covet the anger insidewith your selfish pridedemand equal crimefor those who made you victimwhen by oppression or liesthey silenced your criescrushing your spiritlike gems caught in jewelers' handsspare no humility nowif words brought you downtake back your powerfrom what made us separateour body from mind and hearttearing us apartcorrupting Naturea world of conflict diamondsstep up to your right to beto have at their throestheir cars and clothesfrom all the spoils of their warswhen we lost the real and truehow life found you bluestole your innocenceraised you to die a martyrtake back your humanityyour shadows let gounearth the hedgerowthat keeps up the boundarieswith the pedagogs up front who keep you dormantthat drug and whore youor give you a prison celland the word they use, Justice
Mar 9, 2009 4:13 pm, copyright ME Wilson
Israel VS Islamo Arab campaign of Genocide.
Attempted Genocide From the Start [1] Israel has always faced (radical) Arab genocide, To fully understand current conflicts in the Middle East, history must be recalled. [2] It exist a common phrase: 'If the Jews would just lay down their weapons there would be no more Israel' [3].
Table of Contents
The first Arab sponsored terrorist attacks upon Jews occurred in 1920 [4] a highlighted tragedy is The Hebron Massacre of 1929 where thousands of Arabs descended from Har Hebron, shouting "Kill the Jews!" in Arabic [5] [6].
This was not the first mass racist attack by Arabs against unarmed civilian Jews in British Mandate ‘Palestine,’ nor would it be the last attempted extermination. [7].
It was the Mufti who sought to annihilate the tiny State of Israel [8], The Palestinian Mufti's Deal with Hitler: 'Kill All the Jews in the Middle East' [9].
Though Haim Weizmann declared he would accept a Jewish state even with the size of a tablecloth — still, even that was rejected by the Arabs who swore to "throw the Jews into the sea" and attacked in force to fulfill that oath. [10].
What the Fight in Israel Is All About... Spring of 1967 the Arab countries, led by Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt, prepared to attack Israel and, in their own words, “throw the Jews into the sea. [11] [12], the Arab leaders' slogan : We’ll Throw Them into the Sea" [13]
New Radical Islamic Thinking Justifying The Genocide of Infidels [14], Specifically Radical Islam's Threat of Genocide against the Jews is more and more revealed [15][16] [17].
The Palestinians Encourage Genocide [18] and on Palestinian TV openly call: Kill All The Jews [19], Palestinian Muslim cleric urges all Arabs to kill Jews, Christians [20], (Even calling to Kill all Americans [21]), Islamic sermons broadcast on Palestinian Authority have also been openly genocidal [22] An ideology of genocidal radical Islamism - Jihad-Islamism.[23]
At the second Palestinian violent Intifada, they came up with a new (tool in) Genocide: Suicide Bombing, designed to massacre the most masses of civilians possible [24] [25].
An emphasis in radicals' work is indoctrinating Palestinian Children to Genocidal Hate, Imams are extremely influential in successfully emphasizing the goals of jihad and martyrdom [26] Especially the Islamic party: Hamas promotes Islamic supremacy over the world, "The Hamas Ideology of Hatred and Genocide: Islamic supremacy over the world, destroying Israel and Jews [27], vows to 'drink' Jewish blood, group would drink the blood of Jews [28], Hamas Mickey-Mouse-like character to incite for genocide [29], Genocide of Jews remains Hamas goal [30] and declare: "The Final Goal of the Resistance is to Wipe This Entity Off the Face of the Earth" "We are making the preparations for a confrontation. This is not because we need to be prepared for an Israeli act of aggression - after all, aggression is intrinsic to this entity - but because the final goal of the resistance is to wipe this entity off the face of the Earth. This goal necessitates the development of the capabilities of the resistance, until this entity is wiped out." [31]
Hamas, the Muslim-Brotherhood-linked terror group dedicated to the annihilation of Israel through jihad [32], The people who comprise Hamas are dedicated to the annihilation of Israel and the slaughter of every Jew who lives there [33] in its Charter 1988 it states: 'Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it' ... Hamas wants the ‘islamisation’ of all the Middle East (as a first phase) [34].
In Al-Qaeda's Intellectual Legacy - Islamic Thinking justifying the genocide of infidels, According to al- Ali, all citizens of Israel are to be considered combatants. [35].
In her book 'Lebanon's Hezbollah' (2003, Page 49) Ann Byers writes: 'In the 1990s, Hezbollah was training members of the terrorist groups Al Qaeda... (it supported the PLO as) in its early days the PLO was dedicated to the annihilation of Israel'. [36].
