How Eric Holder Instigated Operation "Fast and Furious" and Holds Responsibility

From the text of AG Eric Holders speech at the Mexico/United States Arms Trafficking Conference in CUERNAVACA, MEXICO ~ Thursday, April 2, 2009 (excerpt) accent is mine

Last week, our administration launched a major new effort to break the backs of the cartels. My department is committing 100 new ATF personnel to the Southwest border in the next 100 days to supplement our ongoing Project Gunrunner, DEA is adding 16 new positions on the border, as well as mobile enforcement teams, and the FBI is creating a new intelligence group focusing on kidnapping and extortion. DHS is making similar commitments, as Secretary Napolitano will detail.

But as today’s conference has emphasized, the problem of arms trafficking will not be stopped at the border alone. Rather, as our experts emphasized, this is a problem that must be met as part of a comprehensive attack against the cartels – an attack in depth, on both sides of the border, that focuses on the leadership and assets of the cartel.

AG Eric Holder devised a plan to go after the drug cartels that were receiving the guns in across the border operations.

STATEMENT OF ERIC H. HOLDER JR, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, to COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES on May 7, 2009. (excerpt) accent is mine

The Mexican Cartel Strategy is being led by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden.
This strategy uses federal prosecutor-led task forces that bring together federal, state and
local law enforcement agencies to identify, disrupt and dismantle the Mexican drug
cartels through investigation, prosecution, and extradition of their key leaders and
facilitators, and seizure and forfeiture of their assets. The Department is increasing its
focus on investigations and prosecutions of the southbound smuggling of guns and cash
that fuel the violence and corruption and attacking the cartels in Mexico itself, in
partnership with the Mexican Attorney General’s Office and the Secretariat of Public
Security.

Of course, if guns or explosives are to cross into Mexico, AG Eric Holder and staff have a responsibility to make sure proper procedures are followed. This included approval from ATF Bureau Headquarters and the Mexican government of any weapons or explosives allowed to cross the border.

From PROJECT GUNRUNNER, A Cartel Focused Strategy, September 2010: accent is mine

Recently, the Office of International Affairs developed an operations plan for the MCO. Stated goals include increasing the number of timely, complete, and accurate firearms traces initiated by the Government of Mexico; participation in a vetted unit program sponsored by the DEA; improved coordination, communication, and intelligence sharing concerning firearms seizures between ATF and Mexican law enforcement authorities; improved coordination and documentation of investigations, training, and other assistance to Mexican law enforcement authorities; and reorganization and expansion of the Mexico Country Office.

No ATF activity shall be conducted in Mexico without prior headquarters IAO approval and coordination with the MCO. The controlled movement of firearms, ammunition, explosives, explosives devices, and/or components or non-functional “props” of such items across the U.S.-Mexico border from the United States shall be coordinated with and approved in advance by Bureau headquarters and the MCO.

Clearly, Attorney General Eric Holder was responsible for the more aggressive ATF tactics to trace gunrunning back to the cartels in Mexico.  It was clearly his responsibility to put proper systems in place to make sure weapons would not be lost and used to murder Mexican citizens and a US Border Patrol agent who was later referred to as "collateral damage." Eric Holder either knew or should have known what was happening at his direction. The buck stops at Holder's desk. He is responsible and should resign or be fired. President "no accountability" Obama is firmly standing behind Holder for the moment.