Federal gun smuggling

[Calgaryborn]

This story has been slow to gain traction even though there is an on going Congressional investigation in the States. Plus it involves the death of several Mexicans and at least one AFT officer in the States. This all with weapons purchased with taxpayers money and then allowed to be transported across the Mexican border.

The reasons vary from supposedly wanting to track them to the buyers to wanting to plant evidence of American guns being smuggled into Mexico in order to enact stricter gun control laws. There even has been the suggestion that the CIA was somehow pulling the strings because they faviour one crime family over the others. What is clear is that both AFT agents and FBI agents were involved and so far they can trace the chain of command to 3 people in the Justice Department who answer to the Attorney General and 3 people in the White House who answer directly to the President. Both the Attorney General and the President deny any knowledge.

Most of the whistle blowers have been ATF agents who weren't allowed to stop the guns from going across the border and started making noise when one of their own agents was gunned down States side with one of these weapons. It is there opinion that the exercise was purely political in motive because the government wanted evidence to use as a basis to inact stricter gun laws.

The good news in all of this is that it appears that every american gun store that was used to purchase these weapons reported the suspicious nature of the transactions to the AFT. They did this with no law in place that compeled them to. They did this while the purchaser was still in the store and were instructed to let the transaction take place.

The bad news is that over 1000 weapons are still unaccounted for and are turning up at crime scene in Mexico. This has been front page news in Mexico. Needless to say they are none to happy with the States.

Bloggers have been carrying this story for some time. Of the major networks only Fox and suprisingly ABC has carried some of this story. Pretty remarkable considering the Congressional hearings taking place and how much time the networks has to devote to Michael Jackson's doctor's case.

This link is great because the guy has put together every news piece he has been able to find on the story and he up dates it a couple times a week:

http://reasonedpolitics.blogspot.com...and-batfe.html

[burn_this_city]

CNN had a bunch of articles on operation fast and furious a couple months ago.

[oilyfan]

Seems like a serious miscalculation by ATF on how fast they could catch the gang bangers as opposed To a politically motivated scheme to enact stricter gun laws.

You mean the US government has to devise a scheme like this to push their agenda? They just can't use the highest gun related violence rate in the civilized world to do it? Or the fact that every other week there is a fatal shooting in the US?

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by oilyfan

Seems like a serious miscalculation by ATF on how fast they could catch the gang bangers as opposed To a politically motivated scheme to enact stricter gun laws.

That doesn't fit the narrative Fox is pushing.

[billybob123]

Stupid program that really failed spectacularly. I saw a report that showed that the guns were supposed to be tracked by GPS, but the batteries in the trackers ran out soon after the guns were "sold". Geniuses, all of them. I miss the OP's take on how it's all about gun control, though. As usual.

The real problem in all this is the illegal trade across the Mexico-US border - drugs north, guns south. How do you stop both of them?

[burn_this_city]

End prohibition.

[pylon]

inb4 mikey

[HOZ]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

End prohibition.

Shoot them all

[SeeBass]

those mexicans better get on that wall

[transplant99]

This story will not end well for a lot of people...including Obama.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

those mexicans better get on that wall

That would work wonders, I'm sure no one would be enticed by the money and fill the void immediately after.

[SeeBass]

Would this be the same country that is mad at Pakistan for arming Afghans?

[mikey_the_redneck]

Obama and Eric Holder should be removed from office for trying to undermine the 2nd amendment through this phony gun tracking scheme.

They were trying to "track" the guns? What, they don't know who the cartel leaders are?

[THE SCUD]

Looking forward to when America comes to its sense and inacts stringent gun control, like the rest of its civilized, western brethern. I hope they go towards a gun control model like Luxembourg.

In fact, I've heard that one of Obama's 2012 policies, should he be elected, will be to enact gun control legislation.

Makes sense, no one needs a gun.

[mikey_the_redneck]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...t-and-furious/

Evidence suggests American agencies are purposely arming the Sinaloa cartel to act as a counter-balance to the Los Zetas.

"In an effort to prevent a Los Zetas takeover, Uncle Sam has gotten into bed with the rival Sinaloa cartel, which has close ties to the Mexican military. Recent court filings by former Sinaloa cartel member Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla, currently in U.S. custody, reveal that the United States allowed the Sinaloas to fly a 747 cargo plane packed with cocaine into American airspace - unmolested."

"The CIA made sure the trade wasn’t one-way. It persuaded the ATF to create Operation Fast and Furious - a “no strings attached” variation of the agency’s previous firearms sting. By design, the ATF operation armed the Mexican government’s preferred cartel on the street level near the American border, where the Zetas are most active."

[pylon]

Originally Posted by THE SCUD

Looking forward to when America comes to its sense and inacts stringent gun control, like the rest of its civilized, western brethern. I hope they go towards a gun control model like Luxembourg.

In fact, I've heard that one of Obama's 2012 policies, should he be elected, will be to enact gun control legislation.

Makes sense, no one needs a gun.

But... but.... but... New world order, defending my home.... lizard people, um.. er uh, MY COLD DEAD HANDS! yeah.

[mikey_the_redneck]

Somewhat related.....

Wachovia Bank caught financing and laundering money for Mexican drug cartels..

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-0...-u-s-deal.html

"The smugglers had bought the DC-9 with laundered funds they transferred through two of the biggest banks in the U.S.: Wachovia Corp. and Bank of America Corp., Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its August 2010 issue.
This was no isolated incident. Wachovia, it turns out, had made a habit of helping move money for Mexican drug smugglers. Wells Fargo & Co., which bought Wachovia in 2008, has admitted in court that its unit failed to monitor and report suspected money laundering by narcotics traffickers -- including the cash used to buy four planes that shipped a total of 22 tons of cocaine.
The admission came in an agreement that Charlotte, North Carolina-based Wachovia struck with federal prosecutors in March, and it sheds light on the largely undocumented role of U.S. banks in contributing to the violent drug trade that has convulsed Mexico for the past four years."

"Wachovia admitted it didn’t do enough to spot illicit funds in handling $378.4 billion for Mexican-currency-exchange houses from 2004 to 2007. That’s the largest violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, an anti-money-laundering law, in U.S. history -- a sum equal to one-third of Mexico’s current gross domestic product.
“Wachovia’s blatant disregard for our banking laws gave international cocaine cartels a virtual carte blanche to finance their operations,” says Jeffrey Sloman, the federal prosecutor who handled the case."

[mikey_the_redneck]

The gun grabbers are terribly short sighted. Their arguments are based on emotions and political correctness more than anything.

[THE SCUD]

Originally Posted by mikey_the_redneck

the gun grabbers are terribly short sighted. Their arguments are based on logic and respect for the sanctity of life more than anything.

fyp

[SeeBass]

Originally Posted by mikey_the_redneck

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...t-and-furious/

Evidence suggests American agencies are purposely arming the Sinaloa cartel to act as a counter-balance to the Los Zetas.

"In an effort to prevent a Los Zetas takeover, Uncle Sam has gotten into bed with the rival Sinaloa cartel, which has close ties to the Mexican military. Recent court filings by former Sinaloa cartel member Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla, currently in U.S. custody, reveal that the United States allowed the Sinaloas to fly a 747 cargo plane packed with cocaine into American airspace - unmolested."

"The CIA made sure the trade wasn’t one-way. It persuaded the ATF to create Operation Fast and Furious - a “no strings attached” variation of the agency’s previous firearms sting. By design, the ATF operation armed the Mexican government’s preferred cartel on the street level near the American border, where the Zetas are most active."

A new idea by the CIA I'm sure this wont come back to bite them in the end.