The Hezbollah Founding Statement contains a section titled “The Necessity for the Destruction of Israel,” which reads as follows: “We see in Israel the vanguard of the United States in our Islamic world. It is the hated enemy that must be fought until the hated ones get what they deserve . . . Therefore our struggle will end only when this entity is obliterated. [37]
Hezbollah calling on Muslims to kill all Jewish Israelis with firearms, knives and poison [38]
The widening arena of Hezbollah's attacks stemmed from Nasrallah's perception that Jews anywhere are legitimate targets. In fact, Hasan Nasarallah has said: If they (Jews) all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide. (Daily Star, Oct. 23, 2002) [39].
More from Hassan Nasrallah, Leader of Hezbollah on Al Manar: "Let the entire world hear me. Our hostility to the Great Satan, America, is absolute. Regardless of how the world has changed after September 11, death to America will remain our reverberating and powerful slogan: Death to America." (House Record: 'war is ugly but tyranny is uglier'). [40], "Martyrdom operations -- suicide bombings -- should be exported outside Palestine. I encourage Palestinians to take suicide bombings worldwide. Don't be shy about it." [41]
Hezbollah’s renewal of Jihad Genocide on Global “Jewish Targets” (June, 2008) [42].
The 'Muslim Brotherhood's Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi: 'There is No Dialogue between Us and the Jews Except by the Sword and the Rifle' [43]
Islamic Republic of Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's call for Israel to be "wiped off the map" has triggered a sharp international response and widespread condemnation [44] [45] (It was not mistranslated [46]). has been described as wanting to carry out another genocide aimed at destroying the State of Israel [47], He 'faced genocide case', in 14 Dec 2006 was expected to be the target of a lawsuit which accuses him of inciting genocide against Israel. [48] [49].
In 2007, Ahmadinejad has threatened (again) the State of Israel with annihilation, Iran: 'Israel, US will soon die' [50]
Even many of 'moderate Arabs' have been accused of this [51], in a poll of February 16, 2007 '75% of Palestinians do not think that Israel has the right to exist' [52].
Jerusalem Post's C. Glick: No Tolerance for Genocide , Genocide: The Spirit of Palestine... in Palestinian society today. It is not just Hamas or Tanzim or Islamic Jihad that we must fight, but Palestinian society itself must be transformed for there to be peaceful coexistence. Poll after poll shows that a solid majority of Palestinians from all socio-economic levels supports suicide bombers and other forms of terrorism against Israel. In fact the polls show that the higher the socio-economic level of the respondents, the stronger their support for terrorism. Virulent, Nazi-style Jew hatred and dehumanization has become for the Palestinians, as for the Germans before them, the central unifying theme of society. The best-seller lists in the PA for years have included such works as Mein Kampf and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. [53] [54] [55] [56].
On the so called 'Palestinian documentaries'. T. Menaker: 'College Film Festival: Kill the Jews', It is understandable that the mere existence of Israel in such close proximity is unbearable. What is strikingly serious in all these films is that if one were to count the most often used words, these words would be "humiliation" and "Kill the Jews!" Even in the most peaceful and idealistic documentary... a young boy asked what he wants to do when he grows up is prompted by his father: "Kill the Jews!" When asked to draw a picture of his future he draws himself killing Israelis. [57]
The International Solidarity Movement - a 'Palestinian' propaganda machine, organized many activities, including on US campus, both, the ISM and PSM support in thinly veiled language suicide bombings... in their gatherings the audience chanted "Kill the Jews" - "Ittbach al yahood" in Arabic [58].
The International Solidarity Movement (ISM), its American, student affiliate the Palestinian Solidarity Movement, and other radical left-wing groups label every inch of Israeli territory as “occupied Palestine,” advocate destroying the Jewish State by “any means necessary,” and openly condone terrorism and Muslim suicide bombers as a means for accomplishing this goal. These groups are working to eliminate a population of six million Jews. [59].
At Israel's operation against Hamas terrorists in 'cast lead' [60] December 2008-January 2009, anti Israel Arab Muslim protesters called for Jews to 'Go Back to the Oven', to 'kill all the Jews', or: “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas” [61], Other demonstrators held signs that said "Nuke Israel," and a number made comparisons to the Holocaust [62] [63] [64] [65] [66] [67].
Phyllis Chesler: Today, we have grown used to seeing Palestinian and Hamas supporters goose-step, Nazi-style, shoot out their arms as they deliver the Hitlerian "Sieg Heil" salute. They also chant and scream: "Jews to the ovens," "Hitler did not kill enough of you," "Jews to the gas chambers." [68].
The following is a video reminder of what's at stake in this election.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdJUCU1UH2w
Lets go viral with this.
Obama /Biden '08 .... the change we need.
A Veteran for Obama.
