The operation was called Fast and Furious. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives stood by as hundreds of guns were illegally sold and funneled into Mexico. The idea was to track the guns and catch some big fish in the Mexican drug cartels.
This falls into the “What were they thinking?” category.
Sure enough, the ATF lost track of a lot of the guns. Mexican lawmakers say at least 150 people have been killed or wounded with weapons that were smuggled in this disastrous operation.
In December, U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was fatally shot after two suspected bandits refused commands to drop their weapons. Authorities believe two automatic weapons found at the scene had been intentionally sold to straw buyers as part of Fast and Furious.
The heat on ATF is rising in Congress. Acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson, who closely monitored Fast and Furious, is likely to step down. He should.
But what happens then? Melson is acting director today because Republicans have blocked the confirmation of President Barack Obama’s nominee for director of ATF. That’s Andrew Traver, who heads the ATF’s field office in Chicago.
Traver has done an exemplary job in Chicago. He understands the complexity of gangs and firearms trafficking. He has been a good partner with other law enforcement agencies. GOP Sen. Mark Kirk and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin back his nomination.
But he has been blocked from taking the job because the National Rifle Association thinks he is in favor of gun control laws. NRA allies in the Senate have put a brick on his nomination.
So if you hear a Republican senator wailing about poor leadership at ATF, look him in the eye and tell him he’s a hypocrite. You don’t like what’s happening at ATF? Then prevail on your own party leaders to allow a vote on a new director. Vote up or down on Traver. We think you should vote him up. But vote.
It’s obscene that a key position in law enforcement has been stuck because of NRA opposition. Former President George W. Bush’s nominee to run ATF couldn’t get a vote either because he was considered too anti-gun for the gun lobby. The agency hasn’t had a permanent director since 2006.
End the blockade on Traver’s nomination. ATF desperately needs strong leadership to repair the terrible damage caused by Fast and Furious. Strong leadership that has the public support of the president and the U.S. Senate.
