Gun Control & RKBA
Related: About this forumTargeting Eric Holder, Darrell Issa buys into gun nut delusions
By David Horsey
June 22, 2012, 5:00 a.m.
The brouhaha over Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. and the contempt of Congress charge brought by U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) are providing new evidence that the lunatics are running the Republican asylum.
Issa, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, would have us believe President Obamas assertion of executive privilege in the dispute -- an eleventh-hour stunt, he called it on Fox News -- is part of a White House cover up of something much more sinister.
---------
In response, conservative bloggers have gone ballistic about Obamas invocation of executive privilege, comparing it to Richard Nixons Watergate cover-up.
Just what is being covered up is not so apparent, at least to objective observers. But less-than-objective right-wing conspiracy theorists have a ready answer: Operation Fast and Furious was part of an elaborate plot to undermine the 2nd Amendment and take away citizens guns.
More: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-darrell-issa-delusions-20120621,0,2379788.story
What's your assessment of this brouhaha? Is Eric Holder in contempt of Congress? Should he resign?
Kolesar
(31,182 posts)This fits in with the broader conspiracy theory of Wayne LaPierre, the head of the National Rifle Assn. The NRA boss has insisted that the reason Obama has done nothing to harm the 2nd Amendment in his first term is so he can win another four years in office, at which point his administration will start confiscating guns with no fear of retribution from voters. According to LaPierre, Obama is not taking your guns now so he can take them later.
slackmaster
(60,567 posts)It was just a fuck-up.
Issa's efforts are also not the result of any kind of NRA-backed conspiracy. The point is to harass and embarrass the President in an election year. That's all there is to it.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)S_B_Jackson
(906 posts)and on Eric Holder's watch. It was not "inherited from Bush."
There is simply no fucking excuse for the lack of notification/coordination with the Mexican authorities, for the failure to make any reasonable attempt to track the 2000+ assault weapons that this program was responsible for making available - and which, in many cases, were ordered sold over the objections of FFLs who had called in for approval and were informing the ATF agents that the strongly suspected they were straw purchases.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)shadowrider
(4,941 posts)The object was to sell guns, use GPS to track the buyers to see where they went. The problem was the GPS batteries were only good for 36-48 hours and the buyers found out how to remove the tracking device. The program was a complete failure and was discontinued in 2007.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) ran a series of "gunwalking" sting operations[2][3] between 2006[4] and 2011.[2][5] This was done under the umbrella of Project Gunrunner, a project intended to stem the flow of firearms into Mexico by interdicting straw purchasers and gun traffickers within the United States.[6] "Gunwalking" or "letting guns walk" was a tactic whereby the ATF knowingly allowed thousands of guns to be bought by suspected arms traffickers ("gunrunners" working through straw purchasers on behalf of Mexican drug cartels.[7]
The stated goal of allowing these purchases was to continue to track the firearms as they were transferred to higher-level traffickers and key figures in Mexican cartels, in theory leading to their arrests and the dismantling of the cartels.[8][9] The tactic was questioned during the operations by a number of people, including ATF field agents and cooperating licensed gun dealers.[10][11][12][13][14] Operation Fast and Furious, by far the largest "gunwalking" probe, led to the sale of over 2,000 firearms, of which nearly 700 were recovered as of October 20, 2011.[15] A number of straw purchasers have been arrested and indicted; however, as of October 2011, none of the targeted high-level cartel figures have been arrested.[7]
Firearms "walked" by the ATF have been found at violent crime scenes on both sides of the MexicoUnited States border, including scenes involving the deaths of many Mexicans and at least one U.S. federal agent, Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. The "gunwalking" operations became public in the aftermath of Terry's murder.[2] Dissenting ATF agents came forward to Congress in response.[16][17] As investigations have continued, the operations have become increasingly controversial in both countries, and diplomatic relations have been damaged as a result.[2]
more at link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Wide_Receiver
Atypical Liberal
(5,412 posts)As I posted before under the old DU, there is evidence to indicate that this entire operation was a gun-running exercise to arm the Sineloa cartel to balance the power of the Zetas cartel, who are becoming powerful enough to effectively take over the government of Mexico.
I believe the second amendment attack was merely a happy consequence.
This is far beyond just a fuck-up. You can't run a gun-tracing operation and not even try to trace the firearms once they cross the border.
Here was my post from before:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=118&topic_id=469090&mesg_id=469153
ellisonz
(27,711 posts)Based on what evidence
Atypical Liberal
(5,412 posts)I had posted this before on the old DU, with sources. I will attempt to go find them again.
This had involvement from the DEA, ATF, Homeland Security, ICE, and CIA.
...
I cannot find it directly, just my later references to it. It came from testimony before Congress.
Found it:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php/counterpunch.org/bcnews.go.com/Blotter/egypt-crisis-omar-suleiman-cia-rendition/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x469090#469153
Atypical Liberal
(5,412 posts)http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/27/the_fast_and_furious_conspiracy?page=0,1
oneshooter
(8,614 posts)jpak
(41,761 posts)Tejas
(4,759 posts)Let me guess, you would lock this thread because it's not inflammatory enough as there's no mention of "lynching a black man" in the thread title?
jpak
(41,761 posts)For backing Issa and Grassley in the Fast and Furious Witch Hunt of Holder
yup