From: Rick Basora [the_dragonwolf@comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2008 6:00 PM
To: letters@time.com; WebEditors@newsweek.com; Letters@newsweek.com; letters@usnews.com
Cc: 'Atlarge@foxnews.com'; 'Hannity@foxnews.com'; 'JER@foxnews.com'; 'Lineup@foxnews.com'; 'Martha@foxnews.com'; 'Ontherecord@foxnews.com'; 'Special@foxnews.com'; 'Cavuto@foxnews.com'; 'yourcomments@foxnews.com'; 'editor@ajr.org'; 'rrieder@ajr.org'; 'rsmolkin@ajr.org'; 'tkunkel@ajr.org'; 'president@nytimes.com'; 'executive-editor@nytimes.com'; 'managing-editor@nytimes.com'; 'washington@nytimes.com'; 'national@nytimes.com'; 'metro@nytimes.com'; 'news-tips@nytimes.com'; 'public@nytimes.com'; 'letters@nytimes.com'; 'CEO-CarolineLittle@wpni.com'; 'executive.editor@washingtonpost.com'; 'letters@washpost.com'; 'ombudsman@washpost.com'; 'metro@washpost.com'; 'national@washpost.com'; 'wsj.ltrs@wsj.com'; 'a.murray@wsj.com'; 'a.latour@wsj.com'; 'd.pettit@wsj.com'; 't.cullen@wsj.com'; 'j.fry@wsj.com'; 'darren.mcdermott@wsj.com'; 'tips@tribune.com'; 'ctc-tribletter@tribune.com'; 'publiceditor@tribune.com'; 'EAchenbaum@tribune.com'; 'ctc-editor@tribune.com'; 'bdold@tribune.com'; 'TMcNulty@tribune.com'; 'gdelama@tribune.com'; 'JCWarren@tribune.com'; 'aaguilar@tribune.com'; 'aahmed@tribune.com'; 'KAlleynemorris@tribune.com'; 'LBAnderson@tribune.com'; 'rranderson@tribune.com'; 'kataiyero@tribune.com'; 'NBendavid@tribune.com'; 'lbowean@tribune.com'; 'SChapman@tribune.com'; 'LCohen@tribune.com'; 'JChase@tribune.com'; 'JCrewdson@tribune.com'; 'HDardick@tribune.com'; 'MDorning@tribune.com'; 'askamy@tribune.com'; 'national@latimes.com'; 'tvtimes@latimes.com'; 'op-ed@latimes.com'; 'letters@latimes.com'; 'ctc-TribLetter@Tribune.com'; 'info@ap.org'; 'headlinenews@cnn.com'; 'mediainquiries@msnbc.com'; 'letters@msnbc.com'; 'Nightly@NBC.com'; 'Dateline@NBCUNI.com'; 'transnet87@aol.com'; 'countdown@msnbc.com'; 'race08@msnbc.com'; 'Inquirer.Letters@phillynews.com'; 'views@phillynews.com'; 'letters@post-gazette.com'; 'opinion@tribweb.com'; 'mm-tips@mediamatters.org'; 'barrett_td@yahoo.com'; 'wholesalershoppers@yahoo.com'; 'karendillard@hotmail.com'; 'dplouffe@barackobama.com'; 'john@greenskydesign.com'; nancymillinger@theamericaninitiative.org; Blackberry Muppet; Mutt; Sis; Cousin Jeannette; Marmaduke's Office; Marmaduke ; Mike Beauregard; Rick Basora ; Tuneta; Gizmo Chula; Broomrider; The Wielder of the Wand; Wiccan Bride of the Elder God
Subject: Shawn Hannity - STOP the anti-OBAMA FOX VIRUS NOW
Dear Mr. Hannity;
By now you must certainly be aware that a NATIONAL MOVEMENT is in motion against you and against what America has come to know as THE FOX VIRUS that comes forth from the RADICAL EXTREMIST NEO-CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN mouthpiece that you and FOX have become. Presenting our voice to the media of America now comes in the form of the Robert Greenwald film “Fox Attacks Obama (Spreading the Virus)” which, as you can see, is the envelope sent “special delivery” and containing the national petition now underwritten by moveon.org and their Political Action’s Adam Green.
After the travesty of ethical journalism perpetrated by FEMA on October 26, 2007, where it hosted its own “staged” televised news conference reporting on the state of EMERGENCY SERVICES to victims of Hurricane Katrina, it was brought to the attention of America that, not only was the person addressing this “skit” a FEMA official, but so were those asking the questions who, while posing as reporters, were exposed by Al Kamen of The Washington Post in his article FEMA Meets the Press, Which Happens to Be . . . FEMA. The fact that the article alleges that you carried this charade LIVE, and then passed on the video to MSNBC and other news outlets, renders FOX Television, and its agents, complicit in the efforts of what Christy Hardin Smith, of FIREDOGLAKE, calls The Department of Planting Your Own Propaganda And Hoping No One Notices assigned to the Bush administration.
