.”

“I quantitatively demonstrate that much of the two public statements above are either misleading, significantly skewed or completely inaccurate,” LTC Davis asserts. “Also, I'll demonstrate how this pattern of overt and substantive deception has become a hallmark of many of America’s most senior military leaders in Afghanistan.”

In his opening statement, General Stanley McChrystal, Commander ISAF told the Senate Armed Services Committee on December 8, 2009, the benefits of the new surge of troops: "We also have greater clarity on the way forward. Additional forces will begin to deploy shortly and by this time next year new specific indicators will illuminate security gains, and it will be clear to us that the insurgency has lost the momentum. By the summer of 2011 it will be clear to the Afghan people that the insurgency will not win, giving them the chance to side with their government.”

However, LTC Davis’ contends General McChrystal cited the rising violence statistics in the summer of 2009 as evidence that ISAF was in of danger losing the Afghanistan War. “ He suggests by the summer of 2011 - which has now passed - it would ‘be clear’ the insurgency had lost momentum. But in July 2009 when his assessment was made there were attacks, which represented an increase from 2008 - but a year later (July 2010) the violence had increased to (redacted) attacks. General Petraeus is warning now that July 2011 will be even higher. By any assessment, our situation has not improved.”

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael C. Mullen, also explained to the Senate Armed
 Services Committee in December 2, 2009 explaining why we needed to surge 30,000 troops: "Their (Taliban) fighters are better organized and better equipped than they were just 1 year ago. In fact, coalition forces experienced record-high violence this past summer, with insurgent attacks more than 60 percent above 2008 levels.”

However, Davis proves otherwise. “Interestingly, when Admiral Mullen made this statement, the violence in 2009 had increased 53 percent over 2008 levels. But one year later – a full year after surge forces went in - the violence in 2010 had increased over 2009 levels. Doubly important to point out is the very increase he cited was precisely in response to the previous troop increase, just as every year since 2005 the level of violence and troop casualties mirrors the increase in the number of troops. Yet when this exact same cycle continued on after this 2009 surge decision, it was claimed by all these same leaders that it was not an indication of increased insurgent capability, but merely the expected result of the surge troops, moving into areas where we hadn’t been before to ‘take away’ their safe havens.”

To put it even more simply, the more soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan equated to more targets for the insurgents.

92 percent of Afghans never heard of know 9/11

September of last year, the International Council on Security and Development (ICSD) reported some astonishing numbers concerning Afghanis on the ground in the tribal nation- 92 percent had no idea what the war was about and never heard of 9/11.

The ICSD study of 1,000 Afghan men was taken by the International Council on Security and Development in the Southern districts of Kandahar and Helmand to find out if Afghanis knew why they were fighting a war. A brief summary found that an overwhelming majority of respondents had no clue what 9/11 represented.

“The survey showed that nobody has bothered to actually explain to Afghans why British and U.S. soldiers are there,” said Norine MacDonald, president of the International Council on Security and Development. “There is a vacuum, and it's being filled by Al Qaeda and Taliban propaganda claiming that we are here to destroy Islam.”

Another poll was conducted by the Department of Defense publication "Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan," on 28 April 2010. The executive summary (p.7) concluded that the Afghan population that supports its government is only 24 percent.

That sentiment is echoed in the United States.A recent CNN poll also reflects 75 percent of the American people do not support a sustained war effort in Afghanistan. “We cannot fight wars by polls,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta implored. “If we do that we're in deep trouble. We have to operate based on what we believe is the best strategy to achieve the mission that we are embarked on. And the mission here is to safeguard our country by ensuring that the Taliban and al Qaeda never again find a safe haven in Afghanistan.”

This argument is markedly harder to defend with only 25 percent of Americans supporting the decade-long wars. However, the commitment to further military action takes more twisted turns since the recent Quran burnings and the alleged Afghan massacre by a U.S. soldier. Now, U.S. appointed Afghan President Hamid Karzai called American warriors murderers, demons, and demanded American soldiers return to their bases. (Reported in previous story)

More fabrications

In all probability, Davis says military leaders do not consider what they are saying, “to be lying,” but an effective part of military "Information Operations (IO)" is designed to protect the support of the American people for our troops.

An example of this is General Petraeus’ comments regarding iCasualties.org. “U.S. casualties from January to September 2010 were 4,155 killed and wounded, while the same frame in 2011 saw 4,662 U.S. troops killed or wounded; an increase of over 500. General Petraeus had claimed in his 10 July 2011 interview with Carlotta Gall that casualty rates were falling and that the insurgency had been ‘degraded somewhat.’ But my cursory examination of the publicly available casualty data reveals total US casualties were up, not down.”

Defense Secretary Panetta also publically told the troops in Afghanistan “that all the sacrifices made by those in uniform “were paying off and that we are moving in the right direction. We’re winning this very tough conflict.”

Where’s the moral outrage?

As the U.S. winds down its 10-year war, TV military pundits are using fiery rhetoric to describe leadership’s failure to lead American soldiers forward. Last week, Army Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters (ret) unleashed his fury on Fox News. “I'm furious. Not at the troops that did something dumb. But I'm furious at the moral cowardice of military leaders who never stick up for our troops but protect their own careers. The reflex action of our generals is always to leap out and say, oh ‘my gosh,’ our troops are so awful. They're so wicked. This isn't us. This isn't us.The real scandal is that the establishment media leaps on another chance to trash our troops. The worst of the scandal is that our leaders in and out of uniform rush to condemn our troops. No explanation. No context.”

“The Greatest Generation sent Japanese skulls home to their girlfriends,” said Peters. “I’m not condoning it, but I’m trying to make the point that our soldiers out on the front line and our marines are under tremendous stresses. War is not a ladies auxiliary tea party, and it’s all too easy for people comfortable in Los Angeles, or New York or the White House to condemn the troops without context.”

Anytime a member of the uniformed American military makes a mistake, President Obama, Pentagon officials and the liberal media, condemns it. Where’s the outrage for America’s brave men and women who are brutally attacked by suicide bombers or IED attacks? Where’s the outrage for former Marine Iraq War veteran and Border Patrol agent Brian Terry’s murder by drug smuggler ‘rip crews’ in Arizona?

