In various other threads discussing the possibility of banning firearms in the US, I'd like to point out why such a ban would be impossible to enforce. Taking a lesson from various on-going conflicts, the only thing that would happen is that smugglers ( often supported by other countries) would see to it that firearms and ammo of all descriptions would flow into the country using known smuggling routes thru Mexico, Canada, and both coasts. The US cannot control several thousand miles of border tightly enough to stop it.
Quote:
Arms have been shipped from Libya to support Syrian fighters since almost immediately after the fall of Muammar Qaddafi, according to an international cargo shipper based in the Mediterranean who said the movement of arms is well-known in Benghazi.
The source, who for years has run multiple cargo ships between Libya, Turkey and other countries in the region, questioned why other countries like the U.S. aren't using those routes as well to help anti-Assad forces.
"We did it before, taking arms into Libya to support the rebels and it worked. I don't see why we don't do it now and take the arms to help the Syrians fight Assad," the source told Fox News.
From his location in the Mediterranean, the source told Fox News that ships, including some of his own, left weekly from multiple Libyan ports, including Misrata and Benghazi. The size of the arms cargo varied, but some of his ships carried in excess of 600 tons of weapons. Some of these same shipments also included professional fighters from across the region that assembled in Libya and thus have been dubbed "The Libyan Brigade," headed to the fight in Syria against the Assad regime.
As a New York Times report ties Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to arms shipments into Libya during the civil war to overthrow Muammar Qaddafi, two separate British sources who have been on the ground for the last four years in Benghazi told Fox News the movement into Syria was very similar to the movement of weapons into Libya. "Weapons and fighters were absolutely going to Syria, and the U.S. absolutely knew all about it -- though most shipments have stopped since the attack on the American Consulate," one said.
Due to obvious security concerns, both the British sources and the Mediterranean shipping owner want to remain anonymous, but have spoken with Fox News on multiple occasions from their locations. Their details mirror those provided to Fox News by an American contractor worried if he goes public, he will never work again. All say that the weapons from Libya have mostly been offloaded at docks in Turkey, but some of the shipments end up off the coast of Lebanon, where they are offloaded at sea. The trail then extends from Turkey and Lebanon across the international borders into Syria to support so-called freedom fighters opposing the Assad regime. Fox News was told there were up to five warehouses being used to store weapons in Benghazi and Misrata.
12-06-2012, 10:00 AM
Foreign aid: The old fashioned way
