From Anthony Martin writing for the Examiner:

A retired agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) has revealed all of the clandestine facts concerning the agency’s operation known as Fast and Furious, the illegal scheme that placed thousands of firearms in the hands of Mexican drug criminals.

On Friday, GunMag, a publication of the Second Amendment Foundation, reported that the former agent revealed all to one its national correspondents in an informal talk at the firing range. The agent revealed that Fast and Furious was only one of a three pronged approach by the ATF to place draconian restrictions on the gun rights of American citizens.

The first line of attack was to discredit U.S. firearms dealers by blaming them for the fact that nearly 2,000 guns were somehow walked across the border where they wound up being used by Mexican drug cartels to commit crimes, including the murders of over 300 Mexican citizens and at least two U.S. federal agents. The plan was to withhold from the public vital information that ATF agents set up straw purchasers to buy the guns illegally and that the ATF had already solicited the “help” of the firearms dealers, insuring their cooperation by telling them they would be part of a federal sting operation.

But the scheme never had a chance due to the fact that a few conscientious ATF agents blew the whistle on the illegal activity, placing the agency under heavy fire from Republicans in Congress. Had the agents not come forward with the truth, then the scheme may have worked, and the public would have been treated to a nightly barrage of news reports describing in great detail how gun stores along the southern border are rife with corruption.

The second part of the ATF’s systematic effort to hamstring the gun rights of Americans was to place undue pressure on gun and ammo manufacturers and importers to the extent that they would be driven out of business. This they would do by arbitrarily applying rules and regulations in a manner in which they had never been used in the past.

Just a quick editorial note to point out that this is not a new tactic with the Obama administration. The nomination of Andrew Traver to head the ATF, considering his work with the Joyce Foundation, points to a very restrictive regulatory scheme envisioned by this administration if the nomination have been approved.  Furthermore, Obama’s nomination of Caitlin J. Halligan to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals argues for the same sort of vision.  Halligan, in her tenure as Solicitor General of the State of New York, attempted to hold firearms manufacturers and retailers responsible for crimes committed with guns.  In 2006, Halligan also filed a brief arguing that handgun manufacturers were guilty of creating a public nuisance.  This tactic is still alive and kicking in spite of federal law prohibiting such suits.

Apparently this is precisely what the ATF was doing earlier in the year when numerous reports were filed from the state of Alaska indicating that gun stores had been contacted by ATF agents instructing them to turn over their “bound books” containing the names and information of customers who had made purchases in their stores.

Agents told one dealer that the book was the property of the ATF and that the agency had the right to take it.

But the law states otherwise. The bound book is required by law to be kept on the premises of each gun dealer, available for inspection by the ATF but never removed unless the dealer goes out of business.

The ATF is further prohibited by law from accessing all of the information in the book. Only that information that is pertinent to an ongoing investigation is to be made available to agents.

Due to the public outcry against the ATF in this case, local Alaska congressmen and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, contacted the agency and requested an official review of the law and the practices of agents operating out of the Seattle Field Division, which has oversight of Alaska.

The result was that the ATF received a slap on the wrist.

A third prong of the overarching scheme of the ATF to mount a direct assault on the gun rights of citizens was a new concerted effort at what was described as “examination and testing.” Agents would place seized firearms under strict and thorough testing to determine whether or not they were in compliance with all federal laws. And if even a minor infraction were discovered, the gun owner in question would be arrested and prosecuted for possessing a firearm that did not meet federal standards.

All of this surpasses believability; it dovetails with reality as we currently know it.  Message to Darrell Issa.  Faster please!

In the most recent volume (paper copy only), Jerry Tsai writing for RECOIL magazine waxes on about the H&K MP7A1 and how it’s a good thing that it isn’t available to civilians (h/t Loose Rounds):

“Like we mentioned before, the MP7A1 is unavailable to civilians and for good reason. We all know that’s technology no civvies should ever get to lay their hands on. This is a purpose-built weapon with no sporting applications to speak of. It is made to put down scumbags, and that’s it. Mike Cabrera of Heckler & Koch Law Enforcement Sales and veteran law enforcement officer with SWAT unit experience points out that this is a gun that you do not want in the wrong, slimy hands. It comes with semi-automatic and full-auto firing modes only. Its overall size places it between a handgun and submachine gun. Its assault rifle capabilities and small size make this a serious weapon that should not be taken lightly.”

The reaction has been so intense within the firearms community that Jerry has issued an “apology” on behalf of RECOIL.