“If our strategy and doctrine is so pathetically weak that it can be derailed, destroyed, shattered, by a few burning Koreans or a few photographs – the dead body parts of terrorists – well that’s not much of a strategy or doctrine,” Peters finished. (Link here)

Conclusion

The Middle East is mired in death, uncertainty, corruption and specifically no verifiable foreign policy mission moving forward. Considering the substantial blood and treasure expended by Americans would suggest that safety on U.S. soil could be guaranteed. Atlas, it doesn’t appear to be the case. An upcoming NATO summit in Chicago is forecasting violence and strongly advising residents to leave their homes (apartments located near the summit location).

Combine homeland security with an increasing international hostility from “so-called” partner in Afghanistan (President Karzai has renewed pressure for U.S. Allied troops to leave earlier than the planned 2014 withdrawal) and it’s no wonder an overwhelming number of Americans want American troops home.

At the end of the day however, the final military action will lie with the battlefield commander. It’s a grueling task, but great leaders weigh the risks against the objectives and rely on the conscience of his/her leadership and not yield to vainglorious impulses and political pressures.

The percolating tribal hostilities in Afghanistan and the politicization of military leaders in Washington DC are set to collide in the form of an angry U.S. citizenry in November. While politicians may worry about their livelihood, strong military leaders must not follow the path of least resistance. Extraordinary leaders encourage open discussion while thoughtfully weighing all wartime contingencies.

The last American General who became president, Dwight Eisenhower summed it up this way;

“Leadership cannot be exercised by the weak. It demands strength—the strength of this great nation when its people are united in purpose, united in a common fundamental faith, united in their readiness to work for human freedom and peace: this spiritual and economic strength, in turn, must be reinforced in a still armed world by the physical strength necessary for the defense of ourselves and our friends.”––GEN Dwight Eisenhower, Department of the Army PAMPHLET 360–50, August 1982.

Update: Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis will receive the Ridenhour Prize, which honors acts of truth telling that protect the public interest and illuminate a more just vision of society. The prize memorializes Ron Ridenhour, who blew the whistle on the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War and went on to become an award-winning investigative journalist. He died in 1998 at the age of 52. LTC Davis will receive $10,000, and will be honored at the National Press Club in Washington DC on April 25th.



To read more about Afghanistan:

Afghanistan War lingers- military deception for political expediency (Link here)

Afghan War ain’t about hearts and minds- ‘just win baby’ (http://www.examiner.com/article/afghan-war-ain-t-about-hearts-and-minds-just-win-baby-1

Part one-http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/u-s-troops-fight-and-die-to-preserve-shariah-law-afghanistan

Part one-http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/u-s-troops-fight-and-die-to-preserve-shariah-law-afghanistan

Part two- http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/us-payments-to-taliban-afghan-warlords-threaten-american-nato-troops

Part three- http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/billion-dollar-corruption-within-the-u-s-picked-afghan-regime

Part four- http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/terrorism-s-down-payment-the-form-drugs-and-u-s-aid-money-part-4

Part five -http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/obama-begins-to-wind-down-the-costly-war-afghanistan-final-a-series

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/kimberly-dvorak

© Copyright 2012 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.

DEA drug smuggling sting nabs online drug dealers

A multi-agency, multi-country law enforcement effort successfully broke-up and shut down the “Farmer’s Market” website. The international online drug trafficking organization sold a wide variety of illicit narcotics to U.S. and international customers.

Authorities say the “secret” online website moved illegal drugs using the postal service to more than 3,000 customers in 50 states and 24 countries. This week authorities arrested eight people in connection with the criminal drug business; all face federal drug trafficking and money laundering charges.

The ringleader, Marc Willems, a resident of the Netherlands, was arrested in his home and charged as the lead defendant. Colombian authorities tracked down and arrested U.S. citizen Michael Evron who was in the process of fleeing the country before Bogota Police captured him. The remaining suspects, Jonathan Colbeck, Brian Colbeck, Ryan Rawls, Jonathan Dugan, George Matzek and Charles Bigras were apprehended at their respective homes in Iowa, Michigan, Georgia, New York, New Jersey and Florida.

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The Los Angeles Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) field office led the two-year, multi-agency “Operation Adam Bomb” investigation.

“The drug trafficking organization targeted in ‘Operation Adam Bomb’ was distributing dangerous and addictive drugs to every corner of the world, and trying to hide their activities through the use of advanced anonymizing on-line technology,” said Briane M. Grey, DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge. “Today's action should send a clear message to organizations that are using technology to conduct criminal activity that the DEA and our law enforcement partners will track them down and bring them to justice.”

Smuggling drugs in a global market require law enforcement agencies partner with foreign organizations to keep one step ahead of criminals and shut down their unlawful entities.

“Illegal narcotics trafficking now reaches every corner of our world, including our home computers,” said U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California André Birotte Jr., whose office is handling the prosecution of the case. “But the reach of the law is just as long, and the Department of Justice will work with its partners, both nationally and internationally, to bring narcotics traffickers to justice, wherever they may hide. Working together, we want to make the Internet a safe and secure marketplace by rooting out and prosecuting those persons who seek to illegally pervert and exploit that market.”

All the defendants were charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances worldwide. The online marketplace allowed independent contractors to anonymously advertise and sell illegal drugs on public airwaves. The unsealed indictment revealed that online business owners used online forums to sell their controlled substances. The “Farmer’s Market” also offered a customer service program as well as various payment options for their illegal drug-seeking consumers. The indictment alleges that customers and operators screened suppliers to guarantee delivery of drugs and even collected a commission from the transactions.

This marketplace offered a wide variety of controlled substances including, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), MDMA (ecstasy), fentanyl, mescaline, ketamine, DMT and high-end marijuana. The DEA said the online drug dealers handled approximately 5,256 online orders and earned $1,041,244 during January 2007 and October 2009.

The multi-agency task force said the drug dealers used a TOR program with encrypted connections that can be downloaded on most home computers. “TOR allows websites and electronic mail communications to mask IP address information by spreading communications over a series of computers, or relays, located throughout the world,” the DEA explained. “The online marketplaces have accepted Western Union, Pecunix, PayPal, I-Golder, and cash as payment for illegal drug sales.”

Federal authorities said, “All the defendants were charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, which carries a maximum sentence of imprisonment for life, and money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment.”

