"Fast and Furious"

[Annie]

Others brought this to the board back in February, March, but their threads were relegated to the conspiracy forum. Well guess what? It's breaking now. Over 2000 weapons, including AK's were sent by ATF to cartels. Iran Contra anyone? To think that the 'acting head' of ATF came up with this operation is farcical, but guess that is who goes under the bus.:

'Fast and Furious' Border Battle--Michael A. Walsh - NYPOST.com

A 'Fast and Furious' border fiasco

By MICHAEL A. WALSH

Last Updated: 2:48 AM, June 20, 2011

Posted: 11:08 PM, June 19, 2011

There's a war along the Mexican border all right, but it's not necessarily the one you're thinking of. In fact, this one has spread all the way to the halls of Congress.

This week, the Obama administration is expected to fire Kenneth Melson, the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives -- tossing him under the bus as a symbolic gesture to a congressional committee headed by Rep. Daryl Issa (R-Calif.).

Issa's Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating an insane ATF operation -- a supposed sting that involved the deliberate funneling of thousands of weapons to ultra-violent Mexican drug cartels in 2009-10.

The op's name, "Fast and Furious," came from the series of movies about an undercover drag racer working for the FBI -- which gives you some idea of the lack of seriousness behind this cockamamie scam.

The Justice Department, which oversees the ATF, says the idea was to allow the sale of handguns, AK-47s and .50 caliber rifles to so-called "straw purchasers," who'd then pass them along to the cartels. In theory, ATF agents would then trace the extent of the smuggling networks in an effort to stop the illegal cross-border gun trade.

Oops No 1: The agency had no real way to trace the guns once they left the country -- and no real power to operate in Mexico.

...

ATF agent calls gun-tracking program a 'disaster' - USATODAY.com

ATF agent calls gun-tracking program a 'disaster'
By Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY

Updated 3d 23h ago

WASHINGTON — Three federal gun agents told a House committee Wednesday that dozens of gun traffickers suspected of working for Mexican drug cartels were "allowed to walk free" during an investigative operation that allowed hundreds of guns to fall into the hands of cartel enforcers and other criminals along the southwest border.

In emotional testimony before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Phoenix-based Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents also apologized to the family of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, slain last year by alleged cartel associates in a firefight where two weapons purchased in the risky ATF program were recovered.

"What we have here is a colossal failure of leadership," said ATF agent Pete Forcelli, a supervisor in the Phoenix office. "We weren't giving guns to people for killing bear, we were giving guns to people to kill other humans. This was a catastrophic disaster."

Forcelli and fellow agents John Dodson and Olindo Casa said they repeatedly raised concerns to their bosses about the risks associated with ATF's Operation Fast and Furious, designed to dismantle large cartel trafficking networks. But, they said, their warnings were dismissed...

"ATF will not comment on any of the allegations brought at the hearing due to the ongoing criminal investigation and federal prosecution (into Terry's death), as well as (the Justice Department's) Office of Inspector General review," ATF spokesman Drew Wade said.

At the hearing, committee members appeared to be shaken by the testimony and mystified by the strategy.

"With these guns going to Mexico, what we are doing is turning the guns on ourselves," said Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the panel's ranking Democrat. "This is unprecedented," said Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., a former federal prosecutor.

Prior to joining the ATF in Phoenix, Dodson told the panel that he had "never been involved in or even heard of an operation in which law enforcement officers let guns walk."

"I cannot begin to think of how the risk of letting guns fall into the hands of known criminals could possibly advance any legitimate law enforcement interest."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303823104576391794276380486.html

JUNE 20, 2011

A Drug-War Plan Goes Awry
Frustrated ATF agents testify that their bureau's 'Operation Fast and Furious' let weapons get into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.

By MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADY

One of the frightening things about the U.S. government's war on drugs is that it is being waged by federal bureaucracies. The legend of Elliot Ness notwithstanding, this implies that it is not only fraught with ineptitude but that before it is all over, there are going to be a lot of avoidable deaths.

Witness "Operation Fast and Furious," a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms plan that allegedly facilitated the flow of high-powered weapons into Mexico in the hope that it might lead to the take-down of a major cartel. It did not. But it may have fueled a spike in the murder rate and led to the death of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry...

...One agent described his frustration: "Every day being out here watching a guy go into the same gun store buying another 15 or 20 AK-47s or variants or . . . five or tenDraco pistols or FN Five-seveNs . . . guys that don't have a job, and he is walking in here spending $27,000 for three Barrett .50 calibers . . . and you are sitting there every day and you can't do anything." Agents say that their concerns, expressed to supervisors, were rebuffed. There was even a threat of dismissal if they didn't get with the program.

At the same time, violence was spiking in Mexico. In an email dated April 2, 2010, the group's supervisor reported that in the month of March "our subjects" had purchased 359 firearms and that 958 people were killed in Mexico in drug violence. It was the bloodiest month since 2005 and included 11 policemen in the state of Sinaloa. As another agent interviewed for the staff report said: "We were all sick to death when we realized . . . what was going on or when we saw what was going on by the trends. We were all just, yes, we were all distraught."

Well, not all. The agents interviewed say supervisors viewed the bloodshed with chilling indifference—or worse. As the report summarizes, "An increase of crimes and deaths in Mexico caused an increase in the recovery of weapons at crime scenes. When these weapons traced back through the Suspect Gun Database to weapons that were walked under Fast and Furious, supervisors in Phoenix were giddy at the success of their operation."

...

 

[Claudette]

Guess the Boy Kings administratin has some splainin to do??

Wonder who else will end up under that bus??

 

[Avatar4321]

If anything should impeach Obama, it would be this scandal. Purposely giving weapons to drug dealers, thugs, and gangs to create chaos and use the results to justify more gun control is wrong. Not to mention theyve made themselves accessories to murder and other high profile crimes associated with providing weapons with these known criminals.

I hope whomever runs for President remembers this stuff and turns this into an add agaisnt the Regime.

 

[Google]

If anything should impeach Obama, it would be this scandal. Purposely giving weapons to drug dealers, thugs, and gangs to create chaos and use the results to justify more gun control is wrong. Not to mention theyve made themselves accessories to murder and other high profile crimes associated with providing weapons with these known criminals.

I hope whomever runs for President remembers this stuff and turns this into an add agaisnt the Regime.

This whole scandal has Obama written all over it. The intrigue continued as the Justice Dept, after originally denying any knowledge, stonewalled the congressional investigation and refused to release any documents.

Some whistle-blowers have stepped forward regarding the goal of this operation. Obama has been claiming that violence in Mexico is not Mexico's fault, that it's actually America's lax gun control laws that are responsible for the ills of Mexico. These whistle-blowers have alleged that the true aim of this operation was to document the damage these weapons inflicted in Mexico to eventually build a case against the American Gun Industry.

The media and the ATF continue to hold that the goal was to go after the drug cartels, but the blaring inconsistency of arming drug cartels to go after them doesn't add up.

This has Obama written all over it. You can tell because only Fox News is reporting on the facts of this investigation.

 

[Annie]

If anything should impeach Obama, it would be this scandal. Purposely giving weapons to drug dealers, thugs, and gangs to create chaos and use the results to justify more gun control is wrong. Not to mention theyve made themselves accessories to murder and other high profile crimes associated with providing weapons with these known criminals.

I hope whomever runs for President remembers this stuff and turns this into an add agaisnt the Regime.

This whole scandal has Obama written all over it. The intrigue continued as the Justice Dept, after originally denying any knowledge, stonewalled the congressional investigation and refused to release any documents.

Some whistle-blowers have stepped forward regarding the goal of this operation. Obama has been claiming that violence in Mexico is not Mexico's fault, that it's actually America's lax gun control laws that are responsible for the ills of Mexico. These whistle-blowers have alleged that the true aim of this operation was to document the damage these weapons inflicted in Mexico to eventually build a case against the American Gun Industry.

The media and the ATF continue to hold that the goal was to go after the drug cartels, but the blaring inconsistency of arming drug cartels to go after them doesn't add up.

This has Obama written all over it. You can tell because only Fox News is reporting on the facts of this investigation.

Obama? Possible. Holder? Much more likely. Fox? BS, they only picked up when the committee started meeting, a head of the MSM, but hardly led the story.. The lid opened a bit by Hot Air, Pajamas Media, and some smaller blogs. They began writing about Gun Walkers and straw men and the connections with spike in Mexican violence way back in early February. Today it was reported in all MSM outlets, televised and written.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

Why is this administration allowing illegal strawman purchases. I'd be thrown in jail if I were to purchase a weapon this way. Yep, they have a lot of explaining to do.

 

[WillowTree]

Others brought this to the board back in February, March, but their threads were relegated to the conspiracy forum. Well guess what? It's breaking now. Over 2000 weapons, including AK's were sent by ATF to cartels. Iran Contra anyone? To think that the 'acting head' of ATF came up with this operation is farcical, but guess that is who goes under the bus.:

'Fast and Furious' Border Battle--Michael A. Walsh - NYPOST.com

A 'Fast and Furious' border fiasco

By MICHAEL A. WALSH

Last Updated: 2:48 AM, June 20, 2011

Posted: 11:08 PM, June 19, 2011

There's a war along the Mexican border all right, but it's not necessarily the one you're thinking of. In fact, this one has spread all the way to the halls of Congress.

This week, the Obama administration is expected to fire Kenneth Melson, the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives -- tossing him under the bus as a symbolic gesture to a congressional committee headed by Rep. Daryl Issa (R-Calif.).

