by  |
| 1970-2010 |
Today marks the first anniversary of the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. He was killed in a gun fight with armed bandits near Rio Rico, Arizona. Four suspects were arrested at the time and a fifth escaped.
A lot has happened since Agent Terry was murdered.
It was quickly discovered that two (and maybe a third) weapons found at the scene of his murder were directly linked to an ATF operation called Fast and Furious. Congressional hearings into the program and into Agent Terry’s murder have been held and more are to come.
The acting head of the ATF Kenneth Melson was reassigned and the U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke resigned under pressure. A number of ATF managers have been given either lateral transfers or promotions despite their involvement in this operation while the courageous ATF whistle-blowers who exposed much of what we know about Fast and Furious have been hung out to dry.
There is a bill before Congress to rename the Border Patrol office in Bisbee, AZ after Agent Terry. The House of Representatives held debate on HR 2668 – the Brian A. Terry Memorial Act – on Monday but a vote was postponed on a point of order by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Recently released e-mails seem to indicate that one of the major purposes for Operation Fast and Furious was not to stop the so-called Iron River of Guns to Mexico but to promote more gun control.
And the list could go on and on and on. However, none of that will bring Brian Terry back to his family nor ICE Agent Jaime Zapata back to his. In the end, it is about the people who have died in both the U.S. and Mexico as the result of this ill-conceived, ill-advised, and, more than likely, illegal program whose real purpose was to provide the Obama Administration the rationale for more gun control measures. That they died for this is immoral.
UPDATE: The Terry family released a statement today on the first anniversary of Brian’s death. The statement expresses their dismay that no one at ATF or the Department of Justice has taken responsibility for their son’s death. Moreover, they express their sincere condolences to those in Mexico who have been impacted by the gun walked in Operation Fast and Furious.
