Thread: SMOKESCREEN ? >> Iranian Plot to Kill Ambassador

Originally Posted by Skip

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gunrunner

History

The ATF began Project Gunrunner as a pilot project in Laredo, Texas, in 2005 and expanded it as a national initiative in 2006. Project Gunrunner is also part of the Department of Justice’s broader Southwest Border Initiative, which seeks to reduce cross-border drug and firearms trafficking and the high level of violence associated with these activities on both sides of the border.[2] However, multiple agents within the ATF (whistleblowers) have publicly stated they were ordered to allow assault-style weapons to be sold to straw purchasers who then transported the weapons to Mexico to resell to Mexican drug cartels as part of an offshoot Operation Fast and Furious 2009-2010.[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gunrunner

There you go why hasnt Bush been brought up on charges?This all stems back to Bush,but i know 2 wrongs to make a right and Obama should have stopped it,but maybe he thought well republicans thought that Bush was almighty and done nothing wrong continue on with the plan.

Originally Posted by duckman

Originally Posted by Skip

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gunrunner

History

The ATF began Project Gunrunner as a pilot project in Laredo, Texas, in 2005 and expanded it as a national initiative in 2006. Project Gunrunner is also part of the Department of Justice’s broader Southwest Border Initiative, which seeks to reduce cross-border drug and firearms trafficking and the high level of violence associated with these activities on both sides of the border.[2] However, multiple agents within the ATF (whistleblowers) have publicly stated they were ordered to allow assault-style weapons to be sold to straw purchasers who then transported the weapons to Mexico to resell to Mexican drug cartels as part of an offshoot Operation Fast and Furious 2009-2010.[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gunrunner

There you go why hasnt Bush been brought up on charges?This all stems back to Bush,but i know 2 wrongs to make a right and Obama should have stopped it,but maybe he thought well republicans thought that Bush was almighty and done nothing wrong continue on with the plan.

However, multiple agents within the ATF (whistleblowers) have publicly stated they were ordered to allow assault-style weapons to be sold to straw purchasers who then transported the weapons to Mexico to resell to Mexican drug cartels as part of an offshoot Operation Fast and Furious 2009-2010.

George W. Bush, 43rd President (2001–2009)

Barrack Hussein Obama, 44th President (Assumed office January 20, 2009 - present)

OPERATION FAST AND FURIOUS
( End of January 2009 / after Eric Holder became Attorney General)

Gunwalker Scandal AKA "Operation Fast and Furious"

thunderw21

I've been following this scandal for 6 months now and it is really getting deep.

Simply put, the BATFE (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) knowingly allowed at least 2,500 firearms (mostly AK-47 variants and some .50 caliber sniper rifles) to be bought in the U.S. by straw purchasers and 'walked' across the southern border to the Mexican drug cartels. Those cartels then used the weapons to commit crimes and murder countless numbers of Mexican civilians, politicians, police officers and military personnel.

It was not until U.S. Border Agent Brian Agent, armed with only a less lethal beanbag gun, was killed with one of those BATFE 'walked' AK variants on December 15, 2010 and several ATF agents spoke up as a result did this scandal become revealed to the outside world. Since then a total of 3 U.S. federal agents have been killed with BATFE 'walked' guns.

These guns were supposedly walked in order to track them to the cartels, however, the BATFE has no resources to track said guns in Mexico and the Mexican government admits that it had no knowledge of Operation Fast and Furious.

It is starting to look as if this operation had political reasons behind it rather than law enforcement in mind, especially considering the fact that no guns walked until after the current Administration came into office. Also incriminating is the current Administration's statement that 90% of the cartel's guns came from the U.S. The question we need to ask is how high does this scandal go? Were these guns walked in order to push a political agenda in the U.S.?

We know BATFE acting director Melson knew about it (he even had a video system installed in his office so he could watch guns being walked) and Issa is very confident that Attorney General Eric Holder knew about and may even signed off on Operation Fast and Furious. Is it possible that Obama also knew about it? Agent Jay Robbins stated that this was known "at the highest levels of government".

Congressmen Issa and Grassely are leading the way in getting to the root of the scandal and Issa is now heading a congressional hearing and investigation.

Quite frankly, this scandal is starting to look bigger than both Iran-Contra and Watergate. This scandal is turning out to be state-sanctioned terrorism that has claimed the lives of hunderds if not thousands of innocent people in both Mexico and the United States. And roughly half of the walked guns are still unaccounted for.

In short, the Administration was blaming the drug violence in Mexico on American guns and hinting at stricter gun control while a U.S. government agency sworn to enforce its laws was breaking said laws by allowing and perhaps even taking part in the movement of guns across the border. Unbelievable.

http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/foru ... rious-quot

RELATED

Iranian terror plot proves America must secure its borders

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-252466.html

What's the fastest way to stimulate the economy? Start a war. The U. S. didn't get dragged into a trillion dollar war in Libya, at least not yet. So then look elsewhere.

Arbabsiar was arrested in September.