I’d like to address the comments regarding what I wrote in the MP7A1 article in RECOIL issue 4.  First and foremost, I’d like to apologize for any offense that I have caused with the article. With the benefit of hindsight, I now understand the outrage, and I am greatly saddened that it was initiated by my words.  Especially since, I am an unwavering supporter of 2nd Amendment Rights.  I’ve chosen to spend a significant part of both my personnel and professional life immersed in this enthusiasm, so to have my support of individuals’ rights called into doubt is extremely unfortunate. With that said, I retract what I wrote in the offending paragraph within this article. It should have had been presented with more clarity.

In the article, I stated some information that was passed on to me about why the gun is not available for civilian purchase. By no means did I intend to imply that civilians are not responsible, nor do we lack the judgment to own such weapons, if I believed anything approaching this, clearly I would lead a much different life. I also mentioned in the article that the gun had no sporting purpose. This again, was information passed on to me and reported in the article without the necessary additional context. I believe everything published in RECOIL up to this point (other than this story), demonstrates we clearly understand and completely agree that guns do not need to have a sporting purpose in order for them to be rightfully available to civilians. In retrospect, I should have presented this information in a clearer manner. Although I can understand the manufacturer’s stance on the subject, it doesn’t mean that I agree with it.

Again, I acknowledge the mistakes I made and for them I am truly sorry.

It isn’t so much the lousy apology from Jerry that’s ridiculous, it’s also the ignorant nature of the comment itself.  Whether he intended it or was misled to include this statement because H&K persuaded him, if he is really knowledgeable about firearms he wouldn’t have written the statement at all except to lampoon it.

While ATF lawyers might disagree, for something to have a “sporting purpose” means nothing more than it can be taken to the range and operated by the owner to his or her entertainment or training.  The shooting skills – whether for official competitions such as IDPA or 3-Gun, or for unofficial activities such as regular range visits for the purpose of betterment at the science of firearms operation – are sports.  All of them.  Period.  This is non-negotiable.  If it is a firearm, it has a sporting purpose.

Next, all weapons can be used to “put down scumbags,” and you don’t want any of them in the “wrong, slimy hands.”  If Jerry’s comments are ignorant, these comments are offensive.  The elitist mentality with law enforcement versus civilians is why readers at reddit/guns are so outraged (see here, here, here and here).

Basically, anything that law enforcement has I should be able to have.  As for the practical uses of an AR, see my Do We Have A Constitutional Right To Own An AR, where I document multiple examples of two, three, four and five-man home invasions (see also No One Needs ARs for Self Defense Or Hunting?).

Finally, while it is rather odd to see firearms periodicals edited by people ignorant of firearms, there is the additional problem of H&K.  Their MP5s and MP7s have long been unavailable to the civilian population of the U.S.  My own view is that military personnel learn to live with whatever they are given and trained to use.  Failures are merely things to overcome.

But a weapon or weapon system can’t really be considered to be tested and fully vetted until it is released to the American civilian market and reviewed by enough shooters to cause the word-of-mouth feedback loop to increase or decrease sales.  Money changing hands is the real firearms review and testing.  It’s easy to design weapons for people who are ordered to use them.  It’s much more difficult to design them for people who have a choice.

As for H&K, I’m disappointed in their attitude.  A few months ago I had considered overlooking their elitist mentality in order to purchase that nice looking H&K tactical 9mm.  Not any longer.  They have lost any potential business they would have gotten from me.  There are enough good manufacturers (Springfield Armory, Smith & Wesson, Rock River Arms, Ruger, etc.) that I don’t need H&K.  Perhaps I’ll reconsider when they learn to appreciate the civilian market.

UPDATE: Thanks to friend David Codrea for the attention.

To his children’s children.  So says the wisdom literature (i.e., Proverbs 13:22).  But that’s not what is happening, according to this (h/t/ Glenn Reynolds).

Nearly 40% of Generation Z, those ages 13 to 22, expect to receive an inheritance, according to a recent TD Ameritrade study. As a result, they don’t believe that they will need to save for retirement.

“There is a little bit of the halo effect of youth vs. the reality of what the situation will be like,” says Carrie Braxdale, managing director of investor services at TD Ameritrade. In fact, the odds are slim that young adults will inherit wealth because their parents face a less secure retirement world, with stock market turmoil and mounting health care costs.

Only 16% of parents said that they expect to provide an inheritance, says the TD Ameritrade study.

Among many other reasons, this is why the state playing god with the economy (viz., John Maynard Keynes) is inherently evil.  First of all, the very notion that the state can be omniscient and actually know and do everything necessary to propel it in the direction it needs to go is ludicrous on its face.  Second, even if it could, the state would have to decide on winners and losers, yet another reason that this concept is evil.

