Friday, April 15, 2005
Bush gets capacity to silence internal dissent
So as Luke pointed out the Bush adminstration has the capacity to organize a Kristallnacht. This must be comforting to everyone who has been harassed for opposing Bush. Alia Kate, age 16, who is on a no-fly list that includes everyone in her peace group. I cite this example simply because it is the first I find the story for. There are many more. And now Bush has the capacity to silence massive numbers of opponents at one time.
Remember this is the man that said "I told all four that there are going to be some times where we don't agree with each other, but that's OK. If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator,"
Jax
U.S. law enforcement officials captured more than 10,000 fugitives around the country in a week-long drive to round up some of the most violent criminals who had previously evaded justice.
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U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said on Thursday a total of 10,340 fugitives were captured by an operation led by the U.S. Marshals Service between April 4 and April 10 -- about 10 times as many fugitives who were arrested the same period a year ago.
"Fugitives belong behind bars, and the arrests of 10,340 fugitives translates into safer communities," said Ben Reyna, director of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Operation FALCON, which stands for "federal and local cops organized nationally," marked the first time the marshals teamed up with state and local law enforcement in a concentrated, nation-wide effort to round up fugitives.
Previous coordinated roundups were on a regional basis and did not involve as many officers or agencies.
Officials said they did not have figures for how many federal, state and local fugitives still remained at large. But Gonzales said there was an "endless list" of fugitives.
"There clearly are bad guys out on the streets that need to be rounded up," he said.
"This was a very successful effort," he said. "More needs to be done, we understand that."
Gonzales said the 3,100 law enforcement officers who were on the street for the operation focused primarily on the most violent offenders who are wanted in their jurisdictions.
Top priority was given to arrest those involved in homicides, sexual assaults, gang-related crimes, kidnappings and major drug offenses.
More than 70 percent of those nabbed during the operation had prior arrest records for violent crimes.
"They have been free to roam the streets for far too long," said Gonzales. "We know from history ... that a fugitive with a rap sheet is more desperate, more predatory and more likely to commit the crimes that plague citizens and communities."
A total of 162 murder suspects, 553 rape or sexual assault suspects and 154 gang members were picked up during Operation FALCON. In addition, 638 of those arrested were suspected of armed robbery while 68 kidnapping suspects were detained.
But while the marshals reeled off their list of accomplishments, they also admitted that they were hampered because there is no complete, central depository in the United States for all warrants.
That is why it is difficult to keep track of how many fugitives were on the loose around the country. It also makes it difficult to disseminate information on wanted fugitives, in case they are detained for another reason outside the jurisdiction in which they are wanted.
"At some point it would be very important to get all warrants into (the national database)," said Bob Finan, the marshals' assistant director for investigations. (Link)