The lead defendants Willems, Evron, Jonathan Colbeck, Brian Colbeck, and Rawls are also charged with the distribution of LSD, which carries a maximum sentence of imprisonment for life. Finally, “defendants Willems and Evron are charged with participating in a continuing criminal enterprise, which carries a maximum sentence of imprisonment for life and a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence.”

Authorities arrested seven other individuals for their connection to the illegal drug website.

The DEA received substantial assistance from the Netherlands Regional Police Force Flevoland, the International Legal Assistance Center North East Netherlands prosecutors, U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the DEA’s country office in Hague, and the U.S. Postal Service.

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/kimberly-dvorak

© Copyright 2012 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.



Continue reading on Examiner.com DEA drug smuggling sting nabs online drug dealers - San Diego County Political Buzz | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/article/dea-drug-smuggling-sting-nabs-online-drug-dealers#ixzz1sVQfJmur

Border Patrol Agent to have highway named in his honor

San Diego Border Patrol agent Robert Rosas, Jr. who was murdered by illegal aliens nearly three years ago will have a portion of Interstate 8 dedicated to his memory.

A ceremony was held at the Campo Border Patrol Station last weekend to dedicate a stretch of the Interstate 8 east of San Diego. Agent Rosas was slain in the line of duty near the international border with Mexico on July 23, 2009.

To preserve Agent Rosas’ memory, “representatives from the U.S. Border Patrol, Local Border Patrol 1613 Union, Caltrans, SoCal Patriots, and California State Senator Joel Anderson’s office gathered to announce the renaming of a portion of Interstate 8 between San Diego and the Imperial Valley.”

According to CBP officials, part of the ceremony included placing signs along the busy freeway to remember BP Agent Robert Rosas’ memory. Members of Agent Rosas’ immediate and extended family, including his widow and two children were on hand for the special ceremony.

Campo Border Patrol Station Acting Patrol Agent in Charge Richard Gordon said, “This is a very special occasion and a fitting tribute to ensure that our Border Patrol family member and friend, Robert Rosas, is never forgotten.”

The special signs will remind commuters on Interstate 8 on a daily basis to remember the fallen agent who died protecting America’s international borders. “For Border Patrol agents who see Robert’s name on their way to work, it will be a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice that he made and of the dangers Border Patrol agents face on a daily basis,” the ceremony finished.

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/kimberly-dvorak

© Copyright 2012 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.



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What DID happen to that North Korean missile?

While the world watched North Korea’s 28-year-old leader Kim Jong-un defy American and United Nations sanctions by launching a missile to carry a “satellite” into orbit, it’s interesting to know that the U.S. Air Force, Army, and Navy have successfully shot-down missiles using laser energy beam weapons naked to the human eye.

The primetime billion-dollar launch failure in North Korea reportedly lasted just a minute - far shy of the time required to reach orbit. Both the U.S. and S. Korean forces claimed the rocket exploded, broke up and fell into the Yellow Sea.

In February, Washington and Pyongyang entered into an agreement whereby the U.S. would provide North Korea with 240,000 tons of food for it to halt its missile and uranium enrichment programs … was it just coincidence that same month the Pentagon “mothballed” the US Air Force’s Airborne 747 anti-missile laser system, just a year after it successfully destroyed a missile in flight?

Was this an Osama bin Laden-esque moment for President Obama to impress upon the new N. Korean dictator that he stood no chance against the U.S.? Or will the new unpredictable “dear” leader look to re-establish N. Korea’s pariah status and begin new nuclear testing?

To view American military anti-missile laser technology click on links below;

(US Air Force Anti-missile Laser)

(US Army Anti-missile Laser)

(US Navy Anti-missile Laser)

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/kimberly-dvorak

© Copyright 2012 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.


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Vigilante Bloomberg claims NRA and 25 states Grant a “license to murder”

Unless one was hiding under a rock in East Timor, it is hard to escape the 24/7 coverage of the Trayvon Martin murder case. The accused is Floridian, George Zimmerman, a self-described “captain of the neighborhood watch” program, and the victim, Trayvon Martin was a black, 17-year-old, six-foot football player shot after “some sort” of struggle.

So far the case is lean on evidence and robust on speculation. The incident actually occurred in February with little fanfare, but with the advent of social media, the self-defense/murder case percolated and finally boiled over into a second-degree murder charge.

The increased media coverage brought out the usual civil rights' suspects, Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson and the New Black Panthers all migrated to Florida to fan the flames with the typical race-baiting cliches, calling for large-scale marching and promising civil unrest if their demands were not met.

Enter anti-gun activist NYC Mayor Bloomberg

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The anti-gun NYC mayor wasted little time inserting his beliefs into the nation’s Stand Your Ground Laws. Yesterday he addressed the Washington DC media at the National Press Club where the Mayor proffered his latest disarming campaign aptly named “Second Chance on Shoot First.”

The national campaign seeks to change the law in 25 states making Bloomberg’s plea a tall order, especially since the states followed a strict legislative process before governors signed the bills into law. However, Mr. Bloomberg seems to disagree with the legal process state’s adhere to before they “make law.”

“The fact is, all Americans already have a right to defend themselves with commensurate force,” Bloomberg said in DC, “but these ‘Shoot First’ laws have nothing to do with that or with the exercise of Second Amendment rights, instead they justify civilian gunplay and invite vigilante justice and retribution with disastrous results.”

Bloomberg further disparaged the 25 states and added the National Rifle Association (NRA) into the mix by accusing them of endorsing “vigilante justice,” that amounted to nothing more than “a license to murder.”

“The laws are not the kind of laws a civilized society should have and the (National Rifle Association) should be ashamed of themselves,” Bloomberg shot back. “This has nothing to do with gun-owners’ rights. This has nothing to do with the Second Amendment.”

The well-known anti-gun activist, Mayor continued his pandering and stated, it’s “plain and simple, this (Stand Your Ground) is just trying to give people a license to murder. The NRA's leaders weren't interested in public safety. They were interested in promoting a culture where people take the law into their own hands with a gun and face no consequences for it.”

Mayor Bloomberg rages at anti-gun campaign

The Mayor appeared visibly angry as he told a Daily Caller reporter he couldn’t believe she would bother asking a question about the $10,000 “dead or alive” bounty offered by the New Black Panther Party for the “capture” of George Zimmerman.