Mr. Hannity, neither you, nor your colleague-at-arms, Rush Limbaugh, can be allowed, by a nation on the very brink of social, economic, political and global chaos, to continue manipulating puppet strings, pushing buttons and pulling levers the outcome of which you CLEARLY know nothing about. Mr. Limbaugh’s disgracefully titled attempt at hijacking the current Presidential election has earned him the dubious distinction of being named WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23908634#23908634) by MSNBC's KEITH OLBERMANN. It now appears on his own website with the headline Operation Chaos Under Assault.
As you frantically attempt to continue the milking of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright controversy, synthetically created by your Conservative minions, you appear less than pathetic before an increasingly intolerant nation that, as you can see, by Senator John McCain’s attainment of the honorable position of The Republican Presidential Nominee, America has declared you and your Neoconservative “cult”, politically, philosophically, morally and subversively UNDESIREABLE.
I, and America, continue to observe your frenzied contribution to the engineering and staging of a premeditated and choreographed conspiracy aimed at discrediting the legitimacy of Senator Barack Obama as a Presidential candidate, as well as the WONDER of the grass-roots movement taking shape around him. We watch in dismay as you question your guests, carefully selected to provide the most desirable answers for the damming of the voice of HOPE that FOX radio has described as “sounding like Hitler.” Yet, when Democratic Analysts, Tanya Acker and Bob Beckel, as well as your own Alan Colmes, have asked you questions as simple as “So, are you saying that every child whose parents took them to the Trinity United Church of Christ is, therefore, disqualified from growing up to aspire to one day becoming President of the United States,” you conspicuously, and at every turn, refuse to answer the question. You are fully aware that, answering that question, honestly, would reduce you to the hypocritical contradiction of yourself that you are. Take note, Mr. Hannity, your refusal to respond implicitly convicts you in spite of you.
I was held in utter disbelief … which then slowly grew to anger when, last night, you summoned former House Speaker, Newt Gingrich, to join in the spreading of THE FOX VIRUS. I found two things to be in poignant opposition with your intention of subverting America. The first was Mr. Gingrich’s repeated insistence that he did NOT question Senator Obama’s integrity, his loyalty to America or his non-alignment with Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s apparent anti-American rants. Later in the same program, and despite your best efforts, this same opinion was echoed, with even greater emphasis and eloquence, by Senator John McCain, who insisted on addressing issues of legitimate concern to our country and clearly, refused to participate in your scripted outcomes. You must, as a consequence, Sir, be torn between wondering if the walls of correctness are closing in on you or whether they, in fact, are spreading so far apart that your only company would be the members of your own League of Liars.
The second observation, born of your program’s intentions, last night, was your patent set-up of “JUDGMENT” as the supposedly flawed characteristic displayed by Senator Barack Obama in his choosing to continue to attend Wright’s Trinity church. You spoke the word “JUDGMENT,” with diacritical accentuation, no less than a dozen times and consistently modified it with adjectives such as “flawed,” “poor,” etc in your transparent attempt to pre-empt the Senator’s platform of SOUND JUDGEMENT in the furtherance of his Presidential bid. I will excuse myself from redundancy and I will quote my own words from the letter that, on March 16, 2008, I sent to you and Fox Management titled SHAWN HANNITY - THE PINNACLE OF IRRESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM AT ITS WORST:
“Gentlemen, if this was Shawn Hannity’s way of weaving “illusions of war-mongering” with which to surround a Presidential candidate who stands on a platform of DIALOGUE as his preferred weapon of pre-emption of war, you may want to advise him about the fact that we ARE, in fact, in a war unjustly started; a war that he endorsed and that he is a member of the political party that started it. Senator Obama was the legislator who attempted unsuccessfully to galvanize an effective movement to avoid it. History has proven him to have been STRATEGICALLY CORRECT and no degree of Mr. Hannity’s resenting him for it will grant him access to that elite minority reserved solely for the JUDGEMENTALLY SOUND.”
Last night, what achieved the “apex of the offensive,” Sir, was that you utilized former Speaker, Newt Gingrich, to assist you in making the point of presenting Senator Obama’s judgment as, somehow, flawed. Might I remind you that Newt Gingrich headed the 1998 charge to impeach President William Jefferson Clinton on charges stemming from the extramarital affair that he sustained with one Monica Lewinsky. In a March 8, 2007 Associated Press article featured on your very own FOX News, titled "Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich Acknowledges ...Having Affair During Clinton Impeachment," we are presented with an interview with James Dobson of Focus on the Family that reveals the following:
“Gingrich argued in the interview, however, that he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for pursuing Clinton's infidelity.”