Outside of the fact that the older generation has given up on leaving an inheritance (sad enough by itself), when a state mismanages the economy to the point where a generation cannot do so, it presses them irresistably towards behavior contrary to the idea of the good man.

From CBS News:

The Obama administration on Friday declared the insurgent Haqqani network a terrorist body, a move that could undermine Afghan peace efforts and test fragile U.S.-Pakistani relations.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she notified Congress of her decision, which bans Americans from doing any business with members of the Pakistan-based militant group and blocks any assets it holds in the United States.

“We also continue our robust campaign of diplomatic, military, and intelligence pressure on the network, demonstrating the United States’ resolve to degrade the organization’s ability to execute violent attacks,” she said in a statement.

According to a senior U.S. official, it will likely take seven to 10 days for the designation process to be completed. The Haqqani network has been behind a large number of the attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan, and which U.S. officials have long pushed Pakistan’s leaders to target more aggressively.

Designating the Haqqani network a terrorist organization is a complicated political decision as the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan and pushes for a reconciliation pact to end more than a decade of warfare.

Enraged by a string of high-profile attacks on U.S. and NATO troops, Congress set a Sunday deadline for the administration to make a decision. U.S. officials say there were disagreements within the administration over what to decide.

The U.S. already has placed sanctions on many Haqqani leaders and is targeting its members militarily but has held back from formally designating the al Qaeda-linked network a terrorist group amid concerns about hampering peace efforts in Afghanistan and U.S. relations with Pakistan.

The Haqqani network is also believed to be holding U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl captive – the only U.S. service member held by militants in the region.

Analysis & Commentary

This move shows the degree of disconnectedness from reality of the Afghanistan campaign.  We are ten years into the effort, and as my coverage has shown, Jalaluddin Haqqani, his son Sirajuddin, and their network of fighters, have been at the center of the problem from the beginning.  His camps trained al Qaeda fighters, and it was from Haqqani that many of the jihadists from around the globe learned their military skills.

They are ensconced in the Hindu Kush in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, and freely operate against U.S. forces from both sides of the border.  They have done so for a decade, and are responsible for the most recent high profile attacks in Kabul.  This interview of Sirajuddin Haqqani is remarkable for its content, in that the network currently operates regionally but thinks globally based on the ideals of Islamic jihad.

And yet it is still begudging.  Note that there was debate within the administration as to whether this was undue presusre on our “ally,” Pakistan.  The State Department took this action because of Congressional pressure.  Within little more than one year, the bulk of U.S. forces will have been withdrawn from Afghanistan, and we are just now declaring one of their major military enemies to be a terrorist group.

This is a sign of desperation within the administration.  Population-centric counterinsurgency and state-building has been a failure in Afghanistan, as has temporary imprisonment of fighters in the hopes of rehabilitating them (a distinctly American imagination, with the truth here also begrudgingly acknowledged by the plans to retain responsibility for more than 600 fighters even after turnover of the prisons to Afghan authorities).

Richard Johnson makes an entry at National Post that is well worth the study time.  Richard is embedded near Tur-Muryani hill, which, if I am not mistaken, is near Sheykhan in RC East.  Some of Richard’s report is included below.

The mission on the face of it was simple and straightforward for the Afghan National Army’s (ANA) 6th Kandak – drive out to a specific highpoint overlooking the intersection of two rivers and build an outpost on Tur-Muryani hill. Unfortunately, the confluence of the Arghandab and Mizan valleys is home field for Taliban sympathizers, facilitators and the Taliban themselves — and is a main route for the materials of their war. They were likely to be less than happy at the more intense scrutiny from this new outpost, right in their back yard.

There were also a couple few hundred civilians – sympathizers or not – living in each village in the valleys to protect.

I have been living, drinking, sleeping and sharing wet wipes with U.S. Security Force Assistance Team (SFAT) 42 for the past week.

The U.S. SFAT mission here now is less aggressive, less invasive and much less visible to the average Afghan than the previous U.S. Army doctrine of military ownership of the battle space. According to their SFAT Standing Operating Procedures Manual (Feb 2012) their task now is to “improve the operational effectiveness of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), expand security gains throughout the region” that will “ultimately lead to the ANSF defeating the insurgency.” Nothing to it.

In the very early morning light the 6th Kandak and elements of their Engineer Corps from the 2nd Kandak readied itself for their mission. Men were rushing from side to side. Orders were shouted. Heavy equipment was loaded. Trucks were being fuelled. All within the narrow confines of the base.

