Tag Archives: blogs about andrew tahmooressi

Andrew Tahmooressi: From Outrage To Action.

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By: Chris Warren.

I will be posting my regularly scheduled blog article later this weekend.

For now, unfortunately, the issue of Unites States Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi is now into its second month and has not been resolved. You can read my original blog article on this topic here and the first follow up here.

I define “resolved” as nothing less than Tahmooressi being released from the Mexican prison he is in and sent back to the United States.

This is so beyond acceptable, I didn’t even know where to begin the rant. Then it occurred to me that ranting and yelling at the TV will accomplish absolutely zero.

I am taking further action by asking everyone to contact the Mexican embassy in Washington DC and urge them to end this disaster NOW.

I will even make this easy to do:

For starters, please repost this, spread it around, and get it going.

You can copy and paste the letters below and email the Mexican embassy by clicking here http://embamex.sre.gob.mx/eua/index.php/en/contact-us

It is also preferred that you print both letters and snail mail them to the Mexican ambassador to the United States. Email is nice, but no one ever tripped over a bag of email.

The Spanish translation was done by a native speaker I personally know and trust. It has been verified for accuracy and protocol.

If you decide to write your own message, DO NOT: threaten, use sarcasm or cultural insults, criticize the Mexican government, or its system of justice, or its officials,  or give ultimatums.

Act respectfully, as if you are asking a very big favor from a powerful person, because that’s exactly what you are doing.

Being a jerk is  not going to solve the problem any faster and may in fact cause it to take longer.

The goal is to get Tahmooressi home. If that means kissing some ass, then I’m up for it.

Here are the English and Spanish letters: 

His Excellency Eduardo Medina Mora

The Ambassador of Mexico

1911 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

Washington, DC 20006 

UNITED STATES

 

Dear Mr. Ambassador:

I am a citizen of the United States contacting you regarding the urgent matter of United States Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi.

On March 30, 2014, Sgt. Tahmooressi lost his way driving through southern California in the USA and by mistake drove into Mexico.

He was subsequently arrested by Mexican police for the three firearms he had in his vehicle.

The guns are legal in the United States; Tahmooressi made an honest mistake and meant to break no Mexican laws by entering your country with them. I feel his arrest and detention is unwarranted.

I am appealing to Mexico’s goodwill and traditionally positive relationship between our two nations to strongly request that you use the influence of your position to urge your government to release Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi back to the United States immediately.

Thank you, respectfully,

 

(type your name and contact info here)

*************************************************************

Estimado señor Embajador,

Soy un estadounidense americano contactandolo sobre el urgente problema del sargento estaudonidense llamado Andrew Tahmooressi.

En el dia 30 de marzo del 2014 el sargento Tahmooressi perdio su camino manejando sobre el sur de California en los Estados Unidos y por error entro en territorio Mexicano.

El, erroneamente fue arrestado por las autoridades mexicanas por traer 3 armas de fuego en su vehiculo.

Las armas de fuego estan registradas legalmente en los Estados Unidos; Tahmooressi cometio un error injustamente y nunca fue su intencion burlar las leyes civiles de Mexico por entrar al pais con las armas de fuego. Siento que su arresto es indebido y fuera de lugar.

Estoy apelando con el estado de Mexico y con la estraordinaria posicion que tienen con Estados Unidos para que por favor y con toda influenzia con su posicion puedan liberar al sargento Andrew Tahmooressi de regreso a los Estados Unidos de America immediatamente.

Con todo el respeto, les doy las gracias por su ayuda.

 

(insert your name and contact info here)

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew Tahmooressi Is A Victim Of Two Nations.

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by: Chris Warren.

My May 8 blog article was about the astonishingly disrespectful treatment of Marine Sargent Andrew Tahmooressi by the governments of Mexico and the United States. Tahmooressi made a wrong turn while out with friends in southern California, ended up in Mexico by mistake, and was arrested for the three guns he had in his truck. The firearms were legally owned in the United States but once in Mexico he found himself in a heap of trouble. The original story is available here.

I’m very sad to report that Andrew Tahmooessi’s situation has improved only in that he has been moved to a better prison, keeping in mind that when talking about Mexican prisons, “better” is a relative term.

Andrew_Tahmooressi_t250The State Department and the White House have finally acknowledged –after close to two months of silence– that they are aware of the circumstances around Sgt. Tahmooressi’s imprisonment. Maybe they were too busy granting amnesty to illegal Mexicans who sneak into the USA. Maybe they are wrapped up in spinning excuses to whitewash the murder of an American ambassador and three others in Banghazi, Libya as not such a big deal. Why Tahmooressi was blown off by his own Commander in Chief for so long doesn’t really matter because speculating and casting blame is not going to get the Marine back to the USA any sooner.

We have a Marine jailed in Mexico on baloney charges and a long list of foreign policy screw-ups involving Russia, China, and pretty much everywhere else. I can’t figure out if this is because the Obama administration is either stupid or just doesn’t care. It really is that black and white. There is no other logical explanation. This level of malfeasance cannot possibly be an honest oversight.

Is it really so hard to understand why the world is walking all over us? If you are a Muslim terrorist, how afraid are you of the United States hunting you down if you, oh, say, murder an American ambassador? China and Russia are doing whatever the hell they want with no American response beyond a “pretty please don’t do that”. They’re like teenagers who keep pushing the boundaries of deviant behavior because they know their spineless parents are all noise and no action.