"The president of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge," the former Georgia congressman said of Clinton's 1998 House impeachment on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. "I drew a line in my mind that said, 'Even though I run the risk of being deeply embarrassed, and even though at a purely personal level I am not rendering judgment on another human being, as a leader of the government trying to uphold the rule of law, I have no choice except to move forward and say that you cannot accept ... perjury in your highest officials."
Sir, translated into common English, this says…There are rules and laws that apply to ALL, including the President of The United States, but that I, because my name is Newt Gingrich, a Neoconservative, reserve the right to exempt myself from them. No, Mr. Hannity, your show, your network, your self-righteous, pontificating ploys called supporting guests, your intentions, your manic obsession with imposing dynastic rule… but most of all, YOU… are tacitly UNACCEPTABLE as is your effort to present this morally diseased neoconservative “fowl” as someone qualified to “judge the judgment” of EAGLES. I am taking the liberty of forwarding this correspondence to Representative Henry Waxman, who, last year moved to have yours and Mr. Rush Limbaugh’s actions investigated, as well as to Federal Communications Commission Chairman, Kevin Martin, who, I am advised, has been put on notice of the nature of your endeavors, that now appear to many, as being contrary to our very national security.
America will NEVER belong to your minion of disguised patriotic indigence, Sir, and, least of all, to YOU. I would suggest that you listen to a song, considered by many of my generation as an American Anthem, and that I recently sent to the Democratic Superdelegates as well. In ’64 Bob Dylan spoke of times that were “a-changing. I submit to you, Shawn Hannity, that there is an unmistakable wind of CHANGE in the air and MILLIONS, like me, bear witness to its hopeful reality. To you, and to those like you, frantically trying to stop this will be like trying to stop the wind. We have paid for this campaign and for this movement, unlike the politicians of yesteryears and of today, with our own monies, 5, 10, 25 dollars at a time. I know that you must resent the force that such a movement presents. Your colleagues must , as well, fear the threat to their lifetime relationships with lobbyist dollars that will scatter like fallen leaves on this wind. Yes, Mr Hannity, make no mistake. More than times a-changing, Sir, the times …THEY DUN HAVE CHANGED!
Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don't stand in the doorway Don't block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled There's a battle outside And it is ragin'. It'll soon shake your windows And rattle your walls For the times they are a-changin'.
From the song The Times They Are A-Changin’ by Bob Dylan (1964)
Complete lyrics - http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/times.html
Listen to it here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vou4qUu5YY
RICK F. BASORA
Fort Lauderdale, FL
GonzosTitles
http://suz.leboeuf.googlepages.com
http://suz.leboeuf.googlepages.com/linksarchives
We are worshipping an Awesome God, according to the Department of Justice's Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales ("Gonzo") in his "prepared remarks". Why must he espouse his religious faith in the prepared remarks that get posted to the Department of Justice's webpages? Isn't this a clear message that we will be terrorist threats unless we accept an Awesome God as he has? Will we lose our authenticity as being Americans if we are atheists, Jews or agnostics?
How is it that the DOJ is supporting religious organizations through faith-based initiatives that disregard unilaterally-run social service agencies, a disregard for the kind of nonreligion we used to have that does not terrorize us into making sure we accept god's purpose for us, and in an effort at building new religious "bases" for their political cronies who accept 'republicanism'? This, in fact builds greater bases of Christianized "troops" to fight their religious wars they are creating to harm the world with...
Why has it become such a good thing that we have Christians running the U.S. Congress, Justice Department and the White House?
Dick Cheney insists torture is a sure way to get answers. Why not torture some of these enforcers who are opening up our borders to let the terrorists in?
Who are 'the good guys' in Gonzo's agencies spoken about collectively as "law enforcement"? Who really enjoys "the spoils" of friends running over the "Southwestern" border in order to ensure that drug-smuggling makes profits for U.S. enforcement, or lack thereof, or do they really enforce the smuggling that goes on?
This gives Homeland Color-Coded Security Secretary Michael Chertoff ("the Skeletor") no reason to ensure that drug insured "dealers" are unable to illegally enter the U.S., only to make comments that "dividing families and sending them home to their homeland - Mexico - can only hurt", but has no compassion for the U.S. citizens (legally), who have either drowned in hurricane Katrina or have become displaced for ages on end with no homes of their own.
This goes on for the 9/11 families... for the Afghanis and whoever else we kill...
Guess those U.S. Louisianans and Mississippians did not pay into taxes, or cannot bring him drug-wars insured monies, enough to ensure the spoils bring in enough to divide among so many of DOJ's law enforcement so have been cast away...they didn't matter that much in the first place... too color-blind.