“I don’t know that to be the case,” Bloomberg told the reporter. “Anybody who puts a bounty on somebody else’s life is acting totally inappropriately and I’m outraged to even be asked the question. Whadya think? I didn’t even know about it until you just told me, thank you very much,” he finished.

Yet, Bloomberg’s claim of not knowing about the New Black Panther bounty placed on Mr. Zimmerman is disingenuous at best.

“Like Mayor Bloomberg's other efforts to disarm law-abiding Americans and criminalize the exercise of fundamental civil rights protected under the Second Amendment, his position on 'Stand Your Ground' laws is simply misguided. The laws are designed to keep innocent victims of violent crime, who are forced by their attacker to use a gun in self-defense, from being improperly prosecuted,” said Brandon Combs of The Calguns Foundation.

This isn’t the first time the NYC mayor accused the NRA of encouraging a well-armed citizenry while innocent victims pay the ultimate price. Bloomberg pointed out that U.S. Senators introduced legislation that would require all states to recognize conceal-carry permits just two-weeks after Trayvon Martin’s untimely death. When contacted about the flagrant assertions made by Mayor Bloomberg, the NRA declined to jump into the political fray and respectfully declined to comment.

Again, Bloomberg assumed details surrounding the controversial Florida incident without knowing the facts and went on to brandish local law enforcement authorities about gun laws when his City is one of a handful that has witnessed increased gun crime rates despite implementing the toughest laws in the nation.

“In fact, Florida authorities have still not, as far as I know, revoked George Zimmerman's concealed carry permit. So if Congress passed the legislation today, he could legally carry a gun in New York City," he finished. Such conceal-carry laws would dramatically affect Mayor Bloomberg’s confiscatory procedures of seizing legal guns transported through NY airports as previously detailed by this reporter (see below).

However, Bloomberg does know a little about unlawful justice. The self-appointed food police mayor has recently banned trans-fat oils in his city, blocked homeless shelters from receiving food donations that don’t meet his healthy standards and supports warrantless scanning of citizens on NY streets.

Some might even say Bloomberg is a de facto dictatorial mayor who has no problem rearranging the rules. A prime example of this is the mayor’s audacity to change the law limiting the mayor to two terms so he could serve a third term.

The NY Times; asserted Bloomberg, leveraged his billions to “to win three terms as New York City’s mayor. Exercising power through a commingling of electoral clout, personal wealth and private philanthropy, (that) Mr. Bloomberg won in 2001 and 2005.”

Presumed guilty until proven innocent

Zimmerman “was a man with a history of violence,” Bloomberg said in prepared statement. “I can tell you in New York we would never allow such an individual to carry a gun and neither would many other states.”

Clearly, the mayor failed to inquire about Zimmerman’s history. NBC news found only one incident concerning Zimmerman.

According to the NBC's Nightly News, “Zimmerman had a run-in with police years before shooting Martin in February 2012. The Florida native was arrested in Orlando in 2005 for “obstructing justice’ and ‘resisting an officer with violence’ during an alcohol-control arrest at a college bar. Zimmerman's actions resulted in a misdemeanor charge and court-ordered anger-management classes.”

Bloomberg wasn’t the only U.S. official to weigh in on the Florida tragedy. President Obama famously told the White House press pool a few weeks ago “if I had a son he would look like Trayvon.”

Not one to shy away from racially charged issues, Eric Holder the Department of Justice Attorney General attending yesterday’s Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network Convention held in Washington, D.C., answered a question with the following explanation:

“We will examine the facts and the law if we find evidence of a potential federal criminal civil rights crime we will take appropriate action the facts and the law will guide us forward,” Holder responded. “I have great faith in our justice system. The truth will ultimately be determined and appropriate action will be taken,” Holder claimed.

What is self-defense or Stand Your Ground?

According to Adam Winkler, Professor of Law for UCLA; “The Stand Your Ground law won't likely offer Zimmerman much of a defense in this case, but nevertheless may still be relevant. In particular, the law offers Zimmerman the possibility of avoiding a trial. The real impact of Stand Your Ground laws is not in their expansion of the right of self-defense to the public streets -- many states, including my own liberal state of California, have allowed people to stand their ground for decades.”

“The innovation of Stand Your Ground laws is to establish procedures to reduce the likelihood that a person who kills in self-defense ever has to stand trial.

Traditionally, one claiming self-defense would have the opportunity to raise that defense at trial before a jury. In Florida, however, the Stand Your Ground law gives defendants like Zimmerman the right to a pre-trial hearing to challenge his indictment.

At this special pre-trial hearing, which will occur long before any jury trial, Zimmerman will have the opportunity to present evidence to a judge showing he acted in self-defense. If he can show that he was acting in self-defense by a "preponderance of the evidence" - legalese for "it's more likely than not" -- then the charges against him will be dropped and he'll never face a jury. That burden of proof is not very demanding and requires a showing far less demanding than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" test used in criminal trials ordinarily,” Winkler reported.

Conclusion

There is no question that what happened to Trayvon Martin was a tragedy. A young man lost his life. But to blame this crime on firearms is equally wrong-headed. Every year 13,000-law enforcement agencies report their stats to the FBI and the numbers are thought provoking.

Violent crime is down, even with an uptick in firearm sales, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) preliminary 2011 crime data indicates a multi-year downward trend.

Now that Mr. Zimmerman has been arrested, it’s time for cooler heads to prevail and allow justice to do her job without the sensationalism of media seeking agitators.

To read past NYC Bloomberg verses the 1st and 2nd Amendments;

Unwitting airline passengers robbed of their 2nd Amendment rights in NYC

http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/unwitting-airline-passengers-robbed-of-their-second-amendment-rights-nyc

NYC continues to shakedown legal gun owners

http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/nyc-continues-to-shakedown-legal-gun-owners

New York City 1- US Constitution 0- NYC profits from seizure of legal guns

http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/new-york-city-1-us-constitution-0-nyc-profits-from-seizures-of-legal-guns

NYCLU challenges Constitutionally of NYC stop and frisk

http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/nyclu-challenges-constitutionality-of-nyc-s-stop-and-frisk-program

NYC frisks & searches and violates civil liberties daily

http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/nypd-frisks-searches-and-violates-civil-liberties-daily

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/kimberly-dvorak

© Copyright 2012 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.
-buzz-in-san-diego/vigilante-bloomberg-claims-nra-and-25-states-grant-a-license-to-murder#ixzz1rrCQd2ux

US freeze assets of top drug cartel leader with ties to Los Zetas

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) designated Guatemalan national Horst Walter Overdick Mejia, as a narco trafficker with dangerous ties to Colombian and Mexican Los Zetas drug cartels.

