ONLY DAYS AFTER forcefully demanding a nearly immediate decision on whether Portland should rejoin a controversial FBI-led terrorism task force, City Commissioner Dan Saltzman—slapped around a little by his colleagues—found himself meekly walking backward on the issue.
And where did Saltzman wind up? Right where Mayor Sam Adams—increasingly his political rival—had been camped all along. In a release sent last Thursday, December 2, he bowed to Adams’ call for a lengthy review of the thorny subject.
“Due to this fact and out of respect for my colleagues,” Saltzman wrote, “I will not be filing a resolution for the December 8 council hearing.”
So much for Saltzman’s preemptive bid to claim the high ground on an issue where he lost badly in 2005. Instead, it’s the mayor who finds himself squarely in the driver’s seat.
By Monday, December 6, Adams’ staff had already met in closed-door huddles with both the FBI and the ACLU of Oregon, which opposes any effort to rejoin the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
A “work plan” guiding the city’s examination of the issue is expected by Friday, December 10. Adams’ staffers, as well as the city attorney’s office will lead the study, which could take months. It’s meant to ask whether the FBI has mended its extra-judicial ways in the years since Portland became the first major city to refuse to embed its cops among the feds.
It’s a good question—and the answer isn’t intuitive, even after President Obama’s ascendance.
David Fidanque of the ACLU told me after his meeting with Adams’ people that he believes things have actually gotten worse. He says new FBI rules issued in late 2008—and so far unchallenged by the Obama administration—now permit “limitless surveillance of people based on their political, religious, and social activities,” even without “evidence of wrongdoing.”
That’s the message Fidanque brought to city hall. I asked him whether Adams’ people were receptive to that message—or if they might be using the study instead as cover to justify rejoining the task force. After all, that might be politically popular among those who control campaign purse strings come election time.
Fidanque’s (slightly hopeful) reply: “It was clear to us that the mayor is going into this without any preconceived notions.”
I’m still not sure it’s a question worth asking. But if we must, let’s hope we really are asking it honestly.
The Mayor should initiate a lengthy study in humility. Then he should beg the FBI for an opportunity to rejoin the task force and apologize for treating them as if they have no respect for civil rights and the rule of law.
Many hundreds (even thousands) may have died if the FBI had relied on the PPB to detect and derail the Christmas Tree bomber.
“Many hundreds (even thousands) may have died if the FBI had relied on the PPB to detect and derail the Christmas Tree bomber.”
What are you talking about? This entire scheme was cooked up by the FBI! And if anyone ever died, it would be a direct result of the FBI!
And it might be a good idea to recall that the fbi could have stopped 9/11 months before it happened but chose to allow it to happen by ordering agents on the trail of “Middle Eastern men taking flight lessons” to “Stand down” from such investigations, just months before aircraft were guided into the Twin Towers. One of these men actually stated that he was “interested in learning to take off and fly a large aircraft but was not interested in learning how to land” which is what caused the flight instructor to call the fbi in the first place. This scenario, the events of 9/11 in detail, had been mapped out in various .gov publications and reports well prior (years) to 9/11. And , if Sam, as a gay man, has not felt fbi scrutiny personally, there are many in the older gay community who, I suspect, would be happy to relate horror stories to him. And should make it a point to do that.
Of course, if he is recalcitrant, the fbi has othza vays to influence than a fake bomb plot with at least one victim. Next time they will use a REAL bomb.
The one good thing to come out of this last fbi debacle/attack is just how easy it is for, say, the zionists to run a false flag op. No sweat. In fact, given the ‘hidden hierarchy’ structure of terror cells (you really do not know anyone except your immediate boss), it’s almost a certainty that mossad has at least one pet ‘Arab’ terrorist cell in operation for just such contigencies as 9/11. Again, saltzman, lieberman, wyden would tsk-tsk such a thought, but, Thanks to the fbi for the lesson, we see how incredibly easy it is. And if Mr. Mohamud had opted (been ordered) to stay in the vehicle, which from the warrant he seemed prepared to do, and the bomb had been real, we would know nothing except that an “Islamic” terrorist had killed your mother and little sister…