As you may be aware, a major scandal has come to light at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, commonly known as the BATFE, or ATF. The US media has only begun to cover this story in a major way in the last few months - I have been tracking it since late February. No matter how you feel about guns or gun control, this is an important issue that could affect us all.
Basically, managers at ATF conducted a program that intentionally pumped guns into Mexico, WITHOUT TELLING THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT. They ORDERED federally licensed gun stores to sell guns to people who were obviously "straw purchasers" - people they would have normally refused to sell to.- people the knew were working for the cartels. A complete time line, with lots of links, can be found HERE.
The English speaking press here in the US has provided little coverage the reaction in Mexico. The Mexican people and government are LIVID over this. They are even more angered by the cover up. Many Mexican congressmen have called this an act of war. Last spring, Mexico expelled our ambassador. The Mexican government wants to prosecute those responsible IN MEXICO. The lack of a full an open investigation in the US is causing leaders in Mexico to come to dangerous conclusions. Last week the Mexican Attorney General stated publicly that she believes President Obama was behind it all.
What would we do if Mexico armed criminals in our country? Would we do nothing? If we do not investigate this matter there is a very real danger that the Mexican government may decide the they need to do something. What if they make peace with the cartels? What if they decide to align themselves with Venezuela and Iran? If we continue to treat the Mexican people and nation with contempt, we will have trouble.
The House investigation has been stonewalled, lied to and obstructed at every turn. For example, in response to a subpoena of documents the administration first ignored it and then responded by send documents of 95% of which were blacked out. In other cases, witnesses simply lied. We know they lied because the whistle blowers have supplied hundreds of documents.
Both the House and the Senate need to investigate this, without interference by members of the President's administration. Since the Senate committee is controlled by Democrats and the House committee is controlled by Republicans a full and fair investigation is possible - if the president will cooperate.
I am asking you to help by signing a petition on the White House website. The text of the petition and the link to the site where you can sign it can be found below. There is a simple registration process, after which you will be able to sign this or other petitions.
The Bill of Rights establishes our right to petition our government - let's use it!
The Petition at the White House Website can be found HERE.
