The FBI looks like the Federal Bureau of Incompetence after ignoring warning about Florida gunman
Steve Hilton By Steve Hilton | Fox News
GOOD ARTICLE
FBI under pressure over failure to act on school shooter tip
Steve Pomerantz, former FBI assistant director, says people need to be held accountable for failing to follow up on warnings about suspected Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz.
Wasn’t there something eerily and disgracefully familiar about the news that the FBI had a highly specific warning about the murderous intentions of Nikolas Cruz, the gunman who has confessed to shooting and killing 14 students and three adults at a Florida high school Wednesday?
Doesn’t it remind you of the way that after nearly every single one of the Islamist terror attacks of the last few years – whether in America, in Britain or elsewhere – a devastating phrase soon emerges? The attacker was “known to the authorities.”
Just take the case of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombers. We learned soon afterwards that the Russian authorities handed the FBI a file on one of them, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, in 2011 detailing his links to radical Islam.
In congressional testimony, the then-director of the FBI – yes, it was our old friend Robert Mueller – also admitted that Tsarnaev had come to the attention of the FBI on two previous occasions. Worse, the FBI received two tips in 2012 regarding Tsarnaev’s links to extremists connected to a Boston mosque.
Despite all these specific warnings to the FBI, Tsarnaev and his brother went on to mount their vile attack. Three people died and hundreds were injured, including 16 who lost limbs.
The Fort Hood attacker, Army Maj. Nidal Hassan, was known to the FBI before he shot and killed 13 people and injured 30 others in 2009. The Pulse nightclub killer, Omar Mateen, who shot and killed 49 people and wounded 58 others in 2016, had been investigated by the FBI months before.
And now this: last September, the FBI received a tip about someone called Nickolas Cruz who was boasting online about his plans to become a “professional school shooter.” In January, there was an even more specific warning.
It’s worth reading the FBI’s statement in full:
“On January 5, 2018, a person close to Nikolas Cruz contacted the FBI’s Public Access Line (PAL) tipline to report concerns about him. The caller provided information about Cruz’s gun ownership, desire to kill people, erratic behavior, and disturbing social media posts, as well as the potential of him conducting a school shooting. Under established protocols, the information provided by the caller should have been assessed as a potential threat to life.
“The information then should have been forwarded to the FBI Miami Field Office, where appropriate investigative steps would have been taken. We have determined that these protocols were not followed for the information received by the PAL on January 5. The information was not provided to the Miami Field Office, and no further investigation was conducted at that time.”
And then the unforgivably pathetic response from FBI Special Agent Robert Lasky, that he and his colleagues “truly regret any additional pain this has caused.”
Regret? Regret? Is that the best they can do? Seventeen people are dead because of the FBI’s bungling and incompetence. The FBI looks like the Federal Bureau of Incompetence in this instance.
Of course, we should at this point add our ritual acknowledgment that the agents of the FBI are brave men and women who work hard and put themselves in danger to keep us safe. Yes, that’s true. But it’s also getting a bit tired, isn’t it?
We have to acknowledge the truth: the FBI, like so many other parts of the federal bureaucracy, is a bloated mess that seems impervious to any kind of public accountability. The leadership of the FBI seems too busy pursuing political vendettas to do its own job properly or put its own house in order.
Who is Nikolas Cruz? He is accused of murdering 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Cruz is in custody as authorities comb through his background for clues into why he went on the horrific shooting spree.Video
Florida shooting gunman: Who is Nikolas Cruz?
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., described the FBI's incompetence as "inexcusable." Florida Gov. Rick Scott called for FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign. Many Americans will agree wholeheartedly.
But this problem goes deeper than one agency – in fact, it goes to the current and vital argument about the Deep State. There is no doubt that we have a permanent bureaucracy in the U.S. government that exists primarily to pursue its own agenda, regardless of who the people elect. The FBI is unquestionably part of it.
One of the characteristics of the permanent bureaucracy is to seek to always increase its own size and power. So in the wake of incidents like Wednesday’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, we inevitably get the calls for “more resources,” “more powers” and “new laws.”
These calls would be more persuasive if the FBI and other parts of the federal bureaucracy were better stewards of the resources they already have and actually used the powers they already have.
The call for new laws – instead of more competent application of the laws we already have – is precisely how we end up with a bloated bureaucracy that pursues its own agenda but fails to do its basic job.
Federal Bureau of INCOMPETANCE
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lundbaek
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Re: Federal Bureau of INCOMPETANCE
I don't think there is much if any incompetence in all of this by the FBI. Believe there are elements within the FBI leadership that are doing and saying things to, among other things, promote disgracing President Trump and conservatives in general, and to foment events calculated to convince Americans that privately owned guns must be confiscated.
