Originally Posted by
Rucker61
No, I think it was pretty clear that I was not making that comparison.
If it was clear I wouldn't have called out on that... just saying.
Admittedly, it was a bad idea. Unfortunately, you don't always know it's a bad idea until you try it.
So... "Hey boss, we're going to make these FFLs sell guns to straw buyers who will in turn sell them to the cartels... but we're going to do our best to track all of them." How does that not sound like a terrible idea from the get go?
I clearly accept this. Question for you: were guns willingly sold by FFLs in Arizona, legally, to straw buyers in Arizona who it turn sold them illegally to the Mexican drug cartels happening before either of the ATF sting operations in the Bush and Obama adminstrations took place? It's obvious that they were, or the ATF wouldn't have gotten involved in the first place. Regardless of whether Operation Wide Receiver or Operation Fast and Furious had taken place, guns would have flowed to the cartels, and the scumbags that killed our agents would have possessed guns.
Partially true. It wasn't as prevalent as with F&F. Sure there will always be a few bad apples, but when an ATF agent comes into your business and says "Go ahead and sell to this guy" that basically spells disaster. So not, I don't think it was nearly as big of a problem that the BATFE had to get involved at such a high level and conduct such a stupid operation.
It's not illegal for the authorities to not arrest folks in a criminal act. That's how stings operate. It's not illegal to keep covert operations covert. Lying to Congress is illegal, and we have due process to account for that. OF&F was a stupid operation, but not an illegal one. Unfortunately, lives were lost. Unfortunately, lives were lost during the war in Afghanistan, too. We're fighting a War on Drugs, remember?
I won't get into the argument about the War On Drugs, I stand against it, and think it's a pointless waste of man hours and money. But I will say ordering FFLs to sell guns to known straw purchasers, then let the guns "Walk" right into the hands of the cartels sounds pretty fucking illegal to me, but I'm not a lawyer, I just watch them on TV.
I agreed. I wasn't claiming that the two were the same - I was presenting different ends of the issue, and asking opinions for where the line was drawn. While the direct superior is certainly responsible for his/her immediate subordinates, many commands have been lost by actions that the commanders could have have reasonably controlled. Let the JOD put a cruiser on sandbar while the Captain is asleep and see who keeps their job.