Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Administrator Jean's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    California
    Posts
    65,443

    Obama's Mexicogate?

    Obama's Mexicogate?

    Laura Carlsen

    April 26, 2011

    A secret operation to run guns across the border to Mexican drug cartels -- overseen by U.S. government agents -- threatens to become a major scandal for the Obama administration.

    The operation, called "Fast and Furious," was run out of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) office in Phoenix, Arizona. ATF sanctioned the purchase of weapons in U.S. gun shops and tracked the smuggling route to the Mexican border. Reportedly, more than 2,500 firearms were sold to straw buyers who then handed off the weapons to gunrunners under the nose of ATF.

    But once across the border, the agency seemed to lose track of the weapons. Hundreds of AK-47s and Barrett .50 caliber rifles -- favorites of warring drug cartels -- made it easily into the hands of some of Mexico's most ruthless crime organizations.

    Gunwalking

    In arms trafficking parlance, knowingly allowing smugglers to go about their business is called "gunwalking." According to ATF whistleblowers, the agency stood by and watched as buyers purchased up to 20 weapons at a time and quickly passed them off to smugglers in nearby parking lots. The hope was to trace the guns into Mexico and bust a major cartel.

    In December 2010 "walked" guns were identified as the murder weapons in the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry by drug cartels. An anguished ATF agent made the decision to expose the gunwalking operation, after the bureau ignored months of complaints.

    Agent John Dodson blew the whistle on Fast and Furious in an interview with CBS News on March 3. Dodson had been concerned about the operation since well before the Terry murder. As large numbers of guns freely crossed the border during the early part of 2010, he and other ATF agents noted with alarm the rise in violent crime south of the border. He said he told his supervisors, "The more our guys buy, the more violence we're having down there."

    Dodson reports that his supervisor replied, "If you're going to make an omelet, you're going to scramble some eggs."

    Even some of the gun shop owners expressed discomfort with the number of weapons they were selling to shady customers, but were reportedly told to continue the operation.

    Soon after the Dodson interview, the director of the ATF Mexico office, Darren Gil, told CBS that he began to receive disturbing reports of an unusually high number of Phoenix-area guns showing up in Mexican cartel violence. When he began asking questions, Gil discovered that his team had been blocked from computer access to information on Fast and Furious.

    Gil questioned officials at U.S. headquarters who told him they were under direct orders from the Department of Justice and that he should say nothing to the Mexican government about the program.

    Gil resigned in disgust in December 2010 after watching "seizure after seizure after seizure" of walked guns turned up at violent crime scenes in Mexico.

    Congress Steps In

    In early 2011, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) requested an ATF briefing. The agency refused. Congress has now issued a subpoena summoning ATF to report on the Fast and Furious program.

    Meanwhile, U.S. government officials are attempting to deny being involved without actually confirming that the operation took place. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano did not deny allegations concerning the program, but claimed she found out about the operation only after Agent Terry's murder and had no information regarding the participation of Customs agents.

    In the hot seat, Attorney General Eric Holder assigned an inspector general to investigate. President Obama defended Holder twice -- on Univision and CNN -- stating that neither he nor Holder knew about the operation.

    The investigation will result in one of two conclusions, neither positive for the attorney general. The first is that Holder authorized an operation that likely violated U.S., Mexican, and international law and armed dangerous drug traffickers.

    The second is that the head of the Justice Department is presiding over rogue staff that decided not to tell their boss about an operation that poses major legal, ethical and diplomatic breaches.

    Holder recently issued a memo to Southwest border attorneys ordering them not to permit arms trafficking to Mexican cartels. The memo states, "We should not design or conduct undercover operations which include guns crossing the border." Logically, a memo advising justice officials not to engage in illegal gunwalking would be unnecessary were it not for a precedent to the contrary.

    Some ATF officials have justified the program by claiming the operation could result in prosecutions of individuals higher up the smuggling chain. The ATF issued a press release the day of Dodson's interview announcing a decision to "review the bureau's current firearms trafficking strategies..."

    Mexican Response

    Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his cabinet have been remarkably sanguine about the possibility that guns were trafficked to the archenemy with the encouragement of a foreign government. National Security spokesperson Alejandro Poire refused to accept that the operation existed and reserved comment until after the results of the pending U.S. investigation are released.