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eddie
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Re: Federal Bureau of INCOMPETANCE
A false flag? Pres Trump visited the injured from the Florida school shooting and is being criticized for smiling.lundbaek wrote: ↑February 18th, 2018, 9:30 am I don't think there is much if any incompetence in all of this by the FBI. Believe there are elements within the FBI leadership that are doing and saying things to, among other things, promote disgracing President Trump and conservatives in general, and to foment events calculated to convince Americans that privately owned guns must be confiscated.
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eddie
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Re: Federal Bureau of INCOMPETANCE
How about this?
ON
No, there have not been 18 school shootings so far in 2018
by Siraj Hashmi | Feb 15, 2018, 11:26 AM Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Email this article Share on LinkedIn Print this article
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What we saw at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., is no less shocking and horrific than every school shooting we've seen since Columbine in 1999. Seventeen people were killed at the hands of 19-year-old shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz, who was expelled from the school and banned from returning to campus.
It's the type of shooting that makes you sick to your stomach.
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Watch Full Screen
You want to get all the facts and gather all the information that you can to ensure that a tragedy such as this never happens again. However, the media has been trying to convince you that these types of shootings where there are mass casualties are happening every day.
It all began on Wednesday when reporting on the developments at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, MSNBC host Brian Williams said that this was the 12th school shooting of 2018.
Ever since then, the talking point was corrected in that there were actually 18 school shootings in 45 days. And many in both the media and politics have used it as a rallying cry to make some legislative push to impose new restrictions on guns.
The problem is that it's not accurate. There haven't been 18 of what we would refer to as "school shootings" in 2018. The media is either sheepishly or deliberately moving the goalposts and widening the definition of what constitutes a school shooting.
Of the 18 school shootings as listed by the pro-gun control group, Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, here's what actually happened in each of these cases:
1) A man committed suicide using a gun in an elementary school parking lot when the school was closed and there were no children present in Clinton County, Mich., on Jan. 3.
2) Shots were fired at New Start High School near Burien, Wash., on Jan. 4. No one was hurt or injured, and no suspects were apprehended.
*3) A 32-year-old man shot a pellet gun at a school bus, shattering a window, in Forest City, Iowa, on Jan. 6. No injuries were reported, and the suspect was apprehended.
4) A Grayson College student confused a real gun with a training gun and accidentally fired a bullet into a wall on Jan. 10. No injuries were reported.
5) A 14-year-old seventh-grade student shot and killed himself inside the bathroom of Coronado Elementary School in Cochise County, Ariz., on Jan. 10.
6) Gunshots were fired at a campus building at Cal State San Bernardino on Jan. 10. No injuries were reported.
7) Two people in a car exchanged gunfire at a Wiley College dorm parking lot on Jan. 15. No deaths or injuries were reported and no suspects were arrested, however, one bullet was fired into a dorm room with three female students inside.
8) A Winston-Salem State University football player was shot and killed at a sorority party following an argument in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Jan. 20.
9) A 16-year-old male student shot a 15-year-old female student in the cafeteria at Italy High School in Italy, Texas, on Jan. 22. While the victim was injured, she was expected to make a full recovery. The shooter was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. This one we would probably all refer to as a proper "school shooting."
10) An unknown assailant in a pickup truck drove by the NET Charter High School in Gentilly, La., and shot at a group of students on Jan. 22. A 14-year-old boy was initially thought to have suffered a gunshot graze, but it turned out to be an abrasion.
11) A 15-year-old male student shot and killed two students and wounded 18 others at Marshall County High School in Benton, Ky., on Jan. 23. The shooter was apprehended.
12) A 16-year-old student fired a gun at another 16-year-old student during an altercation at Murphy High School in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 25. No injuries were reported and the suspect was taken into custody.
13) Shots were fired in the parking lot during an altercation between two nonstudents during a basketball at Dearborn High School in Dearborn, Mich., on Jan. 26. No injuries were reported, and no suspects were arrested.
14) A 32-year-old man was shot and killed in the parking lot outside Lincoln High School in Philadelphia, Penn., on Jan. 31 during what police believed to be an altercation between students from rival schools. No suspects were arrested.
15) A 12-year-old female student accidentally fired a real gun thinking it was a fake gun. Four students were injured, including one who suffered a gunshot wound to the head, at Sal Castro Middle School in Los Angeles on Feb. 1. The 12-year-old girl was taken into custody.
