When the news of Fast and Furious first broke months ago, President Obama and Attorney General Holder remained almost completely mute on the subject. When they finally addressed it, it was to say they hadn’t heard of Fast and Furious until May 2011 (eighteen months after it started). Slowly, however, as this ceased to satisfy questioners, they incorporated the simple assertion that neither of them had authorized walking guns into Mexico nor had they possessed detailed knowledge of the stateside inner-workings of the operation.
It’s ironic that their answer went from being one thing to being another thing to being yet another thing. And I point this because the weapons tied to Fast and Furious have gone from being assault rifles to sniper rifles to grenade components to (allegedly) a rocket launcher?
Yes – a rocket launcher.
And I add the word “allegedly” not because there’s any doubt over whether a rocket launcher has been found near the Mexico/Texas border, but because its origin in the Fast and Furious operation has yet to be established beyond a doubt. The jury’s still out because the launcher could be associated with another gun-smuggling operation the administration seems to be involved with in El Paso, TX and Columbus, NM.
For example, On July 27th I had a post on Big Government which highlighted reports in the El Paso Times detailing “an alleged gun smuggling operation in which Obama administration officials were selling military grade weapons to drug cartel members in Mexico.” Supported by at least one former DEA official and one “CIA contract pilot,” the allegations were that weapons had been regularly transported from the Dallas/Fort Worth area to El Paso, TX, and/or Columbus, NM. From either of those locations they then crossed into Mexico.
Now it appears some of those “military grade weapons” didn’t make it all the way to Mexico, because along with the rocket launcher, U.S. Border Patrol Agents found “a grenade launcher, and three packages of what appeared to be C-4 explosives” by the Rio Grande on September 13th.
What is going on here folks?
I almost forgot – along with the two launchers and the C4 there were also six assault rifles (and the assault rifles smell like Fast and Furious to me).
Let’s review: When we first learned about Fast and Furious, the news was that a number of assault rifles had been sold to straw purchasers. Soon, we learned that the number was approximately 2,500 and that some of those were .50 caliber sniper rifles. Then we learned that somewhere between 1,200 and 1,300 of the weapons were unaccounted for, and that the ATF had allowed another upstanding gentleman to walk grenade components into Mexico (I guess he ended up in Mexico: no one knows because the ATF lost him). And finally, we’re learning that just a few days ago, on our side of the border, U.S. Border Patrol Agents found rocket and grenade launchers, assault rifles, and C4 explosives.
We’ve got to get to the bottom of this mess. But until we do, everyone who’s interested ought to head down to their local Fast and Furious dealer and get a rocket launcher while supplies last.