Did the Obama White House Authorize Gun Smuggling into Mexico?

Submitted by may on Sun, 2011-04-03 01:59

CBS News broke the story back in February.  Agents of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms appeared to have aided and encouraged the illegal purchase of high-powered firearms in United States gun shops, pushed the gun shop owners to sell the guns, and then aided the smuggling of the guns into Mexico.

The Obama White House apparently channeled more than $10 million of Obama Stimulus money to support this smuggling operation.  A lot of money was made on this smuggling operation, and it is still unclear who authorized this apparent criminal activity and who were the recipients of this money.

These smuggled guns were used to kill members of rival Mexican gangs, apparently Mexican police and military, and even US agents.  The excuse given by the Attorney General Eric Holder and his Department of Justice for this apparent criminal activity was that the gun smuggling was somehow for the purpose of tracking illegal guns in Mexico.  Guns were smuggled into Mexico and sold.  Apparently the serial numbers of the guns were recorded?  It appears no satellite or other tracking devices were imbedded in the guns.  Most of the guns simply disappeared into Mexico and have not been identified since.

“Project Gunrunner” was started in 2005, with apparent bipartisan support.  The initial intent of the program was to stop smuggling of guns into Mexico.  Sometime in the past few years the nature of the program was changed.  It is not clear who authorized these changes, and President Obama denies that either he or Attorney General Eric Holder authorized the gun smuggling for profit.  CBS reported,

Keeping American weapons from getting into the hands of Mexican gangs is the goal of a program called "Project Gunrunner." But critics say it's doing exactly the opposite. CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports on what she found.
December 14, 2010. The place: a dangerous smuggling route in Arizona not far from the border. A special tactical border squad was on patrol when gunfire broke out and agent Brian Terry was killed.
Kent, Brian's brother, said "he was my only brother. That was the only brother I had. I'm lost."
The assault rifles found at the murder were traced back to a U.S. gun shop. Where they came from and how they got there is a scandal so large, some insiders say it surpasses the shoot-out at Ruby Ridge and the deadly siege at Waco.
To understand why, it helps to know something about "Project Gunrunner" an operation run by the ATF the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Attkisson went on to comment about the implications of Project Gunrunner and the indictment,

"Project Gunrunner" deployed new teams of agents to the southwest border. The idea: to stop the flow of weapons from the US to Mexico's drug cartels. But in practice, sources tell CBS News, ATF's actions had the opposite result: they allegedly facilitated the delivery of thousands of guns into criminal hands.
CBS News wanted to ask ATF officials about the case, but they wouldn't agree to an interview. We were able to speak to six veteran ATF agents and executives involved. They don't want to be quoted by name for fear of retaliation. These are their allegations.
In late 2009, ATF was alerted to suspicious buys at seven gun shops in the Phoenix area. Suspicious because the buyers paid cash, sometimes brought in paper bags. And they purchased classic "weapons of choice" used by Mexican drug traffickers - semi-automatic versions of military type rifles and pistols.
Sources tell CBS News several gun shops wanted to stop the questionable sales, but ATF encouraged them to continue.
Jaime Avila was one of the suspicious buyers. ATF put him in its suspect database in January of 2010. For the next year, ATF watched as Avila and other suspects bought huge quantities of weapons supposedly for "personal use." They included 575 AK-47 type semi-automatic rifles.
ATF managers allegedly made a controversial decision: allow most of the weapons on the streets. The idea, they said, was to gather intelligence and see where the guns ended up. Insiders say it's a dangerous tactic called letting the guns, "walk."
One agent called the strategy "insane." Another said: "We were fully aware the guns would probably be moved across the border to drug cartels where they could be used to kill.
On the phone, one Project Gunrunner source (who didn't want to be identified) told us just how many guns flooded the black market under ATF's watchful eye. "The numbers are over 2,500 on that case by the way. That's how many guns were sold - including some 50-calibers they let walk.
50-caliber weapons are fearsome. For months, ATF agents followed 50-caliber Barrett rifles and other guns believed headed for the Mexican border, but were ordered to let them go. One distraught agent was often overheard on ATF radios begging and pleading to be allowed to intercept transports. The answer: "Negative. Stand down.
CBS News has been told at least 11 ATF agents and senior managers voiced fierce opposition to the strategy. "It got ugly..." said one. There was "screaming and yelling" says another. A third warned: "this is crazy, somebody is gonna to get killed.
Sure enough, the weapons soon began surfacing at crime scenes in Mexico - dozens of them sources say - including shootouts with government officials.

The Mexican government was not aware of the gun smuggling sanctioned by the Obama White House Justice Department.  This apparently has cooled the United States relationship with Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

The Department of Justice has at the same time tried to blame inadequate gun control laws in the United States for the gun smuggling.  Gun smuggling into Mexico has been promoted as a reason to limit gun ownership by law abiding US citizens. 
As more information becomes available, I am certain the implication of White House complicity and corruption, including that of both Obama and Holder, will deepen and become clearer.  For the present, Obama is denying any knowledge that people in his Department of Justice were helping to smuggle guns into Mexico.

The White House has been stonewalling the subpoenas of information on the gun smuggling.  Michelle Malkin reported,

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today announced the issuance of a subpoena to the Department of Justices’ Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for documents related to the highly controversial “Project Gunrunner.”
“The unwillingness of this Administration – most specifically the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms – to answer questions about this deadly serious matter is deeply troubling,” said Chairman Issa. “Allegations surrounding this program are serious and the ability of the Justice Department to conduct an impartial investigation is in question. Congressional oversight is necessary to get the truth about what is really happening.”

The corruption and criminal activity apparently sanctioned by the Obama White House is staggering.  The apparent fact that White House ATF agents have been smuggling guns into Mexico and the Department of Justice and politicians are using this smuggling as an excuse to place more restrictions on the ability of law abiding citizens to own guns is both appalling and criminal.
Can Representative Issa and others in our House of Representatives do anything to stop this?  Can President Obama and his Administration be brought under control and made to obey the Constitution and our laws?  Will Obama, Holder, and others ever be held accountable for this gun smuggling?
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