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Deadly Incompetence
IBD Editorials ^ | June 15, 2011 | Staff

Posted on 06/15/2011 6:07:28 PM PDT by Kaslin

Scandal: Given the federal government's batting average, another failure should come as no surprise. But sometimes the incompetence strains believability. Case in point: "Operation Fast and Furious."

That's the code name for what the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives thought was a good idea: Put large numbers of semiautomatic weapons into the hands of Mexican gangsters, wait until they commit crimes, then track them.

Mexico is in the throes of a civil war that pits drug cartels against the government. The drug gangs are winning, having killed 34,000 people in the past five years.

So just on the surface, "Fast and Furious" has to be one of the dumbest operations ever carried out by a U.S. agency. Dig a little deeper, and it's also deadly.

Higher-ups at the ATF were warned repeatedly by their own agents that the plan was dangerous and unworkable. But the bosses ignored the warnings and even punished those who told them the obvious truth.

"Every time we questioned that order, there was punitive action," ATF agent John Dodson told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is holding hearings on the operation.

Dodson's tale is as predictable as it is tragic. The ATF lost track of as many as 1,800 of the semiautomatic weapons it put into circulation. Many of the weapons were used to commit crimes. And two of them were found at the murder scene of an ATF agent.

(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Extended News; Government
KEYWORDS: atf; banglist; batfe; cw2; cwii; fastandfurious; ftroop; gunwalker
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To: Joe Brower
The BATFE & its superiors simply didn't count on a US law-enforcement officer getting killed

Joe.....are you getting soft on me? I betcha someone within ATF would consider it "the price worth it" in order to get semi-autos banned, or 2nd Amendment rights curtailed.

I'll stand by my claim that I wouldnt put it past F-Troop to be training "death squads" south of the border with F&F guns in order to initiate a crisis due to our "love of guns".

21 posted on 06/16/2011 7:39:03 AM PDT by DCBryan1 (FORGET the lawyers...first kill the "journalists". (Die Ritter der Kokosnuss))
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To: Joe Brower

Aye Joe, you’ve succinctly nailed it!

Be Ever Vigilant!!


22 posted on 06/16/2011 7:42:18 AM PDT by blackie (Be Well~Be Armed~Be Safe~Molon Labe!)
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To: caver

Evil morons pretty much covers it.


23 posted on 06/16/2011 7:46:01 AM PDT by going hot (Happiness is a momma deuce)
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To: Kaslin
But sometimes the incompetence strains believability.

Having had over 2 1/2 years of this regime's history, we now know it isn't incompetence, it is willful and deliberate.

Imho, the only incompetence regarding this administration is that they don't know they are playing with fire.

5.56mm

24 posted on 06/16/2011 8:07:11 AM PDT by M Kehoe
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To: DCBryan1
No, I agree with your assessment of how the BATFE operates; I think one of their higher-ups was quoted by one of the whistleblowers saying, "To make an omlet, you have to break a few eggs."

The last part of my statement is the most important -- they did not count on the weapon being recovered, resulting in its trace-back to the BATFE's offices in AZ.

Oops.

25 posted on 06/16/2011 8:20:24 AM PDT by Joe Brower (Sheep have three speeds: "graze", "stampede" and "cower".)
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To: BuckeyeTexan
The Mexican government should have something to say about the consequences of this program on Mexican citizens. Wonder why they’re not saying much?

If the ultimate goal of the operation was to screw American gun owners out of their rights, the Mexican government were probably fully informed from the beginning and thought the inevitable losses early on were a more than acceptable trade for long term realization of their tyrannical goals.

26 posted on 06/16/2011 9:36:07 AM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: sarasmom

“Stupidity /Incompetence is incurable, and prevalent in modern society.”

and as AIDS is prevalent in the Homosexual Society, Stupidity/Incompetence are prevalent in the Leftist/Liberal Society, thus their susceptibility to control by the criminal organizers that lead them.

I repeat past posts: “IMO The Democrat Party is a Criminal Enterprise.”


27 posted on 06/16/2011 12:19:30 PM PDT by rockinqsranch (Dems, Libs, Socialists, call 'em what you will, they ALL have fairies livin' in their trees.)
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To: SuziQ
2009.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

28 posted on 06/16/2011 1:47:29 PM PDT by wku man (Who says conservatives don't rock? http://www.bigdawgmusicmafia.com)
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To: Kaslin

29 posted on 06/16/2011 1:48:40 PM PDT by archy (I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous!)
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To: Kaslin

Deadly Incompetence describes the entire Obama administration.


30 posted on 06/16/2011 5:50:07 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (Islam is the religion of Satan and Mohammed was his minion.)
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To: Travis McGee
They almost got away with it. If not for those poor officers they may very well have.
31 posted on 06/16/2011 6:34:56 PM PDT by Nuc 1.1 (Nuc 1 Liberals aren't Patriots. Remember 1789!)
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To: Nuc 1.1

A sobering thought.


32 posted on 06/17/2011 5:06:34 AM PDT by Travis McGee (Castigo Cay is in print and on Kindle.)
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To: archy

He’s going to use the Sgt Schultz defense.


33 posted on 06/17/2011 5:08:14 AM PDT by Travis McGee (Castigo Cay is in print and on Kindle.)
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To: BuckeyeTexan
Wonder why they’re not saying much?

Because the US Government is helping them get rid of their undesirable underclass?

34 posted on 06/17/2011 5:17:10 AM PDT by Fresh Wind ('People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook.' Richard M. Nixon)
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