So it’s been about a month since the administration got raked over the coals by some representatives for not spending enough time dealing with meth, and it got picked up in the media.
Just enought time to come up with a catchy operation name, whip up a fancy logo, and tell all the drug task forces around the country to hold off on any meth lab busts they have so it can all be part of Operation Wildfire.
And today they announced:
WASHINGTON, D.C.–Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Karen P. Tandy today announced the results of the DEA-led “Operation Wildfire,” the largest nationally coordinated law enforcement initiative designed to target all levels of the methamphetamine manufacturing and distribution chain in the United States and continue the fight against the spread of methamphetamine. This unprecedented law enforcement effort involved over 200 U.S. cities and resulted in the arrest of 427 individuals.
Notice that the release is missing the usual DEA language talking about how many months of investigation were involved (probably because it was less than one).
For a thrown together effort, Tandy really laid it on thick:
“This historic enforcement effort illustrates our commitment to extinguishing this plague and protecting innocent Americans from the harmful ripple effects meth leaves behind.”
As usual, Walters was also around to pretend that the efforts would actually change something.
“The enforcement actions announced today provide a shock to the system of meth trafficking and production,” ONDCP Director John Walters said.
Too bad these people don’t have real jobs. Their boss would see through this PR BS in a heartbeat.
That Operation Wildfire name is catchy though. And oddly appropriate for the DEA. It conveys the sense of an unplanned out-of-control force that indiscriminately destroys everything in its path.