    Calderon appears unwilling to risk jeopardizing the U.S. government's political and financial support for his war on drugs by complaining too loudly. His counternarcotics strategy has come under heavy criticism in his country in the last few months due to sharply increasing violence and corruption.

    Opposition members of the Mexican Congress, media, and public have ordered an investigation and called the operation a violation of international law and even an act of war. The outrage increased when William Brownfield, the State Department's head of International Narcotics, praised the program to the Mexican press and confirmed it was "ongoing." The former ambassador to Colombia and long-time promoter of the drug war scoffed at criticisms, stating that the number of arms that have passed to "uncontrolled destinations" was "limited."

    But for many U.S. and Mexican legislators and citizens even a single weapon allowed to fall into the hands of brutal cartels is one too many. The gunwalking program has increased public skepticism toward the "shared responsibility" that Obama and Calderon have tried to sell in numerous public statements, and fueled the growing popular protests within Mexico that reject the violent drug war model for dealing with illicit narcotics trafficking and consumption.
    Major Scandal?

    With evasive responses from government agencies, major international implications, and persistent questions of "who knew what, and when," the Fast and Furious operation could develop into a major scandal for the Obama administration. That will depend on the administration's response.

    The Obama administration faces a tough choice: either orchestrate a cover-up, as the ATF appears to be doing, or open up the case and accept the consequences.

    The gunwalking case tests the integrity of the Obama government. It also further weakens support for a failing drug war strategy. The administration is currently seeking millions more dollars in security aid to Mexico under the Merida Initiative.

    The best path forward is to fully investigate the operation and punish those responsible -- no matter how high up the blame goes. It is also time to end support for a war on drugs that becomes more entrenched and more violent every day.

    http://oneoldvet.com/

    www.huffingtonpost.com
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  2. #2
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Heart of Dixie
    Posts
    36,012
    The best path forward is to fully investigate the operation and punish those responsible -- no matter how high up the blame goes. It is also time to end support for a war on drugs that becomes more entrenched and more violent every day.
    I was surprised to see this at Huffington Post. Mexicogate is an interesting name I wonder if this could lead to the same consequences as Watergate. The heat just needs to be kept on for the truth.
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  3. #3
    Senior Member AirborneSapper7's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    South West Florida (Behind friendly lines but still in Occupied Territory)
    Posts
    117,696
    this is by far "Far Worse than Watergate" this was criminal in Nature and Criminal in Intent

    People had to be killed to track these weapons and it was OKed all the way up to the top

    ALLOT and I mean allot of People need to be locked behind bars and for each additional person killed by these weapons, years added to the sentencing

    America has never seen such a gross disregard for Human life than what has occured under the Bush / Obama administrations

    I smell Fear at the ATF / DOJ / DHS / WH and they all should be crapping themselves right about now, because

    THEY GOT CAUGHT
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  4. #4
    Senior Member AirborneSapper7's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    South West Florida (Behind friendly lines but still in Occupied Territory)
    Posts
    117,696
    Sipsey Street Irregulars

    The Gunwalker Scandal Made Simple

    There are five key accusations against ATF and DOJ made by ATF whistleblowers and other sources within FedGov:

    1. That they instructed U.S. gun dealers to proceed with questionable and illegal sales of firearms to suspected gunrunners.

    2. That they allowed or even assisted in those guns crossing the U.S. border into Mexico to "boost the numbers" of American civilian market firearms seized in Mexico and thereby provide the justification for more firearm restrictions on American citizens and more power and money for ATF.

    3. That they intentionally kept Mexican authorities in the dark about the operation, even over objections of their own agents.

    4. That weapons that the ATF let "walk" to Mexico were involved in the deaths of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and ICE agent Jaime Zapata, as well as at least hundreds of Mexican citizens.

    5. That at least since the death of Brian Terry on 14 December, the Obama administration is engaged in a full-press cover-up of the facts behind what has come to be known as the "Gunwalker Scandal."

    http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  5. #5
    Senior Member USPatriot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    SW Florida
    Posts
    3,827
    I am amazed and very pleased Huffington had the guts to expose this for all their Libs to see.

    I suspect this is why the Prez. decided to finally show his long form B. Certificate. He is feeling the heat big time.
    "A Government big enough to give you everything you want,is strong enough to take everything you have"* Thomas Jefferson

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •