EDITOR'S NOTE: Over the last few months, POTUS revealed the "cause" of "gun violence" (sic) in the US was the private purchase, ownership and possession of firearms. This is not a new screed -- I vividly recall the nonsense in the run-up to the 1968 Gun Control Act. On March 24, 2009, in this newswire service, I first covered Gen. McCaffrey's after-action report on a trip to Mexico to discover "the cause" for the drug violence there. I bet you can't guess what he identified -- like any good little statist, he found it was us. I'm re-running this piece as this is election season -- and today's "Super Tuesday." Remember, this piece ran before the ATF gun-smuggling scandal "Fast & Furious" erupted. When the General's little paper gained no traction, F&F seemed to swing into action -- based on a previously unsuccessful ATF operation, this one appears to be the proximate cause of the loss of a federal border agent plus scores of Mexican citizens. Read this and remember, it's an election year. A veteran of the US Army, I've been known to have some respect for other military veterans. Since the expiration of my term of service, I've even been known to respect a few military officers - current and former, active and retired. I figure someone doesn't get to be a highly ranked Army officer (or Marine officer - any service branch) without having something on the ball. Sometimes it's hard to find what someone has on the ball however. A person fitting that category is General Barry R. McCaffrey, USA (Ret.) A "drug czar" under President Clinton, the General is apparently still active and seeking something to do. On the internet, I found his "after action report" (AAR) to a visit to Mexico, that visit occurring on 5 through 7 December 2008. (Report By way of a detour, there are places in Mexico one would be foolish not to visit during that time of the year. While wondering if the good General availed himself of those resort destinations, I recognize the digression and put a halt to it. While showing extraordinary good sense in going south for the winter, our intrepid General showed nothing else by way of good sense. In his AAR, subtitled "Memorandum for Colonel Michael Meese, Professor and Head Department of Social Sciences" (sic), he determined that the cause of the massive violence from the Mexican drug cartels along the border was the U.S., specifically that nasty little cultural quirk that citizens can be armed if they want to be. Let's explore the General's assertions, taken from the .pdf of the memo and found at the General's website on Al Gore's internet. Section 5. C.: "The bottom line--- nearly 7000 people murdered in the internal drug wars since 2006--- 3,985 murdered this year alone through 25 November. The outgunned Mexican law enforcement authorities face armed criminal attacks from platoon-sized units employing night vision goggles, electronic intercept collection, encrypted communications, fairly sophisticated information operations, sea-going submersibles, helicopters and modern transport aviation, automatic weapons, RPG's, Anti-Tank 66 mm rockets, mines and booby traps, heavy machine guns, 50 cal sniper rifles, massive use of military hand grenades, and the most modern models of 40mm grenade machine guns." This section gives us an impression that drug gangs down there have access to military arms, including submersibles - submarines! They support their operations with rockets, mines, "heavy machine guns, 50 cal sniper rifles (sic), . . . military hand grenades, and . . . 40mm grenade machine guns." Wow. This gives pause. Where do they get this stuff? Section 6. D.: "Mexican law enforcement authorities and soldiers face heavily armed drug gangs with high-powered military automatic weapons. Perhaps 90% of these weapons are smuggled across the US border. They are frequently purchased from licensed US gun dealers in Texas, Arizona, and 7 California. AK-47 assault rifles are literally bought a hundred at a time and illegally brought into Mexico. Mexican authorities routinely seize BOXES of unopened automatic military weapons. The confiscation rates by Mexican law enforcement of hand grenades, RPG's, and AK-47's are at the level of wartime battlefield seizures. It is hard to understand the seeming indifference and incompetence of US authorities at state and Federal level to such callous disregard for a national security threat to a neighboring democratic state. We would consider it an act of warfare from a sanctuary state if we were the victim. "The bottom line---the US is ineffective and unresponsive to Mexican concerns about weapons, bulk cash, and precursor chemicals flowing south into Mexico from the United States--- with a blow-torch effect on the security of the Mexican people." That's plenty of bovine excreta through which to cut. Taken one part at a time, we find this: "Mexican law enforcement authorities and soldiers face heavily armed drug gangs with high-powered military automatic weapons. Perhaps 90% of these weapons are smuggled across the US border. They are frequently purchased from licensed US gun dealers in Texas, Arizona, and 7 California. AK-47 assault rifles are literally bought a hundred at a time and illegally brought into Mexico." Ok, they have high powered military automatic weapons - 90% of which are smuggled across the US border. What? Are they hitting National Guard Armories? No, they are "frequently purchased from licensed US gun dealers in Texas, Arizona, and California." Uh, no they're not. High powered military automatic weapons are covered by the National Firearms Act of 1934. They're not buying them from gun dealers. Check with a Class 3 into the price of a Browning M2 - if you can find one for sale. Oh, don't forget Form 4, the transfer. I'm sure BATFE has the photos and fingerprints of the guys who got these transferred before they were illegally taken into Mexico. And the AK-47 "assault rifles"? We don't have any. We have semi-auto variants but even those are restricted by parts content - a certain number of parts in new AK-style guns have to be made here. Of course, the General apparently wouldn't know an assault rifle if you dropped one on his foot. "The confiscation rates by Mexican law enforcement of hand grenades, RPG's, and AK-47's are at the level of wartime battlefield seizures. It is hard to understand the seeming indifference and incompetence of US authorities at state and Federal level to such callous disregard for a national security threat to a neighboring democratic state." Okay, General. Let me explain this so even you can understand it: US gun dealers, federal licensees every one, DON'T SELL HAND GRENADES, RPGs OR AK-47s (in the sense you mean AK-47). The indifference and "incompetence" of US authorities at state and Federal level(s) is precisely because the war materiel is brought into Mexico from other countries, specifically in Central and South America and from (rumor has it) southeast Asia. And some of the gear is likely coming from the Mexican military. You talk about incompetence? You want to blame your own country and its Constitution - that document you swore an oath to defend against all enemies, foreign or domestic - for a problem that is internal to Mexico. Why would you render a report with such a conclusion - a conclusion that is obviously false? Well, there can only be two reasons. You may be lying intentionally - for political expedience perhaps? The only other conclusion is that you are incompetent - you failed to examine the situation in light of the law and regulations and just took what someone told you at face value. I don't want to believe either possibility; not about a highly decorated US Army officer who served his country gallantly and with a dedication that befits the uniform we wore. I want to believe the best about our officers, particularly of such high rank. A simple mistake, perhaps "completed staff work" gone wrong? I would hope so. You were wrong. Admit it, publicly, and let's get it behind us. -- Rich Grassi