The action taken by the U.S. government falls under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act) that prohibits U.S. citizens from managing any financial or commercial transactions with Mr. Overdick Mejia and moved to freeze any assets within U.S. jurisdiction.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Guatemalan national a kingpin after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed Overdick Mejia’s indictment for narcotics trafficking, money laundering as well as firearms activities.

The Guatemalan authorities arrested Overdick Mejia on April 3. Authorities charged the leader of Guatemalan’s principal drug trafficking organization with multiple drug-related crimes.

A statement from the DEA alleges Overdick Mejia was “a veteran spice buyer, that he used his local contacts and his business acumen to smuggle thousands of kilograms of cocaine to Mexico and on into the United States.” Informants and officials contend Overdick Mejia was responsible for introducing Los Zetas into Guatemala sometime in 2008. Authorities also revealed the kingpin wanted to eliminate a fellow drug trafficker who became Guatemala’s most influential ally. The drug kingpin is also suspected of laundering millions of U.S. dollars in illicit narcotics sales generated by both of his cartel affiliations.

U.S. federal agencies have stepped up their drug cartel enforcement and added new tools that will enable federal agents to indict kingpins and confiscate their assets. This drug trafficker exhibited a knack for moving drugs between countries easily and laundering funds effectively.

“By designating Overdick Mejia, OFAC is demonstrating its support for the Guatemalan government in its struggle against the threats and violence posed by these international drug gangs,” said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin. “Overdick Mejia’s drug trafficking activities and close ties to the Los Zetas makes him a dangerous and critical figure in the Central American narcotics trade.”

The high-value drug cartel designation/sanction was attributed to the cooperation between the DEA and OFAC agencies. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York also played a role in the successful apprehension of Overdick Mejia.

“Today’s action is part of ongoing efforts pursuant to the Kingpin Act to apply financial measures against significant foreign narcotics traffickers and their organizations worldwide,” the DEA explained. “The Treasury Department has designated more than 1,000 individuals and entities pursuant to the Kingpin Act since June 2000.”

Under Title 18 of the United States Code for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act, financial penalties can be $1.075 million per violation. The criminal penalties for corporate cartel officers include a 30-year prison sentence and fines up to $5 million. Criminal fines for corporations knowingly working with drug cartels can reach $10 million and other individuals involved with narco traffickers face up to 10 years in prison.

Click here for a chart of the Mejia network:

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/kimberly-dvorak

© Copyright 2012 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.


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Obama jeopardizes relations with Canada & Mexico- partners or frenemies?

Last week the White House Summit between Canada, Mexico and U.S. or the “Three Amigos” drew little scrutiny from the media. Instead, the Rose Garden coverage centered on President Obama’s remarks cautioning the Supreme Court to forego judicial activism when deciding the fate of Obama care (the decision is expected sometime in June). The weeklong controversy focused on the president’s lack of respect for members of the Supreme Court and sparked outrage from both political parties, forcing Obama’s aides to reinvent the statement.

Meanwhile, America’s northern and southern neighbors quietly suggested the Obama Administration has relegated the once robust partnership into a “frenemies-like” relationship.

While this allegation failed to make headlines in America, Canada and Mexico’s hometown news agencies reported that America’s largest trading partners are suffering through a deteriorating relationship.

Fortunately for Americans, the Canadian and Mexican press told the real story. Canada's National Post quoted former Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson as saying the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the three-nation alliance it has fostered since 1994 have been so neglected they're "on life support." Under NAFTA Canada closely aligned itself with America providing a positive trade rapport for both countries.

“NAFTA gave us a serious relationship with Mexico but, as Monday’s summit illustrated, we continue to be a somewhat reluctant partner,” Robertson said. “Taking advantage of our shared continent is a good idea, but it requires vision and boldness if we’re to realize the advantage of resources, market and labor.”

Robertson further explains that last week’s summit only highlighted a weakened American partnership. “These meetings are essentially ‘dual bilaterals’ between Mexico and the U.S. and then, time permitting, between Canada and the U.S. We have to await the outcome of this year’s elections in Mexico and the U.S. before we can revive the North American idea.”

Canada also had strong words for American officials regarding Mexico’s battle with the powerful drug cartels. “(They) deserve our support in combatting the drug menace... If we can wage war in Afghanistan and Libya, then surely we can lend a helping hand in our neighborhood.”

When it comes to trade and other business interests, Canada points to Mexico’s relaxed regulations as another attractive reason for Ottawa to create or invest in businesses. “We also have increasing commercial interests. The World Bank says Mexico is the easiest place in Latin America to run a business and, by mid-century, Goldman Sachs reckons the country will be the world’s fifth-largest economy, bigger than that of Germany, Russia and Japan,” Robertson concluded.

With the fragile American economy teetering, the Obama Administration must address the nation’s soaring energy costs. Yet, the White House just axed the Keystone XL pipeline that would have created American jobs and provided lower oil prices.
According to the Winnipeg Free Press, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper “warned Obama the U.S. will have to pay market prices for its Canadian oil after Obama's de facto veto of the Keystone XL pipeline. Canada is (now) preparing to sell its oil to China.”
Under NAFTA, the American consumers enjoy lower oil prices and are risking the favorable trade status with their northern neighbor. During the Canadian Prime Minister’s visit, he warned the Obama Administration that the costs are “about to change.”
Meanwhile, Canadians said they have been waiting patiently for U.S. support to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) composed of free-trade members including the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Peru, Chile, and Singapore.
However, Canadian diplomats have accused the U.S. of blocking their entry into Trans-Pacific Partnership.

President Obama tacitly conceded Canada’s complaint and told the Rose Garden press pool “every country that is participating is going to have to make some modifications.”

Canada's dissatisfaction reflected a far different tone. “Our strong sense is that most of the members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would like to see Canada join,” Prime Minister Harper said.

The Prime Minister also suggested that it was the “Obama administration alone” that blocked Canada’s entrance into the profitable Trans-Pacific Partnership. Canada made it crystal clear that Obama’s recent rebuke for TPP and the Keystone XL oil pipeline (reports say Canada holds a third of the World’s oil supply with 175 billion barrels according to the CIA Fact book) will result in higher energy prices for American’s already struggling with record-setting fuel prices.

