ATF Death Watch 113: The First Casualty of War

“The FOP (Fraternal Order of Police) is very proud of the strong and positive working relationship that we have had with Eric Holder, not just for the two years in which he has served as the nation’s ‘top cop,’ but through his long career of public service.” In other words, the FOP’s pleased as punch that the Attorney General’s mob sent an extra $4b to the law enforcement community through the Stimulus Bill. FOP National President Chuck Canterbury [above, right] quid pro quo-ed the AG in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee ahead of their hearing on ATF Operation Fast and Furious.  The whole thing leaves me feeling decidely nauseous . . .

U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was a federal law enforcement officer. A young Marine murdered by drug thugs wielding weapons enabled by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). A federal agency under the aegis of Attorney General Eric Holder. Who knew about ATF Operation Fast and Furious, the program that intentionally armed Mexican drug cartel members with American gun store guns. One of which a Mexican “rip crew” used to kill Brian Terry.

The FOP is supporting the politician whose policies made him a co-conspirator to the murder of a law enforcement officer. Not to mention Holder’s role in the murder of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata, also slain by bullets fired from Fast and Furious weapons.

The FOP is not even a bit player in this tragedy; they’re just another in a long line of knee-jerk tax tit suckers. The main characters in the Gunwalker scandal take willful ignorance, deliberate misinterpretation and outright obstruction to a level that turns moral queasiness into outright revulsion. To wit: Lanny Breuer, the head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

In a letter to thehill.com, the Chief Investigative Counsel for Senator Chuck Grassley defended his boss’s inquiry into Operation Fast and Furious. In doing so, he put Breuer’s recent testimony on the subject into its proper perspective.

Mr. Breuer admitted to knowing about the gunwalking in Wide Receiver since April 2010. He is also the first Justice Department official to admit publicly that the initial letter to Senator Grassley denying the whistleblower allegations contained a false statement. Worse yet, Mr. Breuer knew it was false and kept silent all year as this controversy has grown.  However, he could not remember whether he had reviewed the letter before it was sent to Congress.

Documents recently released by the Department show that Mr. Holder’s deputy took detailed notes on an extensive briefing about Fast and Furious as early as March 2010. He also received briefing papers in the immediate aftermath of Agent Terry’s murder.

It’s clear that senior officials directly below the Attorney General received detailed information in connection with their responsibilities to oversee the case. In light of this evidence, it’s perfectly reasonable to ask for clarification about exactly who knew what and when.

Reason has very little to do with this scandal. Nor, as of yet, facts. How was the program run; how did the various U.S. agencies involved interact to protect the illegal flow; which cartels got the guns, where are the guns now? No se.

Here’s another one: how did F&F fit into the Obama administration’s overall policy towards Mexico and Mexican drug cartels, including the Phoenix U.S. Attorney’s release of a known grenade maker. And firearms smuggling to Honduras (Operation Castaway). And the sale of fully automatic firearms and grenades to the Mexican police and military.

Sorry to harp on about it, but the main source of Mexican drug cartel weaponry has not been, is not now, and will not be U.S. gun store guns (even if Congress heeds Breuer’s despicable call for more draconian U.S. gun control laws to stem an arms flow of his own creation). The Mexican bad guys got/get the vast majority of their vast arsenal from officially sanctioned U.S. sales to the Mexican and Latin American military and law enforcement agencies.

This is the fact that needs to see the light of day. Otherwise, the administration officials behind Operation Fast and Furious will be able to paint themselves as well-meaning boobs. Criminally negligent, perhaps, but not criminal co-conspirators.

We had to do something about smuggled guns! And stop messing around with that investigation thing because something still must be done! Here’s Dianne Feinstein [via dailycaller.com]:

“My concern, Mr. Chairman, is there’s been a lot said about Fast and Furious, and perhaps mistakes were made, but I think this hunt for blame doesn’t really speak about the problem,” Feinstein said during the Tuesday hearing. “And the problem is, anybody can walk in and buy anything, .50-caliber weapons, sniper weapons, buy them in large amounts, and send them down to Mexico. So, the question really becomes, what do we do about this?”

I’m thinking that we should enforce existing laws against straw purchasing and gun smuggling rather than, say, allowing the ATF to encourage indeed enable straw purchasing and gun smuggling. Just a thought.

But not a popular one amongst the administration’s supporters and sycophants sucking-up to the ATF and their jefes. Check this party political propaganda from Utah attorney general Mark Shurtleff and former Arizona attorney general Terry Goddard at sltrib.com [flagged by the Sipsey Street Irregulars]:

Dedicated ATF agents are soldiering on in the face of hostile fire. We should stop disparaging these men and women on the front lines during this time of stress and scrutiny. Our nation’s commitment to help Mexico in the fight against the cartels is more critical today than ever. Division, doubt and brinksmanship only discourage our Mexican allies and embolden our mutual enemies.

It would be tragic if the furor over Fast and Furious causes our country to abandon Mexico to the cartels. The cartels are our enemy, not the ATF or Department of Justice. We need to provide the men and women fighting this critical battle with the tools they need.

How about they start with the U.S. Constitution (which they are sworn to uphold) and work their way through the laws against smuggling guns into a foreign country? How about we look at all the ways we’ve helped the narco-terrorists take control of Mexico and figure out genuine solutions to the problem, like sealing the border and legalizing drugs?

Hang on. I’m going to be sick.