04 Aug The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and explosives for Operation Fast and Furious was a unique tactic put together by different agencies

Q

The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and explosives for Operation Fast and Furious was a unique tactic put together by different agencies. This tactic was an undercover tactic which was set forth to obtain Mexican drug cartels and catch them in action. However, the policy proposal and implementation of the operation was not thought out and put well together. There were consequences of the operation not being put together properly and thinking about the risks. Some of the unintended consequences of this operation was one of their border patrol agents being killed by Mexican cartels, deaths of individuals in Mexico, and damaging the relationship between the US government and Mexico. The lessons learned from this operation is that you must make sure the benefits outweigh the risks of the operation. Also, the most important is having operational controls in place when allowing illegal substances, in this case weapons, to walk. There must be mechanisms and controls put in place that will allow protection to the officers and those in Mexico being that the cartels are placed with all the weapons. Any strategy or tactic involving weapons and harm should have strict operational controls. To avoid these mistakes in the future, they should produce strict operational controls that puts them one step ahead of the cartels and lets them be aware of their objects that are subject to “walk”. They should have monitors and different security breaches and cameras that track and put them at the scene without being there physically. The most important is weighing the risks and benefits if the risks outweigh the benefits the operation should not be done.