Mexico has also expressed its interest in joining the TPP.

“I'd like to reiterate the interest of my country to join forces as soon as possible to the TPP and its negotiations,” Mexican President Felipe Calderon said at the White House meeting. “We are convinced that the experience and participation of Mexico will enrich this free-trade project of the latest generation that encompasses countries in Asia, Oceania and America.”

However, negotiations remain stalled as Obama launches his bid to retain power, and claims that adding new countries to the negotiation table will only hinder the process.

“Consultations with our Trans-Pacific partners are now under way on how new members can meet the high standards of this trade agreement, which could be a real model for the world,” Obama explained.

"With respect to the TPP, as is true of any process of arriving at a trade agreement, every country that's participating is going to have to make some modifications," Obama said. “That's inherent in the process, because each of our countries have their idiosyncrasies, certain industries that have in the past been protected… certain practices that may be unique to that country but end up creating disadvantages for businesses from other countries. And so it’s a process of everybody making adjustments.”

In the mean time America’s relationship with Mexico continues to deteriorate under the Obama Administration. Topping the list for Mexico’s complaint is “Operation Fast and Furious” (a program that let 2,000 firearms “walk” across the border and into the hands of ruthless drug cartels). The botched Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) program has left hundreds of Mexican citizens, law enforcement agents and government officials dead. President Felipe Calderon told U.S. officials that America’s lack of arrests associated with the failed gunwalking program showed a flagrant disregard for the Mexican people who have been killed with “Fast and Furious” firearms.

The Mexico City newspaper the Excelsior reported that President Calderon “bitterly brought up Operation Fast and Furious,” a program that Mexico claims is responsible for the loss of thousands of lives.

The lack of clarity from U.S. leaders investigating the Fast and Furious fiasco has not only strained the U.S./Mexico relationship, but insiders say it is shifting America’s strong alliance with Mexico toward “frenemy” status.

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/kimberly-dvorak
© Copyright 2012 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.

Border Patrol takes $1.2 million in illicit drugs off the streets

In separate drug smuggling incidents, Border Patrol agents working at the Interstate 8 and 5 checkpoints thwarted a pair of marijuana and cocaine smuggling attempts. The agents confirmed the seizure of cocaine and marijuana had an estimated street value of $1,196,445.

Yesterday, Border Patrol agents encountered a female 59-year-old U.S. citizen driving a BMW passing through the I-8 checkpoint just east of San Diego. The woman’s anxious and jumpy behavior concerned agents and they referred her to the checkpoint’s secondary inspection zone.

“A Border Patrol K-9 team performed a cursory inspection of the vehicle resulting in a positive alert,” according to Scott Simon, of the San Diego Border Patrol. “Agents searched the vehicle and discovered 40 bundles of cocaine in a non-factory compartment under the front floorboard. The cocaine weighed 117.55 pounds and had an estimated street value of $1,175,500.”

A second incident unfolded at the I-5 checkpoint north of San Diego near Camp Pendleton Marine base. A 22-year-old male Mexican national arrived at the checkpoint shortly after noon driving a Ford Windstar. After the Border Patrol K-9 team inspected the minivan, agents were alerted to a concealed compartment that stored 11 bundles of marijuana.

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Border Patrol agents searched the minivan, “and discovered six bundles of marijuana in the passenger-side, rear-quarter panel and five bundles in the spare tire located under the vehicle. The marijuana weighed a total of 41.89 pounds and had an estimated street value of $20,945.”

The U.S. Border Patrol seized both vehicles used in the narcotic smuggling incidents. The suspected smugglers, and their narcotics in both incidents were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for further investigation,” according to a CBP statement.

To report suspicious activity call the San Diego Border Patrol at (619) 498-9900.

© Copyright 2012 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/kimberly-dvorak


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Tijuana drug lord sentenced to 25 years in prison

When a San Diego judge slammed his gavel down, notorious drug cartel leader of the Tijuana Arellano-Felix Organization (AFO), Benjamin Arellano-Felix received 25 years in a federal prison.

U.S. District Court Judge Larry A. Burns ordered the 60-year-old to serve what will most likely be the rest of his life behind bars for his role in racketeering and money laundering crimes. Judge Burns also required the kingpin to forfeit $100 million dollars.

“The Tijuana Cartel was one of the world’s most brutal drug trafficking networks, but has now met its demise with leader Benjamin Arellano-Felix’s sentencing today,” said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. “It is a major victory for DEA and Mexico’s Calderon Administration. Together, we will continue our pressure on the Mexican cartels whose leaders, members, and facilitators will be prosecuted and face the justice they fear.”

Once Arellano-Felix was led out of the courtroom, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said this was the perfect ending for the drug cartel leader who’s responsible for murder and mayhem often associated with drug cartels.

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“Today’s prison sentence virtually ensures that Arellano-Felix will spend the remainder of his life in custody. Following this sentence, he will be deported to Mexico to finish a 22-year sentence,” Duffy said. She went on to say the landmark achievement of bringing down a powerful cartel in the United States, proves that Mexico’s joint effort to dismantle international cartels operating on both sides of the border can work.

Mexican Attorney General Marisela Morales also lauded the conviction of Arellano-Felix and said, “this defendant has finally been held accountable for his crimes. Today’s sentence, together with what remains of his sentence in Mexico, will go a long way in ensuring that Arellano Felix spends his remaining years in prison.”

The international drug trafficking AFO organization controlled the flow of cocaine, marijuana as well as other illicit drugs across the Mexican/U.S. border cities of Tijuana and Mexicali. AFO’s reach also extended into southern Mexico and Colombia.

The kingpin's reign of terror ended when Mexican authorities captured him on March of 2002 upon which the U.S. government began the extradition process that was granted in 2007. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) finally saw justice served after Arellano-Felix’s years of unsuccessful appeals finally lead to the drug lord’s transfer to a U.S. prison on April 2011.

San Diego’s new Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Acting Special Agent in Charge Eric Birnbaum said, “Today's sentencing marks the end of Mr. Arellano-Felix's reign as the leader of one of the most dangerous drug and organized crime organizations our agencies have ever investigated. While there is still much work to do, it is particularly noteworthy that this culmination would not have been possible without the cumulative efforts of law enforcement on both sides of the border. We are pleased to stand united against the violence brought forth by the AFO and see this individual brought to justice.”

