Yon Continues Parroting Mexican Gun Canard
Once more, with feeling.
Yon is still bitterly clinging to the Mexican Gun Canard. When he’s not calling us fanatics for pointing out facts and stuff, he’s happily parroting talking points that have been proven false. The latest is Yon’s re-publishing a rebuttal to a FoxNews piece by Todd Bensman. You see, you should take Todd’s word for it because Yon knows him. And he’s a great guy who probably likes puppies. Only, he’s a great guy who happens to be full of shit:
The notion that 90 percent of the guns recovered from Mexican cartels can be traced to US retailers derives from hard ATF trace statistics. The majority of the recovered guns that are traced – not all are – have been traced to American retailers, unless the ATF is just making it all up, and no one has even alleged such a thing.
The article in question from FoxNews is here. The article addresses the claim that 90 percent of the weapons used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States. And the reason why that claim is false is because it is derived from the ATF stating that 90% of the weapons ATF traces came from the US. In other words, only 90% those guns ATF is asked by Mexico to trace originate here. Not 90% of all guns.
Bensman continues:
Then offered as proof one of the most minuscule slivers of the total seizure take: some military weapons that came from Guatemala. It’s the height of intellectual dishonesty- and terrible analytical thinking – to lump this tiny fraction of military weapons in with the much larger UNtraced group of firearms and call them the same, that they came from Israel and China. That’s what this Fox reporter did and to someone knowledgeable like me shows how horribly he was manipulated.
That has little to do with the debunking the 90% stat but I find it interesting. Whenever you read the news, they show pics of LAW, RPGs, beltfed machine guns, grenades and other military hardware. And imply such weapons are coming from the US and its gun shows. Pointing out that they are not is valid.
Now, I have no doubt that guns are getting into Mexico from the US. But not 90% of them; not the military hardware they show us on the TeeVee news; and the issue is overstated. The AK-47s the gangs are using are not coming from the US either.
That’s what this Yon guy is repeating and, to someone knowledgeable like me, shows how horribly he was manipulated.
Clenched fist salute to Unix Jedi.
April 8th, 2009 at 9:38 am
and when is the Instapundit going to call him out for this??
April 8th, 2009 at 9:40 am
This feels kind of weird.
Yon earned his blogging chops doing embedded self-published news reporting in Iraq. He was involved in ambushes, had close calls with death, and did a good job writing about the military situation on the ground there. He eventually published a book on the subject.
When he writes about stuff he knows, he’s very good. However, he’s apparently pretty ignorant about civilian firearms law in the US, and actual practice at US gun shows.
I fail to see how he could be unaware of the drug cartel’s weapons of choice; I also fail to see how he could fail to understand the problems of the Mex-Mil and Mex-Law-Enforcement, and the way in which this affects supply of weapons to drug gangs.
April 8th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Yon is rapidly losing credibility, at least among the honest. I suspect he may have been bought out and is now owned by the anti’s.
April 8th, 2009 at 11:43 am
When he writes about stuff he knows, he’s very good. However, he’s apparently pretty ignorant about civilian firearms law in the US, and actual practice at US gun shows.
Indeed. One wonders what he would think about war reporting that showed a similar level of ignorance. Or why he’d bother spouting off about things he obviously knows little to nothing about.
April 8th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Yet another quibble:
Yes, 90% of the traceable guns (better known as 17% of the total guns) trace to the US.
That does not mean they trace to US retailers. I’m pretty sure the ATF can trace guns that the .gov bought straight from the maker and shipped off to somewhere else.
In fact, I’d be rather interested to know what percentage actually did trace back to retailers, and how long ago they were sold.
After all, even if only 1% of the traceable guns came from retailers if most of those showed up in Mexico in a few months then there is a problem we need to fix.
April 8th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
This is like saying that because 90% of the people in a cardiologist’s office have heart problems, 90% of the population has heart problems.
Guns that are send from Mexico to the US to be traced are very likely to trace to America, because they don’t send them if they know they are from Mexico or some country that isn’t America.
April 8th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Someone needs to clue by four Yon before his credibility is shot to hell by parroting false information. He really is in his element in the ME but he’s absolutely clueless when it comes to arms in Mexico and their origination.
April 9th, 2009 at 2:45 am
Yon is independant and that means he gets info and make his own opinion wrong or right as that may be. He is wrong here and getting slammed rightly. I do not take his word on ME either. His stories are Ok and great on the small stuff but his strategic vision is lacking. He sees the trees but not the forest. I did not read him for strategic vision but the view on the ground.
I read a variety to get the overall view which gave me a leg up on the surge strategy in November way before Bush announced it. A Col Patakin I belive came up eith the idea to work with the sheiks. Regrettably he was killed soon after.
So Yon has good stories about the units he worked with and the type of people which gave me a feel. But more than that he was no more accurate than a lot of bloggers.
I like Michael Totten he give a tourist view of areas which is differnt perspective. Doesn’t meaan his analysis is always right or wrong. Just a differnt view.
Yon step into this and he can dig himself out. I don’t feel his OPINION is any better than mine. His analysis is wrong and that was obvious.
April 9th, 2009 at 9:06 am
I’m pretty disappointed with Yon on this one. He’s smart enough to know better. It appears that Gen. McCafferty (sp?) has had a big influence on this.
April 9th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I’m all about stopping the small amount of semi-auto weapons from being smuggled into Mexico. It’s hard enough to find an AK now as it is, and have you seen the frickin prices?
And yeah, Yon lost my support when he called gun owners “fanatics.”
April 10th, 2009 at 12:44 am
While I agree that just because there is a plentiful supply of guns from the U.S. (and other countries), everyone should not jump on people who report it (the fact that most of the small arms can be traced to the U.S.) In fact, to 8 states in the U.S. with Texas leading as far as small arms being traced by serial number.
Yon and others report what they see, what they are told and then very seldom their opinion other than what they might think or even believe, but letting you do your own decision making.
If you choose to say that they are telling everybody that the U.S. is the portal for machine guns, bazookas and other military weapons, go right ahead, but just show me where they say that or even infer it.
They don’t
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA