Nixon Was Forced Out For Less

Understand this: Project Gunrunner began in 2005. Operation Fast and Furious, deliberately allowing known smugglers to purchase firearms, began in 2009.

The present botched program, sometimes referred to as "Fast and Furious" or "The Gunwalker Scandal," does, however, involve governmental attempts at cover-up and hindrance of investigation.

Remember, it was the cover-up and the hindrance of the Watergate investigation that brought down the Nixon administration — not the break-in itself.

A simplification of the present scandal from the sidebar of Sipsey Street Irregulars:

The Gunwalker Scandal Made Simple

There are five key accusations against ATF and DOJ made by ATF whistleblowers and other sources within FedGov:

1. That they instructed U.S. gun dealers to proceed with questionable and illegal sales of firearms to suspected gunrunners.

2. That they allowed or even assisted in those guns crossing the U.S. border into Mexico to "boost the numbers" of American civilian market firearms seized in Mexico and thereby provide the justification for more firearm restrictions on American citizens and more power and money for ATF.

3. That they intentionally kept Mexican authorities in the dark about the operation, even over objections of their own agents.

4. That weapons that the ATF let "walk" to Mexico were involved in the deaths of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and ICE agent Jaime Zapata, as well as at least hundreds of Mexican citizens.

5. That at least since the death of Brian Terry on 14 December, the Obama administration is engaged in a full-press cover-up of the facts behind what has come to be known as the "Gunwalker Scandal."

What is the official explanation for the gunrunning operations involving the ATF, ICE, the DAD, DEA, DOJ, the State Department, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security — and apparently included gunrunning operations from Tampa to Honduras?

Why would so many agencies of the federal government involve themselves in a massive scheme to deliberately place U.S. guns into the hands of Mexican drug cartels and criminal elements in the Central American country of Honduras?

The official explanation given by the government is that the scheme was concocted to trace the illegal activity of criminals in Mexico in order to eventually capture and prosecute such persons. But those captures never occurred. And no one was prosecuted. Instead, at least 2 American agents were murdered by the smuggled guns, and at least 150 Mexican citizens were slaughtered by the cartels who used American firearms given to them by the U.S. Government.

Additional information HERE, including the following:

Justice Department officials sought to limit and control [BATFE Acting Director Kenneth Melson's] communications with Congress.

[...]

The evidence we have gathered raises the disturbing possibility that the Justice Department not only allowed criminals to smuggle weapons but that taxpayer dollars from other agencies may have financed those engaging in such activities.

More information about about Gunwalker HERE at Maggie's Notebook, with frequent updates.

In my view, most Americans know more details about the high-profile trial of Casey Anthony than about the corruption charges that should be leveled against the Obama administration.

One should wonder if some of these gunrunning assault weapons have ended up in the hands of Hezbollah. After all, it is a fact that Hezbollah is present in Mexico and involved with the drug cartels. See this pdf file from the Tucson Police Department; the release is dated September 20, 2010. Excerpt:

Based on a study done by Georgetown University, the number of immigrants from Lebanon and Syria living in Mexico exceeds 200,000. Along with Iran, Syria is one of Hezbollah’s strongest financial and political supporters, and Lebanon is its country of origin.

In July of [2010], Mexican authorities arrested Jameel Nasr in Tijuana, Baja California. Nasr was alleged to be tasked with establishing the Hezbollah network in Mexico and throughout South America. In April of [2009], the arrest of Jamal Yousef – in New York City – exposed a weapons cache of 100 M- 16 assault rifles, 100 AR-15 rifles, 2,500 hand grenades, C4 explosives and antitank munitions. According to Yousef, the weapons, which were being stored in Mexico, had been stolen from Iraq with the help of his cousin who was a member of Hezbollah.

With the arrest of Jameel Nasr and Jamal Yousef, obvious concerns have arisen concerning Hezbollah’s presence in Mexico and possible ties to Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTO’s) operating along the U.S. – Mexico border.