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Bush, Ashcroft, Terrorism and Guns: The Great Hypocrisy
BUZZFLASH
GUEST COMMENTARY
by Joe Sudbay
How many times have we heard the Bush Administration tell us they would do everything in their power to prevent terrorism? In his address to the United Nations on November 10, 2001, Bush announced, "We have a responsibility to deny weapons to terrorists -- and to actively prevent private citizens from providing them." Six weeks earlier, testifying before Congress on September 24, 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft stated unequivocally, "It's our position at the Justice Department and the position of this Administration that we need to unleash every possible tool in the fight against terrorism and to do so promptly."
Evidence is mounting that weak U.S. gun laws allow terrorists easy access to weapons. Yet when the issue is guns, the Bush Administration -- despite its early promises of a fight against terrorism, wherever it may lead -- has adopted a "hands off" policy. Why? Unfortunately for the health and safety of the American public, the answer is that Bush and Ashcroft care far more about the NRA than you and me.
Law enforcement officials have no doubt that for terrorists shopping for guns, U.S. shelves are always full. In a November 15, 2002 interview on the television news show NOW, retired Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) official Gerald Nunziato put it bluntly: "We have a major problem in this country with terrorism and firearms. Terrorists could come to this country and obtain firearms so easy....We sell anything in this country. It's very easy to obtain weapons here from gun shows, pawn shops, straw purchases, relatives, through newspaper ads." Last December, retired ATF resident agent in charge Daniel McBride told The Nation, "The United States has for many years been a warehouse, a shopping center, if you will, for firearms because of the ease of acquisition....We are a very easy place from which to obtain firearms for transshipment back home."
Under federal law, weapons like the military bred .50-caliber sniper rifle can be purchased just as easily as a hunting rifle or shotgun, and even more easily than a handgun. According to an eye-opening New Republic article published this month: "Many types of firearms can be purchased that easily in the United States. Few of them, however, would be as dangerous in the hands of terrorists. A .50-caliber sniper rifle, experts say, would be more than capable of shooting down an airliner as it took off or landed. Indeed, aimed properly, this weapon could be as effective as a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile, such as the one used by terrorists in an unsuccessful attack on an Israeli passenger plane in Kenya in November. But, whereas anti-aircraft missiles are highly restricted for civilians in the United States and decidedly difficult to obtain illegally, high-caliber guns....are available at your local gun shop, at gun shows, or even on the Web."
And although most Americans may be unaware of the .50's deadly potential, terrorists know it well. The Irish Republican Army has used .50-caliber sniper rifles to kill British military officers in Northern Ireland. More frightening is the fact that when the .50 first came on the market in the late 1980s, Al Qaeda was one of the first non-military purchasers.
The American arms bazaar is no secret -- as was made clear by a terrorist training manual found in Kabul following the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Titled "How Can I Train Myself for Jihad," the manual, which is also widely available on the Internet, advises: "In other countries, e.g. some states of USA, South Africa, it is perfectly legal for members of the public to own certain types of firearms. If you live in such a country, obtain an assault rifle legally, preferably AK-47 or variations, learn how to use it properly and go and practice in the areas allowed for such training." Jihad adherents have apparently taken this advice to heart. When an alleged terror cell was broken up in Oregon, the indictment alleged that five of the six suspects had undergone weapons training in the United States.
Faced with the facts, the Bush Administration has kept its mouth shut, its strings being yanked by the NRA and its grassroots adherents that have become so important to the Republican party base. For their friends in the NRA, Bush and Ashcroft have carved out a special interest gun exemption to the war on terror. The Administration knows better, and we deserve better. A first step for Bush and Ashcroft to begin fulfilling the anti-terror promises they made would be to regulate the deadly .50-caliber sniper rifle. Bush must also take a strong stand on re-authorizing the federal assault weapons ban which is scheduled to expire on September 13, 2004. Although Bush and Ashcroft have stated their support for maintaining the ban, this unavoidable debate will place them at odds with their NRA friends -- who have made termination of the ban a priority. Given recent history, it is hard to imagine that the Bush Administration would actually take a position contrary to the gun lobby. A free-flow of assault weapons and .50-caliber sniper rifles is the NRA's goal, despite the benefit it presents to the terrorists who aim to deny us the very freedoms that Bush and Ashcroft claim to defend. When it comes to the gun issue, the White House repeatedly contradicts its own anti-terror message, a glaring lesson in hypocrisy that benefits only terrorists and the NRA.
Joe Sudbay
Public Policy Director
Violence Policy Center
BUZZFLASH GUEST COMMENTARY
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