U.S. border protection chief resigns

[rick_reno]

Looks like Bush can now get someone in that job who will deal with the vigilantes.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/28/bonner.retirement/index.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Robert C. Bonner, said Wednesday that he will retire.

He and the Bush administration have been at odds over his support for using civilian "minutemen" along the U.S.-Mexico border to assist border patrol agents. President Bush has equated the self-proclaimed volunteer group with "vigilantes."

Bonner told CNN on Wednesday that he was not asked to resign. He told reporters that it was "just time."

"I mean, I didn't come back here to serve a life tenure," he told reporters. "I came back to serve. And I have put in four solid years. I think I've done my duty, and it's a good time to move on."

He notified President Bush of his plans earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security said in a written statement.

"Rob Bonner has been an integral part of the Department of Homeland Security leadership team since its inception," said his boss, Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

"I've known Rob for many years; he is an outstanding public servant and will be greatly missed here at the department. I appreciate the commitment and service he has shown in directing our border security efforts," Chertoff said.

Bonner was sworn in as commissioner of U.S. Customs less than two weeks after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. During his tenure the agency had a key role in the war on terror.

His departure will leave three top positions within the department vacant: the chiefs of Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

It was during his tenure that the three separate agencies, with its 42,000 employees, merged into the Department of Homeland Security when it was formed in 2003.

Meanwhile, high rates of illegal immigration prompted the governors of Arizona and New Mexico this year to declare states of emergency along their borders.

Bonner's last day has been unspecified to allow for a smooth transition.

 

[longeyes]

apres moi, aguas!!!

"I mean, I didn't come back here to serve a life tenure," he told reporters. "I came back to serve. And I have put in four solid years. I think I've done my duty, and it's a good time to move on."

Translation: I've had enough of this ****, I've got my fat pension, let the next sucker deal with the insanity.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

You may be right, longeyes, but it may also translate into "I can't do this job if the boss is undermining what I need to do, so I'm out'a here."

I'm inclined to think that's closer to what actually happened, but I don't know. I have worked in a public agency where I was at odds with the "leadership" (cough ... cough), and it's a poisonous atmosphere that gradually destroys your soul. I don't blame him for leaving.

 

[longeyes]

Hawkmoon,

Same diff. That's what I meant. Obstructionism > Exhaustion.

 

[davec]

And only last week George Bush was heard to exclaim: "You're doing a heck of a job Boner!"

 

[Standing Wolf]

President Bush has equated the self-proclaimed volunteer group with "vigilantes."

Nero fiddled.

 

[longeyes]

And only last week George Bush was heard to exclaim: "You're doing a heck of a job Boner!"

Communing with his Higher Power...?

 

[bearmgc]

No sense banging you head against a wall, no matter what the salary is. If you carry the responsiblilty but don't have the support or resources, it only amounts to failure.

 

[Can'thavenuthingood]

I think it's time to put it all back to the way it used to be. Dismantle the department of homeland security (I never liked that term, too euro) and start over again. Everyone go back to where you came from.

I'm having serious misgivings about my voter registration.

Vick