Report describes gun agents' 'state of panic' (Gun Walker)

LA Times ^ | June 14, 2011 | Kim Murphy

[neverdem]

Federal gun agents, concerned about weapons sales to Mexican drug suspects, begged to make arrests but were rebuffed, according to a congressional report on a controversial investigation.

Federal gun agents in Arizona -- convinced that "someone was going to die" when their agency allowed weapons sales to suspected Mexican drug traffickers -- made anguished pleas to be permitted to make arrests but were rebuffed, according to a new congressional report on the controversial law enforcement probe.

Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told congressional investigators that there was "a state of panic" that the guns used in the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson in January and two U.S. agents in Mexico a month later might have been sold under the U.S. surveillance operation.

"I used the word anxiety. The term I used amongst my peers is pucker factor," Larry Alt, special agent with ATF's Phoenix field division, told investigators preparing a joint staff report for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The report will be released Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

Neither of those shootings was ultimately linked to the "Fast and Furious" probe, though two weapons sold to a suspect under surveillance were found at the scene of the fatal shooting of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry near Nogales, Ariz., in December.

Terry's family will be among the key witnesses at an oversight committee hearing Wednesday on the ATF operation, under which the bureau allowed purchases of high-powered weapons in an attempt to track their progress into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. According to the report and numerous interviews with The Times, several ATF agents regarded the operation as dangerous...

[Soothesayer9]

Our ancestors would be shooting by now.

[Soothesayer9]

or Cheka:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheka

[Loyal Sedition]

BATFE often takes big risk, they know that THEY are not the ones who will suffer from their activities.

WACO happened when BATFE decided they needed a big “Bust” to polish their own image.

This gamble was taken in the same manner, if it had worked as intended the media would be fawning on BATFE, for “Proving” U.S. gun dealers are the main source of cartel weapons, and enabling legislation to curtail our second amendment rights.
But not to worry, no one at BATFE or inJustice will take any real fall for this.
The principle characters at WACO retained office, none were charged despite clearly lying to justify their illegal actions.
A short time later most got promotions.

This will go the same way, “Conservatives” have a fatal inability to recognize and punish criminal activity whenever it is perpetuated by “Law Enforcement”!

BTW, it is illegal for any federally funded agency to engage in lobbying, but none are ever prevented in the least from doing so.