The Radio Equalizer: Brian Maloney

22 April 2005

Portland Drops Out Of Terrorism Task Force

ACLU Scores Again!

Homeland Security No Match For Liberal Agenda


Given the amount of of publicity they've received recently, the ACLU must be mighty pleased. Now, in Portland, Oregon, they've done one better: helped to undermine the FBI on anti-terrorism policing.

Now Oregon residents and Americans alike, are less safe after the group backed Portland's mayor, who demanded personal oversight over the city's terrorism task force-linked cops.

Mayor Tom Potter wanted to have the power, as well as the higher security clearance required, to make sure officers weren't arresting or detaining people due to political or religious ties.

For the feds, it's obviously unreasonable to have a meddling mayor turning important anti-terrorism work into unlimited excuses for political grandstanding.

Now, Portland becomes America's first city to pull out of a joint terrorism task force. No wonder the elder Bush called Portland "little Beirut"!

Portland's mayor seems to think that state laws come before federal ones, in the Republic of Oregon.

And remember how Bush-bashing liberals faulted the administration for not having agencies working in sync on terrorism intelligence before 9-11? Remember the attacks on the FBI for being inept, uncooperative and bureaucratic?

Here they are, working with communities and the left doesn't like that, either.

What exactly do "progressives" want done about terrorism? And if Portland faces an attack, due to its newfound vulnerability, will these leaders take responsibility?

No, they'll be blaming the feds, as usual.


(Oregonian- Oregon Live- 22 April 2005)


The city of Portland is pulling its police officers from an FBI-led anti-terrorism team, after federal law enforcement leaders said they couldn't go along with a suggested compromise that would have given the mayor more oversight over the kinds of cases Portland officers investigate.

Robert Jordan, the FBI's special agent in charge for Oregon, said that as far as he knows, Portland will be the first city in the nation to withdraw its officers from a Joint Terrorism Task Force. The task forces are FBI partnerships with local police forces that exist across the country.

Potter and Portland city commissioners had threatened to pull out of the task force if federal leaders didn't grant them more oversight.

Potter delayed a vote late last month on a resolution that would have forced Portland to quit the team if the FBI didn't grant him the same security clearance as the officers involved.

He said that without more oversight, he couldn't guarantee that Portland officers would obey Oregon laws that bar police from investigating people strictly because of their political or religious ties.

Representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union sat in on at least one meeting. Everyone involved said the talks were going well but would not discuss specifics.



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