16) A teenage boy was shot in the chest and nearly killed by another student who conspired with the boy's ex-girlfriend in the parking lot of Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill, Md., on Feb. 5. The suspect was taken into custody and charged with attempted murder.
17) A third-grade student pulled the trigger of a police officer's holstered weapon at the Harmony Learning Center in Maplewood, Minn., on Feb. 5. No injuries were reported.
18) A 17-year-old student was arrested after firing a gun into the floor of a classroom of Metropolitan High School in the Bronx, N.Y., on Feb. 8.
19) The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday that left 17 dead.
Now, you'll notice that there are 19 shooting incidents listed above, not 18 like the media were trying to make you believe. That's because the third incident on the list involving a pellet gun and a school bus has at least been ruled out as a "school shooting," after it was included in the list of 11 school shootings by the media after the shooting in Benton, Ky., on Jan. 23. But frankly, most of the incidents above — probably at least 14 of them, don't really qualify as what we think of as "school shootings" at all.
And of all the shootings listed above, only two qualify as mass school shootings — the one in Benton, Ky., and the shooting in Parkland this week. Everything else was either an isolated incident, non-school-related, or an accident.
Make no mistake, every shooting incident listed above is concerning and indicative of a cultural problem in how people deal with conflict resolution, but, in no way is a mass shooting at a school happening every two-three days in the United States. It's an unfair, dishonest, and disingenuous characterization by the media. Don't let an emotional issue like gun violence prevent you from remembering to report the facts.
ON
No, there have not been 18 school shootings so far in 2018
by Siraj Hashmi | Feb 15, 2018, 11:26 AM Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Email this article Share on LinkedIn Print this article
Sign up for In Our Opinion commentary
What we saw at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., is no less shocking and horrific than every school shooting we've seen since Columbine in 1999. Seventeen people were killed at the hands of 19-year-old shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz, who was expelled from the school and banned from returning to campus.
It's the type of shooting that makes you sick to your stomach.
Younger Team Members Often Don't Enroll in Retirement Plans -- But That Can Hurt Your Company
Watch Full Screen
You want to get all the facts and gather all the information that you can to ensure that a tragedy such as this never happens again. However, the media has been trying to convince you that these types of shootings where there are mass casualties are happening every day.
It all began on Wednesday when reporting on the developments at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, MSNBC host Brian Williams said that this was the 12th school shooting of 2018.
Ever since then, the talking point was corrected in that there were actually 18 school shootings in 45 days. And many in both the media and politics have used it as a rallying cry to make some legislative push to impose new restrictions on guns.
The problem is that it's not accurate. There haven't been 18 of what we would refer to as "school shootings" in 2018. The media is either sheepishly or deliberately moving the goalposts and widening the definition of what constitutes a school shooting.
Of the 18 school shootings as listed by the pro-gun control group, Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, here's what actually happened in each of these cases:
1) A man committed suicide using a gun in an elementary school parking lot when the school was closed and there were no children present in Clinton County, Mich., on Jan. 3.
2) Shots were fired at New Start High School near Burien, Wash., on Jan. 4. No one was hurt or injured, and no suspects were apprehended.
*3) A 32-year-old man shot a pellet gun at a school bus, shattering a window, in Forest City, Iowa, on Jan. 6. No injuries were reported, and the suspect was apprehended.
4) A Grayson College student confused a real gun with a training gun and accidentally fired a bullet into a wall on Jan. 10. No injuries were reported.
5) A 14-year-old seventh-grade student shot and killed himself inside the bathroom of Coronado Elementary School in Cochise County, Ariz., on Jan. 10.
6) Gunshots were fired at a campus building at Cal State San Bernardino on Jan. 10. No injuries were reported.
7) Two people in a car exchanged gunfire at a Wiley College dorm parking lot on Jan. 15. No deaths or injuries were reported and no suspects were arrested, however, one bullet was fired into a dorm room with three female students inside.
8) A Winston-Salem State University football player was shot and killed at a sorority party following an argument in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Jan. 20.
9) A 16-year-old male student shot a 15-year-old female student in the cafeteria at Italy High School in Italy, Texas, on Jan. 22. While the victim was injured, she was expected to make a full recovery. The shooter was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. This one we would probably all refer to as a proper "school shooting."
10) An unknown assailant in a pickup truck drove by the NET Charter High School in Gentilly, La., and shot at a group of students on Jan. 22. A 14-year-old boy was initially thought to have suffered a gunshot graze, but it turned out to be an abrasion.
