Today, U.S. Attorney Williams stood with the @FBIBirmingham and our law enforcement partners in Etowah County to support their outstanding work on an operation targeting violent criminals. Strong partnerships. Coordinated efforts. Safer communities. @ALEAprotects, Etowah County District Attorney, @EtowahCountySO, and Gadsden Police Department

Thoughts on the morning drive! That time in Afghanistan when the rule of law became very real to me. I love the rule of law. We are a nation of laws. It’s part of what separates us from so much of the world. We have rights, liberties, a voice, legal protections. And there is a big difference in being “legalistic” and fighting for the rule of law. I believe that God establishes order from chaos. Even Jesus said, “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s”, indicating that he acknowledged that there is a place for governance and order in this crazy world. But I had an experience in Afghanistan back at the beginning of the war that really brought it all home to me. I was on a small very remote special operations team living among the Afghan people, and among all the combat operations and typical soldier tasks, my team also worked to make things better, to win hearts and minds, and to show them it was a new day and that freedom was real. But one day one of the old-school Afghan warlords decided to shut down some of the humanitarian work my team was doing. General Mirallam was his name and I made clear to him that he was not going to stop the work. He wanted to control it. He wanted to have a say in it. But I told him it was a contract with the United States and he would not interfere. He finally grudgingly gave in. Then he asked me, “in America, when there is a problem with a contract, who fixes it?” …..I told him, “the lawyers!”…..and he and his minions laughed like that was the stupidest thing they had ever heard. It occurred to me then that all of the devastation, and brokenness around me was not just a result of war….it was the result of what happens when the rule of law is abandoned….when the strongman can do whatever he wants….when the people have no rights, no voice. I came home from that with a deep and abiding appreciation for the rule of law. And now…..now I get to do something about it as a US Attorney. Thoughts on the morning drive!