Authorities said the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) special agents were ultimately responsible for dismantling the AFO’s money laundering scheme.

"Today’s sentencing is further evidence of the successful partnership that IRS Criminal Investigation has with other law enforcement agencies by using our financial expertise to unravel the money laundering component of this multinational drug-trafficking organization,” said Leslie P. DeMarco, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation Los Angeles Field Office.

Court records and the defendant’s confession confirmed, Arellano-Felix lead the AFO drug cartel from 1986 to March 2002. Prosecutors provided evidence that the cartel’s decision maker Arellano-Felix, ordered numerous crimes against Mexican and Americans who were involved in the drug trade.

Attorneys for the government said under Arellano-Felix’s leadership the CEO ordered directives to top AFO organization lieutenants, including his brothers, Ramon, Eduardo, and Francisco Javier Arellano-Felix.

According to court testimony, “Arellano-Felix and other AFO members conspired to import and distribute within the United States hundreds of tons of cocaine and marijuana, for which the AFO profits reached hundreds of millions in U.S. dollars. At Arellano-Felix’s direction, members of the AFO kidnapped, physically restrained and murdered numerous persons in furtherance of the AFO's illegal activities.”

Other crimes committed by Arellano-Felix include bribing law enforcement officials, military personnel, as well as murdering informants and potential witnesses that could obstruct or impede any official investigation.

An integral component of a successful cartel centers on money laundry and the Arellano-Felix AFO organization conspired with other members of the narco trade to laundered millions of dollars of drug trafficking profits. The illicit drug-trafficking activities extended to transport, transmit, and transfer hundreds of millions in U.S. dollars from the United States to Mexico, according to a statement by the DEA.

The multi-agency investigation included DEA, FBI, and the IRS Criminal Investigation division. Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph Green, James Melendres, Daniel Zipp and U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy prosecuted the AFO case in the Southern District of California. The U.S. Attorney explained the Criminal Division Office of International Affairs delivered meaningful assistance in the extradition of the drug lord.

The U.S. government mandates that all international investigations must receive a green light from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program was formed to consolidate and coordinate all law enforcement resources to ensure federal, state and foreign agencies share case details as part of the “connecting to dots” strategy after the 9/11 hearings highlighted the lack of information sharing between agencies.

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/kimberly-dvorak

© Copyright 2012 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.



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Afghan War ain’t about hearts and minds - 'just win, baby' Continue reading on Examiner.com Afghan War ain’t about hearts and minds - 'just win, baby

Following the U.S. Army’s Counterinsurgency Manual, U.S. and NATO forces have sought to win the “hearts and minds” of the Afghani populace as the cornerstone to winning the war against al Qaeda and the Taliban. However, as Americans learned with prior counterinsurgencies in Vietnam and Iraq, the “hearts and minds” strategy is unwinnable when employed by a third party intervener (US and NATO). When the host populace distains its own government they turn their displeasure to the occupier and mar any chance at victory. Unfortunately for Americans, that is precisely what is unfolding in Afghanistan.

“Even when the U.S. and allied militaries are able, together with Afghan forces, to wrest control of an area away [sic] from the Taliban, violence continues as Afghans frustrated by the absence of accountable government and rule of law rebel against the civilian authorities,” (Hearts and Minds in Afghanistan: Explaining the Absence of Victory, Andrew M. Exum (2011) p.7).

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Warring nations date back to the oldest civilizations and historians have written volumes of wisdom about the brutality of war. Regrettably, Afghanistan has been embroiled in war throughout most of its turbulent history.

Prussian militarist, von Clausewitz wrote that war is the final act of diplomacy in that its purpose is to break the will of the enemy to resist (aka destroy his means of resistance) and force your will upon him. And of course Sun Tzu says, war must not be entered lightly but requires deliberation and that “victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”

With these resounding words of historic wisdom, modern day military thinkers claim a kinder- gentler- war is possible. The Geneva Conventions (1864-1949) have attempted to make war more civilized theorizing nations could reduce civilian casualties and property damage in the quest to fight a more humane war.

It hasn’t worked. War is still brutal. Soldiers and civilians are killed, and property is damaged. The bitter, enduring 10-year Middle East War has claimed nearly 8,000 U.S. military lives and hundreds of billions of dollars. Perhaps more importantly, it's the war’s elusive and amorphous goals that have lost American "hearts and minds."

Many Americans would rather follow the words of football great, Al Davis, and “just win, baby.”

A recent CNN poll reflects 75 percent of the American people do not support a sustained war effort in Afghanistan. “We cannot fight wars by polls,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta implored. “If we do that we're in deep trouble. We have to operate based on what we believe is the best strategy to achieve the mission that we are embarked on. And the mission here is to safeguard our country by ensuring that the Taliban and al Qaeda never again find a safe haven in Afghanistan.”

This argument is markedly harder to defend with only 25 percent of Americans supporting the decade-long wars. However, the commitment to further military action takes more twisted turns since the recent Quran burnings and the alleged Afghan massacre by a U.S. soldier. Now, U.S. appointed Afghan President Hamid Karzai called American warriors murderers, demons, and demanded American soldiers return to their bases.

Another aspect of concern for war-weary Americans is the capital cost caused by worn equipment (the fine dust-like sand speeds up the deterioration of all equipment) coupled with fatigue on soldiers who serve multiple-tours spurring the beating of the “peace” drums.

Russia knows best?

Perhaps the American military should be wary of Russia’s Afghanistan recommendations. (Their protracted 10-year war in Afghanistan during the 70-80s, bankrupted their country, creating internal political turmoil that resulted in the dissolution of the Soviet Union.)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently said, “there are still security threats to be eliminated in Afghanistan, stressing that the U.S. troops must fulfill their UN mandate in the region before they pull out in 2014,” according to the Voice of Russia. “Moreover, the U.S. can’t just slip out of Afghanistan now, because otherwise Taliban would triumphantly return and topple the Karzai government, turning the country into another Vietnam for Washington. The only difference is that in 1975 Vietnam was taken over by a force, controlled by the USSR and operating under the agreed rules. The ‘Taliban Renaissance’ would mean the rise of a force, totally alien to all sides of the conflict, and an unpredictable outcome for the region.”

