Fast and Furious: Holder responds to Congress

On Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to those in Congress who are investigating the ATF operation known Fast and Furious.  Some of his comments are more than a bit puzzling.

‘There is no doubt that Operation Fast and Furious was fundamentally flawed,’ Mr. Holder said in his letter. He added, ‘Regrettably, its effects will be felt for years to come as weapons that should have been interdicted, but were not, continue to show up at crime scenes in this country and Mexico’.

That sounds like a good admission on his part until we are told that,

Mr. Holder also lashed out at Republican critics for using what he called ‘irresponsible and inflammatory rhetoric.’

What could possibly be “irresponsible and inflammatory” about exposing and investigating an admittedly “fundamentally flawed” program?

Mr. Holder tells us that his office received briefings on the program, but, none referred to the program by name, and none detailed the “unacceptable” tactics of the program.  One is left to speculate why the memos were even sent in the first place if nothing of importance was included in them.

But, this comment on Mr. Holder’s part truly takes nerve.

Mr. Holder’s letter said lawmakers should focus on ‘fixing loopholes in our laws that facilitate the staggering flow of guns each year across our border.’ He said that while criticizing the ATF’s tactics in Fast and Furious, the lawmakers haven’t made efforts to help the ATF get the resources it needs.

Let me see if I have this correct.  Operation Fast and Furious appears to have been designed by the administration to let guns “walk” to Mexico so that they would be used in crimes, traced back to the United States, and the administration would use that to demand tighter gun control in America.  The operation failed miserably, so the administration is using its failure to demand tighter gun control in America.

Did I miss anything?