Does the Skeletor and side-kick Gonzo pay their mob side-kicks in blood money? The more kicks they have killing us off begat more in their coffers in some queer, make-believe spiritual quest...
Isn't it really that the U.S.'s "war against drugs" has emerged into "Terrorist's gone Mad"?
Under presidential orders, we would do best leaving the borders wide open for he feigns sympathy about "our Spanish-speaking friends, the Mexican families" who are here unlawfully, having babies and more babies so our Spanish language, oops... I mean English language, is becoming not as important as Spanish...either are our people...
Who's protecting those borders and why has Gonzo said the war on drugs/terror is going smoothly? Why, we have complete confidence in this relationship with our friends in Mexico, who completely cooperate in drug-stings while their officers get shot regularly over the borders that are just the open gates to hell.
Are these drug-running terrorists creating an abundance of cash for our law enforcers by cooperating with "the mobs" running our borders for us? -- Transmitted remotely by some sort of acoustical brain "rays" or "beamed" to my skull late at night on July 31, 2007 by unknown source...
http://www.usdoj.gov/fbci
Department of Justice
Faith-Based & Community Initiatives
U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Deputy Attorney General Task Force for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/speeches/2007/ag_speech_070731.html
Prepared Remarks of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales at the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) & Asset Forfeiture Program National Leadership Conference
WASHINGTON, D.C.July 31, 2007
Thank you. I got into public service because I wanted to do something with my life where I could make a positive difference. Sometimes those positive changes occur through individual effort-sometimes they occur through partnerships. I'm pleased to be here today to recognize the accomplishments of two of the Justice Department's most successful law enforcement partnership efforts - the OCDETF and Asset Forfeiture programs.
Twenty-five years ago, when President Reagan created the OCDETF program, it became the centerpiece of the Department's drug enforcement strategy. It still holds that position today, and it continues to serve as a model of public service.
When the program was created, it was a novel idea. In fact, it was commonly referred to as "The Task Force" because there were no others. OCDETF was based upon the simple idea that federal, state and local law enforcement agencies working together can accomplish what the same agencies working separately cannot. You veterans in the audience know that over the last 25 years, the illegal drug trade has changed immensely.
We have seen trafficking patterns shift westward - mainly to the Southwest border - in large part due to our effective enforcement efforts in South Florida.
We have witnessed the rise of a new and devastating drug scourge: methamphetamine.
We've made great strides in keeping drug dealers out of our legitimate financial systems, only to see the rise of bulk cash smuggling as a means of repatriating their profits.
And now we must face a new threat -- the use of the internet for illegal distribution of prescription medication.
Throughout all these changes, one thing has remained constant: the key to successfully stopping these criminal enterprises is multi-agency cooperation, coordination, and information sharing.
The leadership of this program has always understood that concept, and that's why OCDETF has delivered outstanding results. Indeed, the program has never been healthier or better equipped to handle the important job it was created to do.
Likewise, the Asset Forfeiture program has never been stronger. Established in 1984, the program was created to punish and deter criminal activity by depriving criminals of their ill-gotten gains and the instruments of their trade.
More than two decades later the program has surpassed all expectations. Over $10 billion in assets have been surrendered by criminals, including more than a billion dollars last year alone. Over and over again, forfeiture has proven to be a powerful and effective tool in pursuing drug dealers and in disrupting and dismantling their criminal organizations. Our efforts have been aided by programs that share the seized assets with state and local law enforcement and with foreign governments. We've split more than $4 billion with approximately 6,000 state and local agencies. That's a powerful incentive to increase cooperation. Our partners at the state and local level know we aren't coming into town to use up their meager resources and we aren't imposing an unfunded mandate on them.
On the international side, the Department has shared over $228 million with 36 countries. As a result, we've been able to build a global coalition to fight illicit drugs and crime, with the benefits extending across the law enforcement spectrum. Our law enforcement cooperation with Mexico, for example, has never been better. That makes our communities safer for all Americans. And there is a certain poetic justice in taking the assets of criminals and reinvesting them back into our communities in the form of enhanced law enforcement.
Both the OCDETF and the Asset Forfeiture programs have developed innovative strategies in the pursuit of criminals and their organizations. Today, I'd like to share my perspective about one of them in particular … the CPOT strategy.
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, this Administration set out to improve the ways we go about law enforcement. All of our agencies took important steps to increase information-sharing and to use our resources efficiently. We simply had to move beyond the walls that previously existed and the old attitudes and rivalries that had limited our effectiveness too often.
One of the tools we developed was a unified national law enforcement list of the most significant and sophisticated drug and money laundering operations -- the Consolidated Priority Organization Target list. These are the organizations and people most responsible for supplying our Nation with illegal drugs.