I really felt like I had bonded with SFAT42 during the last week, but they dropped me from their road crew in lieu of someone actually useful — an interpreter. ‘NICE!’ guys?. They did arrange alternative wheels for me along with the Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) team commanded by U.S. Air Force (USAF) Staff Sergeant Justice Stevens alongside USAF Senior Airman (SRA) Frankie Larez on the Common Remotely-Operated Weapons System (CROWs).

All of the U.S. SFAT and support elements moved out of COP Mizan behind the ANA units, but not until a suitable time had passed. This was an ANA mission after all. The road to the hill was a bumpy one. I concentrated on the seat in front of me and talked to JTAC SSgt. Stevens.

Staff Sgt. Stevens had been along on the last SFAT operation into the Arghandab Valley back in April. SFAT42 plus ISAF support elements, and the 6th Kandak had been air dropped by Chinook into an area near Rabajuy village on the other side of the river from where we were now headed.

“The initial mission was planned as the first unilateral Afghan operation. All we were supposed to do was support them and advise them in how to operate. I am there to just give them the ability of air support, so we don’t put them in a situation where they are getting creamed” said Staff Sgt. Stevens.

On that day Staff Sgt. Stevens — along with SFAT42 Major Ethan Allen, 6th Kandak Colonel Altafullah and Cha-Cha, (Major Allen’s interpreter) — eventually situated on the top of a ridge line watching the ANA clear the villages below.

“We were in a circle. And the interpreter stood up and an IED detonated. It was like one big thud. I thought at first it was a mortar strike. Next thing I knew I was laying on my side. It blew my headset all to shit but it probably saved my hearing … the Major and the Colonel were initially blown unconscious by the blast … the interpreter had heavy damage to his head and leg. Then the Taliban started shooting at our location. At that time I requested an immediate show of force from two F16s on station just to suppress the small arms fire. Specialist Crooks and Second Lieutenant Collins arrived. Then we dragged everybody below the ridgeline out of the line of fire.”

The interpreter had a gaping head wound and a severed leg. Lieutenant Redlus arrived and helped me with him. We bandaged his head first. At one point I had my hand in his mouth to stop him swallowing his tongue while I synched the tourniquet on his leg. I synched it so much the pain brought him around..”

Over the next 15 minutes, Staff Sgt. Stevens and two ANA soldiers carried the wounded interpreter down off the ridgeline while under sporadic fire. Eventually – Sgt. Barraza the SFAT medic – arrived with a litter and they moved down the hill to the casualty evacuation point. Staff Sgt. Stevens then ran back up the hill.

“I went back up the hill to coordinate an airstrike on the enemy. But we could not locate them. Didn’t know where the ANA where either. So even if we found the guys we thought were Taliban we couldn’t fire in case we hit the ANA.”

It was a frustrating first mission for SFAT42. Staff Sgt. Stevens was hoping that the taking of this Tur-Muryani hill would be different.

Progress was slow on the drive. I’d felt ill all day, and had taken gravol. As we drove I drifted in and out of nausea and consciousness. In the Mizan Valley on our left the ANA were clearing the villages. I barely noticed much of this as I kept nodding off, drifting in and out listening to the radio chatter. The ANA discovered an IED. Asleep. A “boom” as they blew it in place. Awake.

When we finally reached the base of Tur-Muryani hill, I felt sturdy enough to at least get out of the vehicle. I watched the Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) guys sweep the area. I think I stood for an hour like this in the shade of the truck, breathing diesel, squinting into the bright light before finally venturing farther.

Six of us in a line climbed straight up the hill, with me dragging at the end – sucking water from my Camelbak. It was the hottest part of the day.

It wasn’t much of a hill really. Not by Scottish standards, anyway. But by the time we got to the top, we all were wheezing. Everyone collapsed for a while and found a rock to lean against. The view from the top was nothing short of spectacular. For 270 degrees we could see everything in both Valleys. I could understand why the Taliban might contest this ground.

The view into the valleys was quiet and idyllic, peaceful and green. No sign that this basin was the launching point for the almost nightly mortar, recoilless rifle, and machine gun attacks on the Afghan National Police (ANP) checkpoint on a hilltop behind me. There were some goats, a lot of pomegranate orchards, some grape fields and … laundry.

An hour or so later – trying to keep out of the way of the soldiers busy setting up the security perimeter – I sat down with “Doc” Sgt. Frank Barraza. Doc is the medical part of the SFAT42 team. One part of his job is to attempt to bring the ANA field medic skills up to speed. He was happy to be feeling at loose ends right then. He has a love-hate relationship with his job. He loves to help but hates seeing what he sees.

