Was ‘Gunwalker’ a PR Op for Gun Control?

[OnePimpTiger]

Was ‘Gunwalker’ a PR Op for Gun Control?

The most damning revelations coming out of the hearings on Operation Fast and Furious held by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform are the unmistakable indications that the program was never designed to succeed as a law enforcement operation at all.

A quartet of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) agents and supervisors turned into whistleblowers to bring the operation down, but only after U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was gunned down in the Arizona desert. Two of the weapons recovered at the scene of Terry’s murder were traced to the operation.

Fast and Furious, also known by the more accurate “Gunwalker,” allowed known straw purchasers to buy large quantities of firearms — often a dozen or more semi-automatic rifles — at a time with the full knowledge of ATF agents and executives. The guns were then smuggled into Mexico, as frustrated front-line ATF agents watched, under strict orders to do nothing.

ATF agents testifying in front of the House Oversight Committee could not explain how the operation was supposed to succeed when their surveillance efforts stopped at the border and interdiction was never an option.

ATF Agent John Dodson, testifying in front of the committee, said that in his entire law enforcement career, he had “never been involved in or even heard of an operation in which law enforcement officers let guns walk.” He continued: “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.”

The obvious answer is that Gunwalker’s objective was never intended to be a “legitimate law enforcement interest.” Instead, it appears that ATF Acting Director Ken Melson and Department of Justice senior executives specifically created an operation that was designed from the outset to arm Mexican narco-terrorists and increase violence substantially along both sides of the Southwest border.

Success was measured not by the number of criminals being incarcerated, but by the number of weapons transiting the border and the violence those weapons caused. An ATF manager was “delighted” when Gunwalker guns started showing up at drug busts.

Why would our government actually watch firearms be purchased in large quantities and smuggled across the Mexican border to be used in cartel wars that spill over into the southwestern US with no intention of ever intervening or attempting to stop them? Because you're trying to back up a false claim about the percentage of cartel war firearms coming from America.

[theonedru]

What this basically boils down to is a branch of the government knowingly supplying arms to terrorist. The people in charge of this should be in jail for decades to say the least and a Mexican prison at that, no cushy American hotel prisons for these morons.

[mrveggieman]

What this basically boils down to is a branch of the government knowingly supplying arms to terrorist. The people in charge of this should be in jail for decades to say the least and a Mexican prison at that, no cushy American hotel prisons for these morons.

What the American gov't aiding and providing supplies to terrorists?? No I can't believe that.

[INTIMADATOR2007]

This was an attempt to ban firearms in the USA ,nothing more . They attempted to get guns in the hands of the drug cartels and have them show up at crime scenes ,so they can say the guns come from america and enact very tough gun laws here . Instead they ended up killing a border control agent and several more people . Eric Holder has his hands all over this problem and he should be sent to prison and anyone else that knew what the intentions of the guns were for should be there with him. Of course Obama says he didn't know about this , Yeah right . Put him up wiith Holder !

[MadMan1978]

Is this really a topic worthy of any discussion?

[OnePimpTiger]

Is this really a topic worthy of any discussion?

I thought people might be interested in our government actually watching weapons being bought and smuggled across the border to be used in drug wars that spill over into the southwest, yet doing absolutely nothing about it, especially with the big deal that's being made about those guns being used in those drug wars. Apparently the government are not the only ones not interested in stopping it....

[MadMan1978]

yeah ok

again the confines of this forum really handcuff a person from let out true statements

[INTIMADATOR2007]

Is this really a topic worthy of any discussion?

If you don't think that our Government supplying guns that killed a border control agent is not worth disscussing ,Then your head is somewhere it shouldn't be .

[OnePimpTiger]

yeah ok

again the confines of this forum really handcuff a person from let out true statements

Well let me ask why do you consider this not worthy of discussion? I honestly can think of a reason anyone would be ok with this.

[MadMan1978]

your source