Issa's Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating an insane ATF operation -- a supposed sting that involved the deliberate funneling of thousands of weapons to ultra-violent Mexican drug cartels in 2009-10.

The op's name, "Fast and Furious," came from the series of movies about an undercover drag racer working for the FBI -- which gives you some idea of the lack of seriousness behind this cockamamie scam.

The Justice Department, which oversees the ATF, says the idea was to allow the sale of handguns, AK-47s and .50 caliber rifles to so-called "straw purchasers," who'd then pass them along to the cartels. In theory, ATF agents would then trace the extent of the smuggling networks in an effort to stop the illegal cross-border gun trade.

Oops No 1: The agency had no real way to trace the guns once they left the country -- and no real power to operate in Mexico.

...

ATF agent calls gun-tracking program a 'disaster' - USATODAY.com

ATF agent calls gun-tracking program a 'disaster'
By Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY

Updated 3d 23h ago

WASHINGTON — Three federal gun agents told a House committee Wednesday that dozens of gun traffickers suspected of working for Mexican drug cartels were "allowed to walk free" during an investigative operation that allowed hundreds of guns to fall into the hands of cartel enforcers and other criminals along the southwest border.

In emotional testimony before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Phoenix-based Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents also apologized to the family of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, slain last year by alleged cartel associates in a firefight where two weapons purchased in the risky ATF program were recovered.

"What we have here is a colossal failure of leadership," said ATF agent Pete Forcelli, a supervisor in the Phoenix office. "We weren't giving guns to people for killing bear, we were giving guns to people to kill other humans. This was a catastrophic disaster."

Forcelli and fellow agents John Dodson and Olindo Casa said they repeatedly raised concerns to their bosses about the risks associated with ATF's Operation Fast and Furious, designed to dismantle large cartel trafficking networks. But, they said, their warnings were dismissed...

"ATF will not comment on any of the allegations brought at the hearing due to the ongoing criminal investigation and federal prosecution (into Terry's death), as well as (the Justice Department's) Office of Inspector General review," ATF spokesman Drew Wade said.

At the hearing, committee members appeared to be shaken by the testimony and mystified by the strategy.

"With these guns going to Mexico, what we are doing is turning the guns on ourselves," said Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the panel's ranking Democrat. "This is unprecedented," said Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., a former federal prosecutor.

Prior to joining the ATF in Phoenix, Dodson told the panel that he had "never been involved in or even heard of an operation in which law enforcement officers let guns walk."

"I cannot begin to think of how the risk of letting guns fall into the hands of known criminals could possibly advance any legitimate law enforcement interest."

O'Grady: A Drug-War Plan Goes Awry - WSJ.com

JUNE 20, 2011

A Drug-War Plan Goes Awry
Frustrated ATF agents testify that their bureau's 'Operation Fast and Furious' let weapons get into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.

By MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADY

One of the frightening things about the U.S. government's war on drugs is that it is being waged by federal bureaucracies. The legend of Elliot Ness notwithstanding, this implies that it is not only fraught with ineptitude but that before it is all over, there are going to be a lot of avoidable deaths.

Witness "Operation Fast and Furious," a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms plan that allegedly facilitated the flow of high-powered weapons into Mexico in the hope that it might lead to the take-down of a major cartel. It did not. But it may have fueled a spike in the murder rate and led to the death of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry...

...One agent described his frustration: "Every day being out here watching a guy go into the same gun store buying another 15 or 20 AK-47s or variants or . . . five or tenDraco pistols or FN Five-seveNs . . . guys that don't have a job, and he is walking in here spending $27,000 for three Barrett .50 calibers . . . and you are sitting there every day and you can't do anything." Agents say that their concerns, expressed to supervisors, were rebuffed. There was even a threat of dismissal if they didn't get with the program.

At the same time, violence was spiking in Mexico. In an email dated April 2, 2010, the group's supervisor reported that in the month of March "our subjects" had purchased 359 firearms and that 958 people were killed in Mexico in drug violence. It was the bloodiest month since 2005 and included 11 policemen in the state of Sinaloa. As another agent interviewed for the staff report said: "We were all sick to death when we realized . . . what was going on or when we saw what was going on by the trends. We were all just, yes, we were all distraught."

Well, not all. The agents interviewed say supervisors viewed the bloodshed with chilling indifference—or worse. As the report summarizes, "An increase of crimes and deaths in Mexico caused an increase in the recovery of weapons at crime scenes. When these weapons traced back through the Suspect Gun Database to weapons that were walked under Fast and Furious, supervisors in Phoenix were giddy at the success of their operation."

...

I've posted about this several times. Each time the liberals have done the "head up the ass trick."

 

[Flagwavrusa]

What did Obama know, and when did he know it?

If the press does its job this could get pretty interesting.