From: [b--r--y] at [uts.amdahl.com] (Barry Needham)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Commentaries from Jeff Cooper
Date: 15 Nov 1993 19:10:46 -0500


The following comments are provided by
Jeff Cooper

"The Senate judiciary committee in 1982 recommended they get rid of the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Here's the problem. There are 4,600 BATF
agents. And they would go, according to their bureaucracy, to one of two other
agencies if they were to dissolve the BATF. And that is to the Secret Service
or to U.S. Customs. Customs and Secret Service said, no, they wouldn't accept
the (BATF) agents. They called them, `substandard.'

"So these (BATF) people are civil service employees and you just can't fire
them. They couldn't turn them into mailmen. And so very frankly we came to a
Catch-22 situation because since we don't have an Al Capone running illegal
liquor - the BATF was brought on board for that purpose - there's no major
problem anymore with tobacco or with firearms, then the BATF now this year -
1993 - has a $400 million budget. And, to stay in business, the BATF tries the
best they can to get as many cases as possible to justify continuing.

"So if Clinton wants to cut the budget, let's start with the BATF. And let's
find some way to get around this civil service problem of what to do with
these 4,600 officers.

"You know we've got for example 6,500 FBI agents who were dedicated as
counter-intelligence. They used to follow Russians around. Well, now that
Yeltsin is our friend and Gorbachev is the man of the decade, literally these
6,500 FBI agents are out of a job.

"Now they have reassigned 1,500 FBI agents to track gangs. Well, this means
you've got Effrem Zimbalist, Jr. basically looking after people that are spray
painting the sides of schools. But that still leaves 5,000 FBI and at least
4,600 BATF who are looking for something to do."
								Bo Grits

				*     *     *

Back in the Dark Ages, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation
occupied a place of glory in the eyes of the young. The FBI under John Edgar
Hoover was an organization to be held up as a goal for young men of sufficient
"patriotism, valor, fidelity, and abilities."

Now then, see what has happened! In addition to its various other
transgressions, such as the Randy Weaver disaster in Idaho, the FBI has now
come out for the disarmament of the American people, and has issued an
official press release totally exonerating the Bureau for any sort of
transgression in the Waco atrocity. I do not suppose there is anyone who has
not seen the Linda Thompson tape of the action of the Federal ninja at Waco.
The attempt to clear the Feds of any sort of misdemeanor in that episode
completely destroys the credibility of the Bureau. Lo how the mighty are
fallen!