« When August goes | Main | Is it incompetence or the quiet coup? »

September 01, 2009

Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

The Arizona Republic becomes more and more reminiscent of Pravda as time goes on, with critical details omitted at the behest of editors responding to political and business interests, and readers left to read between the lines and guess at the meaning of what is implied but left unsaid.

A prime example is a recent story titled "DPS Boosts Patrols to Stop Drugs at Source"

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/08/30/20090830dpsunit0831.html

Well, quite aside from the hopelessly naive language of the headline itself, the story contains the following intriguing but unexplained text:

"More drugs are seized along the Arizona border than any other stretch of the international border in the United States, but the state's highway system and easy access to other major markets still makes Arizona an inviting thoroughfare for drug runners."

Well, what is it, exactly, about the state's highway system which makes Arizona an inviting thoroughfare for drug runners? The reader simply isn't told. Those who are highly persistent may find clues elsewhere, as in this Department of Justice report from May, 2007:

" Arizona is the only state along the Southwest Border that does not have U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) checkpoints. As a result, traffickers often exploit Arizona roadways when transporting illicit drugs to and through the state." (see End Note #3)

http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs22/22934/transpor.htm#text4

And this, from a July, 2005, General Accounting Office report, fleshing it out still further:

"A third type of checkpoint operates in the Tucson, Ariz., sector, where the Patrol has been legislatively prohibited from funding construction of checkpoints since fiscal year 1999. This restriction has prevented checkpoint construction. The Patrol also began closing or relocating checkpoints in the sector every 7 days at the instruction of congressional staff...Three of six checkpoints in the sector had to close for 7/14 days, as safety considerations made it too hazardous to relocate them.

"...The result of these legislative restrictions in the Tucson sector has been that the Border Patrol operates what we refer to as nonpermanent checkpoints that are hybrids of permanent and tactical but that lack the logistical, communication, and other capabilities provided by the physical infrastructure of permanent checkpoints or the flexibility of tactical checkpoints. In the Tucson sector, according to Border Patrol officials, the lack of permanent infrastructure, in combination with the mandated relocation on a regular basis, results in closure at 3 of 6 sector checkpoints because of an inability to find an alternate location that meets safety requirements for adequate shoulder areas and advance notice to vehicles that they are approaching a checkpoint."

http://www.gao.gov/htext/d05435.html

That's right, checkpoints are closed part of the time because of legislative restrictions. Do you suppose that MIGHT embolden drug smugglers, or that they might be prepared to take advantage of these suspensions in operation?

And finally, getting to the nub of it, and the local political connections which prevent the Arizona Republic from speaking frankly with its readers, comes this item from an AUSTIN newspaper:

"According to the GAO report, in the period between 1993 and 2000, the illegal activity in the Tucson sector increased seven-fold, while apprehensions in the eight other Southwest sectors combined declined 28 percent.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the smugglers simply shifted their crossing point to the Tucson sector, the one sector, interestingly, that does not have a permanent Border Patrol checkpoint like the one I passed through in Sarita. In fact, at the urging of Congressman Jim Kolbe (R-Arizona), Congress has prohibited the construction of Border Patrol checkpoints in the Tucson sector since fiscal year 1999. That's right, the one sector with such a Congressional prohibition is the same one that has experienced a seven-fold increase in illegal crossings."

"The Border Patrol had requested a new checkpoint on Interstate 19, north of Nogales. But Congressman Kolbe's constituents complained it would disrupt traffic and lead to increased numbers of illegal aliens crossing through residential areas, so Kolbe was successful at quashing the $1 million project..."

http://www.examiner.com/x-19241-Austin-Libertarian-Examiner~y2009m8d4-Border-Patrol-checkpoints-cameras-and-government-spending-run-amok

So, in essence, because Congressman Kolbe and like-minded Republicans don't want to inconvenience vocal business owners and large private landholders funding their campaigns, national security vis a vis narcotics smuggling has been thrown to the wind in Arizona. But you won't read that in the Arizona Republic.

You have more insight into Phoenix in one of your blog entries than a reader can find in an entire day's AZ Republic.

The latest mind numbing pablum being pushed in the Information Center are "Good News!" sections being done in zones. Glendale's Good News! is the failed development at Westgate.

Even though this recession has proven the failure of the growth and development at any cost economic model, the Republic continues to shill for the Real Estate Industrial Complex. Go figure.

A blurb on Phoenix's wanna be "partner":

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html

Sound familiar?

I need to make a correction to my earlier comment:

From 1999 to 2007 permanent checkpoints were legislatively prohibited in Arizona because of language in the annual appropriations bill inserted by Arizona's Rep. Kolbe. The requirement was dropped from the FY 2007 Homeland Security appropriations bill. The Tucson sector, however, still has NO permanent checkpoints, though one has been proposed on I-19 between Tucson and Nogales.

There are, however, two permanent checkpoints in the Yuma Sector. These are the only permanent U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints in Arizona, and obviously cannot interdict drug traffic coming into Arizona from Mexico, nor that traveling into most other parts of the U.S. from Arizona.

The Government Accountability Office just released a NEW report on Border Patrol checkpoints: see the map (figure 3) on page 17, and compare the dearth of Arizona permanent checkpoints with those in neighboring southwestern states (Texas, New Mexico, California). This is due to political interference by Arizona politicians, as earlier noted.

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09824.pdf

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment

Your Information

(Name is required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)

My Photo

Your email address:


Powered by FeedBlitz