As you know the CPOT program allows OCDETF agencies to focus on the worst of the worst. We draw upon the expertise of each agency, with the officers, agents, and prosecutors all doing what they do best, and all acting together to dismantle these organizations and their financial operations from top to bottom.
There are currently 50 CPOTs on the list of America's "most wanted" drug trafficking and money laundering organizations, and 38 of them are now under indictment in the United States. Since the list was created in 2002, 24 CPOTs have been completely dismantled, and an amazing 738 organizations linked to CPOTs have been disrupted or dismantled by you and your colleagues.
We brought down the founders of the Cali cartel and won a forfeiture of $2.1 billion from them. We indicted 50 members of the narco-terrorist FARC, and just last week we extradited from Colombia one of the leaders of the Norte Valle cartel.Over the past quarter century, drug traffickers have not only become more sophisticated, but also become increasingly involved in terrorist activity. That trend creates a disturbing new threat, and it's one I know all of us are taking very seriously.
For example, drug lord and CPOT Haji Baz Mohammad was arrested in Afghanistan in 2005, and later that year became the first person to be extradited from Afghanistan to the United States. Baz Mohammed was charged with conspiracy to import approximately $25 million worth of heroin into the United States and other countries over a 15 year period.
He reportedly said that selling heroin in the U.S. was a "jihad," in which he was taking the Americans' money, and the heroin was killing them. He also reportedly was closely aligned with the Taliban and other Islamic extremist groups, which he supported with drug proceeds.
Those who have been targeted are dangerous… they run extremely complicated and efficient organizations … and their business is drug smuggling, money laundering, intimidation, and murder. In dozens of cases like these, the CPOT approach makes it easier for federal law enforcement to tear down their operations.
Now, we know that our adversaries are smart. And to fight them we need to bring together all of our smartest people -- the cops, the lawyers, and the accountants. It takes a lot of expertise and effort, and there's no room for egos and turf battles if we are serious about making our neighborhoods safer.
As the drug threat has changed over the years and as cartels developed more advanced techniques to conceal their assets, both the OCDETF and Asset Forfeiture programs have evolved as well. That evolution is thanks to leaders like you.
In years past, criminals could exploit the weaknesses of law enforcement - the limited resources, the crevices between jurisdictions, the limitations of the tools at our disposal. But today we are better organized and better equipped, and we have filled in the jurisdictional gaps.
Because of these two programs, we are seeing successes in our fight against these criminals. But with our existing and potential intelligence-sharing capabilities, I believe we can do even better.
We now have the potential to use intelligence to target drug threats from the local to the global level, and eliminate those threats -- staying a step ahead of the drug traffickers. I ask you to make this part of your mission as you move the OCDETF and Asset Forfeiture programs forward.
Those who would criticize our work may question whether we are really "winning" the war on drugs. And I know that sometimes when you see the size of some of your seizures you're reminded about those shipments you did not stop, when it seems that your work is never-ending, you may question whether we are making a difference. I am here to tell you that your efforts have a tremendous impact on our society, and that impact will be felt for generations to come.
You affect the lives of children like Romeo, a four-year-old boy from Colorado. Romeo's parents were running a meth lab in their home.
One day, at five o'clock in the morning, a SWAT team was making the final preparations to execute a search warrant on the lab. As the final checks were made, one of the detectives on surveillance reported that he saw a "skeleton" coming out the front door.
His fellow officers thought he must have been hallucinating. But then his colleagues got a better look and saw the same thing. It was Romeo, dressed in a skeleton costume and looking up and down his street. The officers at first thought he was acting as a lookout for his parents.
An officer later approached Romeo. He asked Romeo why he was dressed in a skeleton outfit and standing on his front porch. And why was he looking up and down the street at such an early hour in the morning.
Romeo's eyes lit up as he explained that later that day his nursery school was holding a Halloween party. As he told the story, his shoulders slumped. He told the officer that he really wanted to go to the party but he hadn't been able to wake up his mom for the last few days and didn't know where the bus stop was. Romeo said he thought that if he got up early enough and put his costume on, he might be able see the bus and catch it as it drove by.
Every time you slap the cuffs on a drug dealer … and with every drug and money seizure … you save lives like Romeo's.
You make it more difficult for these criminals to poison our children with cocaine, marijuana, meth, heroin, and prescription drugs. And you give back hope to those parents desperate for help in protecting their greatest treasure.
To my way of thinking, saving lives-especially the lives of our children -- is a pretty good measure of success, and a true public service.
With every life that you save, with every child who grows up free from drug abuse -- you win. We all win. I believe the parents in this Nation are grateful to you for all your hard work and for the many sacrifices made by you; and I'm proud to serve alongside you.