11) A 15-year-old male student shot and killed two students and wounded 18 others at Marshall County High School in Benton, Ky., on Jan. 23. The shooter was apprehended.
12) A 16-year-old student fired a gun at another 16-year-old student during an altercation at Murphy High School in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 25. No injuries were reported and the suspect was taken into custody.
13) Shots were fired in the parking lot during an altercation between two nonstudents during a basketball at Dearborn High School in Dearborn, Mich., on Jan. 26. No injuries were reported, and no suspects were arrested.
14) A 32-year-old man was shot and killed in the parking lot outside Lincoln High School in Philadelphia, Penn., on Jan. 31 during what police believed to be an altercation between students from rival schools. No suspects were arrested.
15) A 12-year-old female student accidentally fired a real gun thinking it was a fake gun. Four students were injured, including one who suffered a gunshot wound to the head, at Sal Castro Middle School in Los Angeles on Feb. 1. The 12-year-old girl was taken into custody.
16) A teenage boy was shot in the chest and nearly killed by another student who conspired with the boy's ex-girlfriend in the parking lot of Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill, Md., on Feb. 5. The suspect was taken into custody and charged with attempted murder.
17) A third-grade student pulled the trigger of a police officer's holstered weapon at the Harmony Learning Center in Maplewood, Minn., on Feb. 5. No injuries were reported.
18) A 17-year-old student was arrested after firing a gun into the floor of a classroom of Metropolitan High School in the Bronx, N.Y., on Feb. 8.
19) The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday that left 17 dead.
Now, you'll notice that there are 19 shooting incidents listed above, not 18 like the media were trying to make you believe. That's because the third incident on the list involving a pellet gun and a school bus has at least been ruled out as a "school shooting," after it was included in the list of 11 school shootings by the media after the shooting in Benton, Ky., on Jan. 23. But frankly, most of the incidents above — probably at least 14 of them, don't really qualify as what we think of as "school shootings" at all.
And of all the shootings listed above, only two qualify as mass school shootings — the one in Benton, Ky., and the shooting in Parkland this week. Everything else was either an isolated incident, non-school-related, or an accident.
Make no mistake, every shooting incident listed above is concerning and indicative of a cultural problem in how people deal with conflict resolution, but, in no way is a mass shooting at a school happening every two-three days in the United States. It's an unfair, dishonest, and disingenuous characterization by the media. Don't let an emotional issue like gun violence prevent you from remembering to report the facts.
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mes5464
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Re: Federal Bureau of INCOMPETANCE
The FBI should be disbanded. A federal police force shouldn't exist. Only the county sheriff is a constitutional law enforcement office.
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mes5464
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Re: Federal Bureau of INCOMPETANCE
Hungarian leader calls Christianity 'Europe's last hope'
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's prime minister says that "Christianity is Europe's last hope" and that politicians in Brussels, Berlin and Paris favoring migration have "opened the way to the decline of Christian culture and the advance of Islam."
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's prime minister says that "Christianity is Europe's last hope" and that politicians in Brussels, Berlin and Paris favoring migration have "opened the way to the decline of Christian culture and the advance of Islam."
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mes5464
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Re: Federal Bureau of INCOMPETANCE
Top U.S. officials tell the world to ignore Trump’s tweets
U.S. lawmakers — both Democrats and Republicans — and top national security officials in the Trump administration offered the same advice publicly and privately, often clashing with Trump’s Twitter stream: The United States remains staunchly committed to its European allies, is furious with the Kremlin about election interference and isn’t contemplating a preemptive strike on North Korea to halt its nuclear program.
But Trump himself engaged in a running counterpoint to the message, taking aim on social media at his own national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, because he “forgot” on Saturday to tell the Munich Security Conference that the results of the 2016 election weren’t affected by Russian interference, a conclusion that is not supported by U.S. intelligence agencies. They say they will probably never be able to determine whether the Russian involvement swung the election toward Trump.
U.S. lawmakers — both Democrats and Republicans — and top national security officials in the Trump administration offered the same advice publicly and privately, often clashing with Trump’s Twitter stream: The United States remains staunchly committed to its European allies, is furious with the Kremlin about election interference and isn’t contemplating a preemptive strike on North Korea to halt its nuclear program.
But Trump himself engaged in a running counterpoint to the message, taking aim on social media at his own national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, because he “forgot” on Saturday to tell the Munich Security Conference that the results of the 2016 election weren’t affected by Russian interference, a conclusion that is not supported by U.S. intelligence agencies. They say they will probably never be able to determine whether the Russian involvement swung the election toward Trump.
