BATF Arms Drug Cartels,
Aids Arms Flow to Mexico
In one of the most boneheaded plans to ever come out of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) the agency allowed known straw-man purchases to cross the border into Mexico. This means the BATF has armed the drug cartels with almost 2,000 firearms.
Dubbed Project Fast and Furious inside the BATF, the plan was to allow straw purchasers to acquire weapons and the BATF could track them to Mexican drug cartels. In theory, the BATF was responding to an inspector-general report that criticized the agency for focusing on "small time straw purchasers" and not major gunrunners. The operation was supposed to lead them to major players.
Instead of being fast and furious, the operation bogged down and continued for fifteen months. Local agents protested that weapons were crossing the border and they were told to let it happen. By the time word of the operation leaked out, BATF had let almost 2,000 firearms disappear into the hands of questionable buyers.
The accusations first arose on a BATF-insider Internet forum called www.CleanUpATF.org, where suggestions of these possible misdeeds were characterized as rumors, speculation and "word on the street." The forum is a gathering place for current and former BATF employees frustrated with BATF management and aimed at rooting out waste, fraud, abuse and managerial malfeasance.
Accusations against the BATF officials consist of four separate but connected events.
- That BATF intentionally arranged to have hundreds of firearms "walked" across the U.S. border into Mexico.
- The BATF instructed U.S. gun dealers to proceed with questionable and illegal sales of firearms to suspected gunrunners.
- BATF intentionally withheld information about U.S.-sanctioned gun smuggling from the Mexican government.
- One of the guns BATF allowed or helped to be smuggled into Mexico was involved in the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
Many field agents questioned the decision by their supervisors. At times, the discussions became heated, with one agent reminding his superiors that the guns could be used to kill U.S. law enforcement officers. Still, the project was continued, despite the risks to civilians and L.E. personnel.
There is the remote possibility that the BATF was allowing guns to enter Mexico so that when they were recovered, they could bolster their claim that "90 percent" of the guns recovered come from American sources. Whether that was really the managerial goal or not, allowing vicious drug cartels to acquire firearms smacks of the Machiavellian tactics the BATF has long been known for.
History of Abuses
The BATF has a long history of abuse and legal deception. Repeated examples of botched raids, raids on wrong addresses, bad shootings and wrongful prosecutions were brought out in congressional testimony in the late 1970s, resulting in budget cuts from outraged members of Congress.
The BATF was also responsible for the twin tragedies of the Branch Davidians in Waco and the death of Vicki Weaver and 14-year old Sammy Weaver at Ruby Ridge.
BATF is now in damage-control mode as evidenced by their PR memo to their field offices. They want to play up positive stories about the agency and point to their successes.
Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) is investigating the claims even though he's been "blown off" by not only BATF directors, but also by Attorney General Eric Holder. The CCRKBA, Gun Owners of America and NRA (albeit a bit slower) are calling for investigations. Arizona papers are describing the current BATF responses to queries as a "cover-up".
What to do: Call your elected officials and ask them to support Senator Grassley's investigation. We can not afford to have a federal agency so lacking in oversight that it is actually allowing arms to be delivered to vicious drug cartels.
This is outrageous. Those who approved and managed this plan must lose their jobs, even if that includes the Attorney General. How many people will die for some boneheaded idea? How many innocent Mexican -- or American -- citizens will die in terror because of BATF incompetency?
Search the web with keywords ATF, Gunrunner, Gunwalker and scandal to find lots more.
No comments:
Post a Comment