Sunday, April 10, 2011

Ruben Navarrette: Mission too fast, too furious?

"Mission un-accomplished. I thought the goal of federal law enforcement officials was to keep guns out of Mexico and away from drug traffickers, not help them get in."

So, just to be clear: We have the Justice Department investigating itself.

This is why a congressional inquiry is necessary. Issa wants to know everything about the Fast and Furious operation. Who created it? Who approved it? Who knew about it?

Those questions build up to an even bigger one: Did one of the guns that were allowed to be taken into Mexico wind up in the hands of the drug trafficker who killed Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in a December shootout?

According to CBS, the trafficker who was arrested in connection with Terry's murder, Jaime Avila, was being tracked by the ATF and two of the assault rifles involved in the operation were found at the murder scene.

So it's possible that one agency's incompetence contributed to the death of a law enforcement agent in another branch.

The White House is well aware of this story. President Obama was asked about the controversial ATF program recently during an interview with Univision anchor Jorge Ramos. While conceding that the initiative might have been a "serious mistake," Obama was quick to distance himself from it.

"Well, first of all, I did not authorize it," Obama told Ramos. "Eric Holder, the attorney general, did not authorize it. He's been very clear that our policy is to catch gun runners and put 'em into jail."

Not very Trumanesque, was it? Apparently, when things go wrong, the buck doesn't stop with Obama. Can this story get any worse? Sure it can, depending on who knew what and how high it goes.

This is why the answers that Darrell Issa is seeking are so important, and why the Obama administration must provide them — one way or another.

7 comments:

RKV said...

Ruben generally takes the pro-Mexican line in his other writings, especially when it might harm non-Mexican Americans. Not saying he's got this wrong, but consider the source.

Anonymous said...

He's flat wrong about one thing: This wasn't incompetence. This strategy was a planned to elicit a specific response; more gun control. It was nothing but a manufactured "crisis".

Sean

Anonymous said...

Not long after obama and company took control. Holder and Clinton both were making statements and giving interviews about all the US guns ending up in Mexico. That was shot full of holes and surprisingly the talk stopped. Being the talk was stopped by facts that clearly showed that US guns were not being traced at violent Mexican drug gangs crimes. Or in fact being taking in by the Mexican LE in raids on such gangs.
So without question, as the facts start rolling in and keep rolling in on this operation. Its very clear that very high up people in obama's command were involved. We know now for sure that both Barry and Eric (Hillary too) knew about this illegal operation but when and how much. This operation is beyond just a crime but its full on TREASON to manufacture crimes to pass laws to restrict American citizen's Constitutional rights. By law, TREASON is a crime that carries the death penalty. Yes these criminals have a lot to lose and every dirty trick in the book will be played to stop justice from even getting a foothold at getting to the bottom of this TREASONOUS operation.
Blame: Using the 1938 Nazi Gun Laws for our 1968 Gun Laws that expand ATF. And not making obama prove that he's a genuine Natural Born Citizen. The system has failed the American people but for how much longer?

Pat H. said...

"Project Gunwalker" is what you get when you have an illegitimate agency, that has no Constitutional authorization, attempting to regulate a "thing" that is prohibited from regulations of any kind.

Complete lawlessness on the part of government.

Yes, this "project" was not a product of incompetence, it was a product of an agency that expects no accountability of any kind, an agency that gets away with murder routinely.

It was a product of hubris, of pomposity.

All must remember, the only illegal gun, the only illegal weapon, is one that is stolen from its rightful owner.

We must all demand that view from ALL governments.

W W Woodward said...

The ATFs' "going after Mr Big" story has more holes that a shotgunned 5 gallon pail, unless of course the ATF planned to take down "Mr Big" while armed with bean bags.

The Mexican law enforcement agencies were kept in the dark, ATF doesn't have arrest authority in Mexico, and the agency's personnel are forbidden by Mexican law from carrying while on the Mexico side of the Rio Grande.

I am waiting with bated breath to see how they plan to lie their way out of this.

[W3]

Kurt '45superman' Hofmann said...

I agree, RKV, I've written about Navarrette, who in support of the BATFE's desire to require reporting of multiple rifle purchases, advocated just tossing the separation of powers out the window:

But what about keeping the issue of the Mexican drug war, which has cost more than 30,000 lives, out of the clumsy hands of U.S. politicians?

Also 100% in agreement with Anon--"Project Gunwalker" was working just the way the top of the government wanted to--until it was discovered.

Anonymous said...

I notice - as seems to be the norm within the "professional journo-listers" - that NO credit was given to the people who have been uncovering and pushing this story for months.
emdfl