Considering all these facts, it’s no wonder the American population is questioning President Obama’s 2014 exit strategy from the “Right War.” Behind the scenes, some Pentagon insiders are quietly voicing their concerns regarding the Administration’s 2014 troop withdrawal and theorize that the extraction of military personnel will beat the 2014 timeline.

What is America’s end game strategy?

Any successful war effort requires substantial planning, strategizing and many contingency plans. The heartbeat for America’s national security takes place at the Pentagon. The “end-state” is always the first act of planning military operations. It is here the military leaders plan and set goals for generals and admirals to implement, and weigh any resource or territorial constraints.

When the Administration’s leadership is asked about the end-state for the Middle East Wars, a myriad of conflicting answers spring forth.

Before becoming the CIA’s top-spook, Gen. David Petraeus was commander of NATO in Afghanistan. Even Gen. Petraeus has trouble explaining to Congress what the end of the war would look like. Suggesting “we are after what is, in a sense, good enough for Afghanistan.” Gen. Patraeus’ testimonial to Washington double-speak is even more extraordinary since he wrote the U.S. Army manual on Counterinsurgency (COIN) warfare and spent most of his career in special operations. Surely he must know what the objectives are, how we seek to attain them, and when they will be attained.

Another problem with Gen. Patraeus' COIN strategy of winning “hearts and minds” are the problems associated with a government trying to retain power or prevent an insurgent coup d’état. Once a host nation invites foreign troops (read: American forces) to suppress the insurgency, the new focus becomes the foreign occupiers.

So, any foreign military campaign that chooses the "hearts and minds" war model is doomed at the outset. As von Clausewitz observed, war is about killing the enemy and destroying his will to resist.

Furthermore, Andrew M. Exum of the Institute of France Relations International wrote specifically about Amerca's “hearts and minds” strategy. “Abstract: The counterinsurgency campaign seeks to create a space for the development of political solutions leading to peace. The means granted to Afghanistan have been weakened by the priority given to Iraq. Pakistani support for Afghan insurgents continues. The weakness of the Afghan government prevents it from distributing and fully exploiting international aid effectively. All these problems largely explain the failure of creating circumstances conducive to ending the war.”

The “hearts and minds” strategy also carries a hefty price tag.

According to the State Department, and the U.S. Agency for International Development in Afghanistan, the foreign aid dispensed last year to Afghanistan amounted to $320 million each month, and the monthly military tab is approximately $10 billion. Other money earmarked for the corrupt Karzai government is a $19 billion slush fund that is included in the U.S. aid package most of it coming under the Obama Administration for its counterinsurgency operations.

Last week Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC), asked the International Security Assistance Forces Commander in Afghanistan, Lieutenant General John Allen, at a House Armed Services hearing when Americans and the Congress can expect an end to the increasingly unpopular war.

“As we are spending $10 billion a month that we can’t even pay for, the Chinese, Uncle Chang is lending us the money to pay for (what) we’re spending in Afghanistan,” Jones asked. “What’s the metric? When does Congress have the testimony that someone will say, we have done all we can do? Bin Laden is dead. There are hundreds of tribes in Afghanistan and everyone has their own mission.”

Unfortunately, Lt. Gen. Allen did not have an answer for the Congressman.

“I wish I could tell you that this war was simple and that progress could easily be measured, but that's not the way of counterinsurgencies,” Allen responded. “They are fraught with both successes and setbacks which can exist in the same space and in the same time. But each must be seen in the larger context of the overall campaign. And I believe the campaign is on track.”

However, 75 percent of Americans and many military theorists disagree and believe the Karzai government has provided the American military with a quicker exit strategy.

Even the Taliban seeks a NATO/U.S. exit strategy; “The Islamic Emirate has decided to suspend all talks with Americans taking place in Qatar onwards until the Americans clarify their stance on the issues concerned and until they show willingness in carrying out their promises instead of wasting time," A Taliban statement read. The group also referred to the Karzai government as an American “stooge.” The Taliban further stated “it was due to their (Americans) alternating and ever changing position that the Islamic Emirate was compelled to suspend all dialogue with the Americans.”

WHY?

Afghanistan is of no strategic or tactical importance to America. Its only export is poppies that are used to manufacture heroin and America already imports heroin from the Mexican drug cartels through the porous southern U.S. border.

Are Americans’ concerned about the "soft-underbelly" of Russia a cold war adversary and future hegemonic threat? Are Americans’ so concerned the Sunni/Wahhabi Muslim fundamentalists will expand into the Shia Crescent and threaten our dear friends in Iran? Or are we worried the stability of America's great ally Pakistan may be threatened by Afghani incursions from the lawless areas of Waziristan?

Last year this reporter published a five part series highlighting the corruption of Afghanistan’s President “Karzai's cronies,” American implementation of a Sharia Constitution for the tribes of Afghanistan and protection money that America pays its (Taliban/al Qaeda) enemies for the “safe passage” of U.S. convoys. The money these war-profiteers shakedown from the U.S. military is then used to arm and enrich the terrorists’ coffers and produce “bumper crops” of poppies to sell to drug cartels that destroy America’s youth through addiction. (Click on link Part one--Part two-- Part three--Part four--Part five)

When will President Obama and members of Congress set aside the politicization of everything Washington for a moment and make the right MORAL judgment in an effort to end the loss of American lives? Ending the war is as easy as, stopping future deployments of troops to Afghanistan, ending the combat operations, bringing the soldiers home and giving them the parades, respect and honor their personal sacrifice deserves.

History often provides a suitable barometer for predictions of future events. With that in mind, President Ronald Reagan might have said these wise words regarding the Afghanistan War, “Mr. Obama, tear down this façade.”

Part one-http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/u-s-troops-fight-and-die-to-preserve-shariah-law-afghanistan

”Part one-http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/u-s-troops-fight-and-die-to-preserve-shariah-law-afghanistan

Part two- http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/us-payments-to-taliban-afghan-warlords-threaten-american-nato-troops

Part three- http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/billion-dollar-corruption-within-the-u-s-picked-afghan-regime

Part four- http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/terrorism-s-down-payment-the-form-drugs-and-u-s-aid-money-part-4

Part five -http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/obama-begins-to-wind-down-the-costly-war-afghanistan-final-a-series

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/kimberly-dvorak

© Copyright 2012 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.



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