But the story of his arrest and of the terrorist plot, was released, almost to the day that the subpoena was served on Attorney General Eric Holder

Politics

Alleged Assassination Plot Seen as Sign of Emboldened Iran, Shifting Strategy

Published October 12, 2011 | FoxNews.com

The U.S. government is implicating officials high up in Iran's special operations Quds Force over the alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington as the White House claims it will "take no options off the table" in dealing with Iran.

"It's a dangerous escalation of the Iranian government's longstanding use of violence ... We are committed to holding the Iranians accountable," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday.

For now, Carney said the Obama administration is focusing on pressuring Iran through economic sanctions and diplomatic coalition-building -- though he said no options are off the table.

President Obama spoke to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on Wednesday about the plot and they agreed it represents a "flagrant violation of fundamental international norms, ethics and law," the White House said in a statement.

"They also praised the work of intelligence and law enforcement agencies that led to the disruption of this plot, and reiterated the joint commitment on the part of the United States and Saudi Arabia to pursue a strong and unified international response that holds those responsible accountable for their actions," the White House said.

But emerging details suggest a potential strategy shift in Tehran's quest for influence in the Middle East could require a new level of vigilance.

Some have questioned whether the plot was crafted under the guidance of top-level Iranian leaders. The names dropped so far by the Obama administration are no small fish. Among the individuals sanctioned Tuesday by the Treasury Department for alleged ties to the plot were Quds Commander Qasem Soleimani and Abdul Reza Shahlai -- a Quds official notorious for his alleged role planning a 2007 attack which killed five American soldiers in Iraq.

A 2008 statement from the Treasury Department, announcing an earlier set of sanctions, had cited Shahlai for his role in planning the attack, as well as in helping supply weapons to and coordinate training for anti-U.S. groups in Iraq.

Shahlai's background underscores the kind of shift the latest plot could signify, if the information spilled by the lone suspect in custody is correct.

Whereas Iran had previously kept its international meddling to isolated attacks and coordination with militias in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, the attempted assassination would have been an unprecedented strike inside the United States aimed specifically at its dominant neighbor, Saudi Arabia.

Analysts said the plot shows how Iran is ratcheting up efforts to outflank the Kingdom as other nations in the region regroup following the Arab Spring.

"Together with Egypt, these are three countries that fervently believe that they should be the leaders of that region," said P.J. Crowley, former assistant secretary for public affairs at the State Department. He noted Egypt is "distracted" by its own political transition, leaving Saudi and Iran to duke it out.

"There is a definite connection in terms of the Arab Spring. How these transitions are playing out, it's raising the stakes for leadership in the region," he said on Fox News. "I think within that context, you see this plot between Iran and Saudi Arabia play out."

Crowley questioned whether the plot was a "rogue operation" by Quds-tied officials, or a "strategic decision" by top brass in Tehran to target Saudi Arabia "first and foremost."

Vice President Biden, in an interview on CBS' "Early Show," said it appears the perpetrators wanted to "punish the Saudi Kingdom."

KT McFarland, a former Defense official and Fox News national security analyst, said Wednesday that a plot against Saudi Arabia would point to another phase in the long-standing enmity between Iran's Shiite leaders and Saudi's Sunnis.

"What's brewing in the Persian Gulf is a fight of some sort between Iran and Saudi Arabia," she said. "Those tribes have been fighting each other for millennia and what you're seeing now is who's going to have dominance in the Gulf region."

Top U.S. officials described the plot as a threatening development. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday called it a "dangerous escalation" of Iran's terror sponsorship.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he wasn't surprised, given Iran's past activities, ranging from support of Hezbollah and Hamas, U.S.-designated terror groups closely tied to the Iranian regime, to its nuclear program to the export of weapons into Afghanistan.

Still, some questioned the claims of high-level involvement, which seem to derive in large part from the confession of the lone suspect in custody, Manssor Arbabsiar.

According to the Justice Department, Arbabsiar said he was "recruited, funded and directed" by apparent senior Quds officials.

Two former senior intelligence officials said that something about the plot doesn't sit right, and that it seems to go against Iran's pattern. One questioned why the Iranians would have allegedly tried to work through a Mexican drug cartel, as the Justice Department claimed, rather than Hezbollah.

But John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Iran may have taken the "seemingly incredible step" of going through a purported cartel representative so that they would leave "no fingerprints" on an attack that even by their standards would have been "very brazen."


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10 ... z1acKL8mnS

Originally Posted by Newmexican

This is an interesting take.

[b]The fast and furious plot to occupy Iran [/b

Wednesday, 12 October 2011 10:51

By MWC News

by Pepe Escobar

As soon as I heard this tale, I wrote to Pepe Escobar to ask him to consider writing a piece about this. He is one of my favorite journalists and is a featured writer for Asia Times. He wrote back thanking me and sent me a link to this article. Check out some of his other articles at:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/others/Escobar.html

Originally Posted by Skip

What if Iran is telling the Truth?


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That is a possibility.

carolinamtnwoman wrote:

As soon as I heard this tale, I wrote to Pepe Escobar to ask him to consider writing a piece about this. He is one of my favorite journalists and is a featured writer for Asia Times. He wrote back thanking me and sent me a link to this article. Check out some of his other articles at:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/others/Escobar.html

His piece on Lybia is very toughtful. Thanks for the link.