Operation Gunwalker, Fast and Furious

No point is of more importance than the right of impeachment should be continued. Shall any man be above justice? Above all, should that man be above it who can commit the most injustice?
George Mason, 1787


There is now testimony that establishes that the ATF was joined by the IRS, the DEA, and ICE in the investigation into illegal arms sales. This ATF operation was called Operation Gunwalker and also know as Operation Fast and Furious.

On the surface I would applaud this type of investigation. Rather than try to disarm law abiding citizens the federal government should enforce the laws that have been on the books for decades.

Thanks to an ATF agent with a conscience we know:
1. The operation was approved at the highest levels of the Department of Justice (Holder?).
2. Operationally the Obama-appointed Attorney General in Arizona provided leadership.
3. The ATF promoted and other agencies supported the “straw purchases” of about 2000 weapons (i.e., assault weapons and .50 calibre rifles).
4. The weapons were not tracked as they were transported into Mexico

The ATF agent in charge in Mexico was denied information on the operation, as were the Mexican authorities. The illegally purchased weapons have been linked to many deaths in Mexico already, including the death of one and maybe two US federal agents.

The US gun stores cannot be faulted because the FBI coordinated with the ATF and cleared the purchaser during the required criminal background check at the time of each ATF bogus purchase.

Great effort was made to compartmentalize the operation with the intent to give the President and Attorney General Holder plausible deniability. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will certainly uncover the truth and it now points to Holder and Obama.

In the meantime we are left with the question: Why? Operationally it was put together by a neophyte if the intention was a prosecutable sting against the Mexican drug cartels. There was no clear joint operation and no involvement by our agencies in Mexico, not to mention the absence of a Mexican liaison.

Ultimately, we must find out the true purpose of Operation Gunwalker. Coincidentally as this operation unfolded, the President and Secretary of State fired a barrage of accusations against Americans “selling” weapons illegally to the cartels. Their purpose was to garner support for more gun control laws domestically and support for the UN international arms control treaty globally.

In the past the problem has always been to positively identify weapons found in Mexico. While most cannot be purchased legally in the US it has been established that most come from illicit sales by international arms dealers and foreign military sources. But Operation Gunwalker would place ATF-provided and traceable weapons in Mexico for the drug cartel’s use. The Mexican authorities would find these and, at our request, provide the serial numbers for identification. Obama could then point with certainty to the corrupt American gun shop owners and cast a shadow on all law abiding Americans who purchase weapons.

Fortunately, agents on the ground in Arizona understood the folly and danger of it all. One of the ATF-sponsored weapons was used to kill a US border patrol agent and that was intolerable. I salute the moral courage and determination of the whistleblowers to expose the ATF-approved charade.

Unfortunately, we must suffer the embarrassment brought upon us by irresponsible and culpable federal bureaucrats. Those directing the operation should be investigated and prosecuted. Federal agents cannot be allowed to behave like criminals and break the law.

It is no wonder that the cover up and the intimidation of Congressional witnesses has been so fast and furious.

Strength and Honor.