Meanwhile, Tahmooressi’s been sitting in prison for close to two months and still has not even been given a court date. This is normal in Mexico, where there are no juries and no presumption of innocence. The judges set their own docket schedule and have a lot of latitude as to when a case will be tried. Some defendants wait over a year before ever setting foot in a courtroom.

I’ve signed the White House petition even though I’ve never been a believer in “point and click” activism. I’m at a loss as to what meaningful action I can personally take. It’s very difficult for me to believe that between President Obama and John Kerry absolutely nothing more can be done outside of the slow slog of nebulous diplomacy.

A news commentator cautiously proposed the idea that it’s possible there is more to this story than is being reported, implying that Tahmooressi may not be as innocent as he appears and Mexico has a good reason to detain him. Ok, fine. But if Mexico has evidence that Tahmooressi committed a real crime and is holding him for that reason, then they should bring it forward and settle the controversy.

For now, it’s not hard at all for me to accept without question the story of a decorated United States Marine over the stonewalling of a faceless foreign bureaucracy, and for that matter, sadly, the empty assurances of my own country. Once the injustice is fixed, what may never be made right is the leftover issue of why everyone from President Obama on down is so completely gutless and ineffective not only on international relations in general, but also on what should have been the simple matter of getting Tahmooressi out of jail.

I’m gratified that the case finally has the attention of the highest levels of government and I do believe the Marine will ultimately be released. It would have made me very happy to see this matter concluded before the Memorial Day holiday, but the Obama administration has other priorities. Sadly, the purpose of my original article is still in effect: The only acceptable outcome is the unconditional release of Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi.

Click here to sign the White House petition.

 

Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi, The Good Neighbor.

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By: Chris Warren.

Editor’s note: I usually post a new blog article every Saturday, but due to the urgency of this week’s topic, I am moving my deadline up to Thursday. I hope by Saturday there will be positive news to report. 

I once had a “high maintenance” neighbor who was quick to ask for favors and help yet when any request was made of her would always have a reason why she could not come through. We would regularly mow her lawn, shovel her snow, and in one case lug out several old heavy appliances and muscle the new ones in. An older married couple in the neighborhood was particularly kind to this woman by providing her with free babysitting and handyman services around her house. The benefactor of their generosity repaid them with a weak excuse for not being able to do something as simple as pick up the mail while they were on vacation. This woman was not a horrible person, and not even a bad neighbor. But she had an inconsiderate manner and lack of grace and that made that her the type who no one would purposely choose to live near.

U.S. Marine Corps Sargent Andrew Tahmooressi was in southern California for medical treatment after serving two tours in Afghanistan. During the night of April 1, 2014 he was running a personal errand and by mistake lost his way on a dark road and ended up in Mexico. This might have been the makings of a funny “I should have made a left turn at Albuquerque” style crazy road trip story, but for Tahmooressi and those close to him, it was the beginning of a nightmare that is now in its second month.

What landed Tahmooressi in a Mexican prison was the three guns he had in his truck. He legally owned the firearms in the United States; instead of simply letting him turn around and go back down the road from which he came, the Mexican authorities arrested him for “gun running”.

This is not the first time an American service member has been sucked into the vortex of the Mexican justice system because of simple misunderstandings that could have and should have been quickly resolved at the scene, or at most within a day or two. Mexico seems to have a penchant for drama and goes out of its way to turn any little transgression into an international incident. This is the same Mexico that not only does nothing about thousands of illegal immigrants pouring over its border into the United States every year, but expects the US to give them immunity from deportation, eligibility for public services, and all the trappings and rights enjoyed by everyone who came here by the rules.

That is the logic of our mostly respectable but very one-sided neighbor: Mexican citizens who willfully and deliberately enter the United States in violation of our laws should be given a pass but if an honest American mistakenly wanders out of his own yard, he is given zero consideration, tossed in a notoriously nasty prison, and treated in a way that would give immigration activists a coronary if a Mexican detained in the U.S was given the same deal.

The U.S. State Department and the White House have remained faithful to the effete foreign relations philosophy that has become a hallmark of the Obama administration by being predictably coy about the whole mess, saying only that they are looking into it or some such pablum. As of Monday, May 4, over a month into this horror movie comes alive, a State Department spokesperson would not comment on the matter due to “privacy reasons” or even acknowledge if Secretary of State John Kerry was aware of Sgt. Tahmooressi’s situation.

Fortunately, public pressure is mounting; the White House and Secretary Kerry will not be able to hide behind their spokespeople for much longer. Kerry is scheduled to make a previously planned visit to Mexico on May 21 (and conveniently unavailable to testify before a Congressional hearing on the terror attack in Benghazi, but that’s a separate blog article) and the only acceptable excuse for not bringing  Sgt. Tahmooressi back with him would be because the Marine was already released.

As a goodwill gesture for the mountain of generosity the USA has shown Mexico, freeing Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi and returning all his personal possessions including the guns should be a no-brainer. It does not benefit Mexico to keep him and it involves zero cost or effort to let him go. But like my old neighbor who enjoyed the kindness of others and then had the nerve to act put upon when a very simple reciprocation was asked of her, Mexico exists in its own realm of one-way relationships.

The United States is owed a deep apology for this, but simply getting our Marine back would be good enough. I am demanding that the Mexican government immediately and without conditions free Sargent Andrew Tahmooressi, USMC, return his personal property, and assure his safe passage back to American soil.