The Obama administration will have to act quickly to contain the “Fast and Furious” scandal by coming clean on the facts rather than trying to use executive privilege to withhold documents pertaining to the undercover operation.
Accused of playing politics, the Republicans hope this will be the current US President’s Watergate. Coming just months short of the presidential election pitting Mitt Romney against Barack Obama, the current dispensation is in grave danger of seeing the expose take wings.
Three years ago, the US government empowered Mexican drug-traffickers with 1,608 weapons worth $1 million from Arizona gun sellers. “The purpose was to wait and watch, in hope that law enforcement could identify other members of a trafficking network and build a large, complex conspiracy case.” Unfortunately, the same weapons turned up at the scene of the gunning down of not only many Mexicans but also of Brian Terry, a US Border Patrol agent.
Obama’s defence of attorney-general Eric Holder, who is being held in contempt by a House committee, on the grounds that the Republicans would rather talk politics than create jobs, is very weak. Far from being pushed to come clean, Holder is being protected, leading to the fear that if this “gun walking” scandal has hidden depths, “Fast and Furious” could blow up in the face of the Democrats. Obama, who is thought to be covering up the errors of an autonomous political department, could end up paying a heavy price.