Note: No new revelations, Katie needs some help with firearms facts,
but otherwise ok.
Fast and Furious: Brian Terry Will Change the Way America Does Business
Katie Pavlich
News Editor, Townhall
http://townhall.com/columnists/katiepavlich/2011/11/14/
fast_and_furious_brian_terry_will_change_the_way_america_does_business/p
age/full/
Scottsdale, Ariz.- The Scottsdale International Auto Museum is filled
with classic cars from Thunderbird convertibles to MGs with Pink Lady
and T-Bird jackets hanging next to an Elvis statue near the back, but
Saturday night the museum was turned into a place for people to
celebrate the life of murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry by
supporting his family. Nearly 100 people showed their support by
bidding on donated items to raise funds for his mother, Josephine
Terry. The funds will be used by Josephine to attend hearings about
her son's death on Capitol Hill as the House Oversight Committee
continues to dig into Operation Fast and Furious. If you aren't
familiar by now, Terry was murdered in the Arizona desert by illegal
Mexican cartel bandits. Two of the guns used to kill him, were
provided through the lethal Obama Justice Department Operation Fast
and Furious.
The event was kicked off with the singing of the National Anthem,
followed by a beautiful rendition of the famous song "Hallelujah,"
which brought tears to eyes of many in the audience.
Kris Jenkins, a friend of Brian's, drove from Sierra Vista, Ariz. to
attend the event. Like many members of the Terry family and close
friends that night, she was wearing a navy blue baseball style t-
shirt printed with the words "Agent Terry" on the back. Terry's
family flew all the way from Michigan to attend the event.
"I'm here to support the family, support the cause," Jenkins said.
Another woman, Joan Ponath, had been in a car accident just minutes
before the event started, but refused to the hospital.
"I wouldn't have missed this for the world," Ponath said.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and
former Congressman Tom Tancredo were also in attendance.
"The people of Arizona love you and will always remember Brian
Terry," Brewer said. "Brian was a brave and faithful warrior."
Jay Dobyns, ATF Special Agent, American hero and best selling author
of "No Angel," was the emcee of the night, and made the crowd laugh
by changing outfits in between speakers, just like an awards show.
Dobyns also toasted to Terry's memory throughout the night straight
from a big bottle of Jack Daniels.
"I personally feel cheated I never got to meet him," Dobyns said.
"This man dedicated his entire adult life to doing America's business."
A native of Detroit, Terry was a Marine, a police officer and a
special operations BORTAC agent for the U.S. Border Patrol. BORTAC is
described by the Department of Homeland Security as a tactical unit
that provides immediate response to emergency and high-risk incidents
that require skills above average border agent training. BORTAC is
similar to specialized police SWAT teams. Terry tried out for and
made the BORTAC team at the age of 38, an unheard of accomplishment.
"Nothing was impossible for Brian," Lana Domino, organizer of the
event and a close friend to Brian said. "He would give you the last
dollar in his pocket and the shirt off his back. He loved his country
as much as he loved his own family and friends."
ATF whistleblower Vince Cefalu joked about Brian, saying typical law
enforcement work was "too easy for him," so he opted for working
around "rattle snakes, scorpions, darkness and bad people," in the
Arizona desert instead.
Although the event remained focused on supporting Josephine Terry in
her efforts to find out what happened to her son and celebrating
Brian's life in a positive way, there is no doubt an elephant was in
the room. Bad decisions made by a long list of men responsible for
the implementation of Fast and Furious within ATF and the Obama
Justice Department, who have yet to be held accountable or face
consequences for the lethal program, were in the back of everybody's
mind. Those men are former ATF Field Supervisors for the Phoenix
Field Division William Newell and David Voth, ATF Assistant Special
Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division George Gillett, former
ATF Deputy Director of Operations in the West William McMahon,
Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer and Attorney General Eric
Holder to name a few. McMahon, Voth and Newell have been promoted,
despite their heavy involvement in Fast and Furious.
"In America we not only believe in truth, but in justice," Babeu
said, adding that as Americans we owe it to Brian and his family to
ensure at the end of the day that there is justice. "We will not
relent."
ATF whistleblower Vince Cefalu didn't mince words when addressing the
audience about what happened to Brian.
"He's [Terry] the guy with the badge that's all scratched up," Cefalu
said. "These people who put us through this [Fast and Furious] will
never have scuffed up and dirty badges."
And Cefalu is correct. The men behind Fast and Furious have made
careers out of wearing suits and sitting at a desk, while field
agents who have exposed Fast and Furious, have been out getting dirty
and risking it all, just as Brian did. In this case, the men with the
shiny badges made decisions to put American law enforcement agents in
grave danger by providing Mexican drug cartels with 2,000 high
powered semi-automatic weapons. Cefalu gave the men responsible for
Fast and Furious a chance to go on stage, issue an apology and hold
themselves accountable, but of course, people like William Newell and
Lanny Breuer didn't show up.
"And that is exactly why I am here," Cefalu said.
Cefalu keeps a poem Brian wrote during BORTAC training in his wallet.
He looked Josephine Terry in the eyes, pulled the poem out of his
wallet and said the poem will stay in his wallet until she calls him
and says she is satisfied, until then, he will carry it everywhere he
goes.
If you seek to do battle with me this day, you will receive the best
that I am capable of giving. It may not be enough, but it will be
everything that I have to give and it will be impressive for I have
constantly prepared myself for this day. I have trained, drilled and
rehearsed my actions so that I might have the best chance of
defeating you. I have kept myself in peak physical condition,
schooled myself in the martial skills and have become proficient in
the applications of combat tactics. You may defeat me, but I'm
willing to die if necessary. I do not fear death for I have been
close enough to it on enough occasions that it no longer concerns me.
But, I do fear the loss of my honor and would rather die fighting
than to have it said that I was without courage. So I will fight you,
no matter how insurmountable it may seem, to the death if need be, in
order that it may never be said of me that I was not a warrior." -
Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry
"There is a handful of people who made tragic decisions," Dobyns said
referring to Operation Fast and Furious. "I'm not going to call them
mistakes, because they were tragic decisions."
Although tragic and hard to believe, Brian's death comes with a
silver lining. His death, along with the bravery of ATF
whistleblowers who have risked their professional careers to expose
Fast and Furious, have shined a blaring light on rampant corruption
at the highest levels possible within ATF and the Department of
Justice. Hopefully, through continuing pressure from Congressman
Darrell Issa, Senator Charles Grassley and a handful of media
outlets, justice will be served.
"Brian is going to change the way America does business," Dobyns said.
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