Posted on 03/28/2011 5:22:58 AM PDT by marktwain
The U.S. President told Univision’s Jorge Ramos during his recent tour of Latin America that neither he nor Attorney General Eric Holder authorized the operation
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said in an interview broadcast Sunday on Univision that he did not know about “Operation Fast and Furious,” a U.S. operation that allowed thousands of firearms to be smuggled into Mexico.
The president told Univision’s Jorge Ramos during his recent tour of Latin America that neither he nor Attorney General Eric Holder authorized the operation.
He also said that Holder has said repeatedly that U.S. policy is to capture weapons traffickers and put them in jail, adding that Holder had named an inspector general to investigate what had happened.
U.S. agents allowed the smuggling of guns into Mexico in an effort to trace the weapons to the highest levels of Mexico’s drug cartels.
Mexico has asked for detailed information about the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, operation, which has been the subject of numerous reports in the U.S. and Mexican media.
ATF lost track of hundreds of the weapons, U.S. media outlets reported.
The operation has created problems between the two governments, who are trying to move closer in their bilateral relationship, especially in the fight against drug traffickers, other organized crime groups and arms traffickers.
Obama reiterated that he had not been informed of the operation and added that he supposed that his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon, also had no knowledge of it.
But the president went on to say: “There may be a situation here which a serious mistake was made and if that’s the case then we’ll find out and we’ll hold somebody accountable.”
A former ATF agent told CBS last week that the operation was approved by a high-level official in the U.S. Justice Department.
Darren Gil, former head agent in Mexico for U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives operations, said his direct supervisor in Washington told him the sting had been approved by officials of higher rank than ATF director Kenneth Melson.
Gil said in an exclusive interview Friday with CBS investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson that he asked his supervisor if Melson was aware of the operation and the latter responded: “Yes, the director’s aware of it. Not only is the director aware of it, D.O.J.’s aware of it.”
CBS News reported that Gil told Attkisson that a senior Justice Department official, Lanny Breuer, visited Mexico last summer and told ATF staff about a big case against suspected gun smugglers that was having good results.
Of course Obama is going to say He Did Not Know About Firearms Operation in Mexico.
Basketball is much more important isn’t it?
I don’t necessarily believe Obama. He has lied before and he DEFINITELY believes “the end justifies the means.” Mr. Obama is devoid of any solid moral base.
That manchild is a LIAR!
Obumer and Holder knew about it.
It was their plan that was supposed to help regulate gun sales in southern states and further restrict the second amendment.
Remember, Obumer is the smartest man ever. How could he NOT know?
The lies just continue to flow whenever he opens his mouth.
“Basketball is much more important...”
... and golf and parties and vacations and...
Everyone who knew about it should be handed over to the Mexican government for trial.
For once I believe him. Barry Soetoro, aka Barrack Hussein Obama, has nary a clue about what's happening in his Administration. I don't think Obongo even knew that the US was bombing Libya until he read it in his daily teleprompter script. Other people far above his pay grade decide what our national policies are going to be and Barry's job is to sell them to the American people like an oily used car salesman sells a lemon to a mark.
“”I don’t necessarily believe Obama. He has lied before and he DEFINITELY believes “the end justifies the means.” Mr. Obama is devoid of any solid moral base.””
I wouldn’t believe him if he said “good morning.”
And by somebody, they mean somebody besides the people that actually authorized the "mission". We'll see where this goes. I suspect that we're in Libya partly so people will forget about this scandal. Some will but we won't, will we?
that would probably include the Mexican government. Calderon had to be complicit in this.
I agree. Holder and others developed this to support the President’s claim that US firearms were being used in Mexico.
The BATFE has, historically, been comprised of the most incompetent, brainless fools who could not make the cut at the FBI or CIA.
This clown seems to not know allot of things. What’s new?
Undah dee bus...
It's not his fault.
It does make perfect sense for the administration to bump up the number of guns from American gun shops used in Mexican crimes to push their gun control schemes, though.
The above is a quote from Freeper Mark Twain on another thread.
It is preposterous to believe that an operation of this size was instituted without clearance from the top level of government, i.e. Eric Holder and the President. If it were not, Obama and Holder would have already fired and started prosecution of those that instituted the gun walking scheme.
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