May God bless each and every one of you, and may He continue to richly bless the United States of America.
###
(Based on a recent debate concerning my choice for Obama)
My encampment, as of late, has been discussing the current state of affairs and for once in a long while I decided to take a more pronounced stance in the debate... As a person championed to causes supporting those on the lower echelons of society I do not believe Romney is the right choice. The continental divide has been too deep and it's time to reinstall a Democrat into the high chair... As a person of the Chicago streets, my convictions have been fortified by the good works of Obama. His leadership will extend far beyond the nearest horizon... Those sheltered in the ivory towers such as Bush, Romney are out of touch with the true essences of humanity and this, in part, is the reason we are currently mired deep in Iraq...and lately, the worldview of the U.S. is that we are "a rogue state" and that is a frightening thought. I think a person such as Obama has the skills, the fortitude to bring forth the true essences of democracy...an example to the other nations who are quickly becoming our enemy... The Military/Industrial juggernaut is not, as in Bush's eyes, the guarantee to peace.... And I fear another president who is "Big Business" such as Romney will not be the right choice to help bring the balance back.... Stolen LibertyAs I gaze outinto the great expanseof the seaI journey backto the dayswhen I chancedto be freeVerdant farmlandsso widespread in scopethe vastness amazes meand generates in mea new sense of hopeAs I gaze outat the pasture's leamy mind reflects backto the daywhen they captured mean unprovoked attackstealing my libertyI close my eyes... and rememberAs I was siftingthrough the remnantsand the rubbleI was asking myselfHow can this be?Through all their painand sufferingThey never askedfor troublejust the chanceto be freeI could not helpbut cryas I stumbled throughthe debrisfor so many to diedie...just to be free
Ricky J. Fico
You wrote: "Those countries most successful are those where the individual is responsible for his/her actions, reaps the positive and negative results of these actions, and is not dependent on some nameless, faceless bureaucracy."I couldn't agree more...But, let me take another look at the Enron, World-Com, Tyco debacle. The thousands of employees on [the] lower echelons were hard-working etc. and lost their incomes, their pensions... Who was responsible for their great losses? And why?And who is responsible for the thousands of American lives lost in Iraq? Another act of duplicity perhaps? Big Business is a major part of the reasons we are in Iraq. The oil companies, the big construction companies-- those companies that helped support Bush's campaign are the ones to reap the monetary gains. Payback's a bitch! It's time for a new direction and Romney is not the one.... Obama is the one whose candidacy is based on balance--his views are not dictated by greed, selfishness and his platform is not one that is self-serving but one that is to serve the people-- all people.I am a firm supporter of those who build great careers, great companies and then give back in a positive way... There are hundreds of business leaders who are in this position but remain on the sidelines....
Tragedies, Triumphs and Trampolines
Stolen LIBERTYAs I gaze outinto the great expanseof the seaI journey backto the dayswhen I chancedto be freeVerdant farmlandsso widespread in scopethe vastness amazes meand generates in mea new sense of hopeAs I gaze outat the pasture's leamy mind reflects backto the daywhen they captured mean unprovoked attackstealing my libertyI close my eyes... and rememberAs I was siftingthrough the remnantsand the rubbleI was asking myselfHow can this be?Through all their painand sufferingThey never askedfor troublejust the chanceto be freeI could not helpbut cryas I stumbled throughthe debrisfor so many to diedie...just to be freeThe Homeless Chronicles
Stolen LIBERTY
As I gaze outinto the great expanseof the seaI journey backto the dayswhen I chancedto be freeVerdant farmlandsso widespread in scopethe vastness amazes meand generates in mea new sense of hopeAs I gaze outat the pasture's leamy mind reflects backto the daywhen they captured mean unprovoked attackstealing my libertyI close my eyes... and rememberAs I was siftingthrough the remnantsand the rubbleI was asking myselfHow can this be?Through all their painand sufferingThey never askedfor troublejust the chanceto be freeI could not helpbut cryas I stumbled throughthe debrisfor so many to diedie...just to be freeThe Homeless Chronicles
As I gaze outinto the great expanseof the seaI journey backto the dayswhen I chancedto be free
Verdant farmlandsso widespread in scopethe vastness amazes meand generates in mea new sense of hope
As I gaze outat the pasture's leamy mind reflects backto the daywhen they captured mean unprovoked attackstealing my liberty
I close my eyes... and remember
As I was siftingthrough the remnantsand the rubbleI was asking myselfHow can this be?Through all their painand sufferingThey never askedfor troublejust the chanceto be free
I could not helpbut cryas I stumbled throughthe debrisfor so many to diedie...just to be free
The Homeless Chronicles