“I have been giving them (ANA) classes on field sanitation and disease prevention. They can stop hemorrhage but disease prevention is where they fall down. They are at about Vietnam level.”

The ANA don’t have medivac helicopters to speak of, and so even though they may stop someone bleeding out on the battlefield, they struggle to get their wounded to hospital. According to Doc, a wounded soldier that would likely be in surgery within 20 minutes within ISAF could take 150 minutes at best by ANA vehicle. This is Doc’s chief area of concern.

“It is one of the things we are asking them. How are you going to get a casualty from point A to point B if he is urgent surgical? They said, ‘We won’t.’ Without American help, they die,” he said.

The ANA also struggles to find and keep good doctors and medics.

“They are in an education slump right now. The medics are some of the brightest in the country. So they are willing to learn and they want to learn. But they (ANA) are afraid to send them to schools because they are worried they will quit the army and go into the civilian world.”

This AO has always been one of lacking effective or regular patrolling or force presence.  The Taliban were supposed to have a difficult time coming back to this AO in the spring, but of course, this has been the case since there has been a Taliban, and a spring, and great expectations set in place by the ISAF.

Read the whole report.  But one remarkable thing from the report is the degree to which the ANA is dependent on U.S. air power, MEDEVAC and logistics.  There is the problem of green on blue violence, but even if one ignores those problems, it isn’t obvious that Afghanistan will last a half year out of Taliban control without U.S. troop presence.

Police running everywhere.  That’s what I saw last week.  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, County Sheriff, N.C. Highway Patrol, men with suits, sunglasses and ear pieces, something called the Federal Protection Police (yes, for those who haven’t followed, this is part of the Department of Homeland Security), the guys associated with the Federal Protection Police who run around wearing khaki pants, white polo shirts and badges, and on and on it went.  There are also many police departments represented in Charlotte, and apparently, they like to visit a local gun shop.

Charlotte gun stores, while opposing President Obama’s effort to restore the assault weapons ban, are taking aggressive action to make sure that they don’t inadvertently supply protestors or lone wolf attackers with weapons to disrupt the Democratic National Convention.

“We’re from Charlotte and we don’t want anything to happen here,” said Larry Hyatt, of Hyatt Gun Shop, a big and popular supplier of guns and reloading equipment including gunpowder. “We’re capitalists, but we do live here,” he told Secrets in his sprawling and well-stocked store 2.5 miles away from the convention.

Silly concern in my opinion, that anyone would suddenly decide to become a “lone wolf” shooter at the President and then send someone into Hyatt to conduct a straw purchase and lie on form 4473 thinking that they will be successful.  Just silly – and more than a little paranoid.

But we do learn something from the report.  Apparently, police departments around the nation have become interested in Hyatt’s large inventory.

But he has an advantage in his effort: His store has become popular with police from the dozens of departments from around the country helping out with convention security.

I purchased my Rock River Arms AR from Hyatt Gun Shop.  I know this store, and have spent a good deal of time there.  Perhaps the Chicago Police have never seen so many law abiding citizens with guns in one place before?  I’m just saying.

Beat your wives, so says a very important Muslim cleric:

Egyptian cleric Abd Al-Rahman recently explained on Al-Nas television how a man is permitted to beat his wife.

“A good woman, even if beaten by her husband, puts her hand in his and says: ‘I will not rest until you are pleased with me.’ This is how the Prophet Muhammad taught his women to be,” Al-Rahman said in comment aired in August, according to a translation provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

“Islam instructs a man to beat his wife as a last resort before divorce, so that she will mend her ways, treat him with kindness and respect, and know that her husband has a higher status than her,” he said.

“I say to every husband: Do not rush to beat her whenever a problem arises. O servant of Allah, Allah said: ‘Admonish those of them on whose part you fear disobedience, refuse to share their beds, and beat them.’ One should not beat out of anger.”

Just recently I remarked that I listened to a sermon where the pastor said, “Don’t you ever strike a woman and call yourself a Christian” (a statement with which I heartily agree).”  Yet we find that the DNC has reached out to Muslims, inviting them to hold an officially sanctioned two hour prayer service as part of the convention.

Don’t think for a moment that this is something unique to the Middle East.  With the proliferation of honor killings in the U.S., what Islamic clerics in the Middle East say is more important than most people know.  In fact, the very sect being represented is part of a separatist Islamic movement within the U.S. who wants to replace the constitution with the Qu’ran.

All of this coincides with the removal of the word “God” from the DNC platform.  As I’ve remarked before, it’s remarkable how illiberal liberals can be.