Exploiting the Tragedy
The Rev. Dr. Mac Charles Jones, associate for racial justice of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., who headed a delegation of clergy that traveled to the nation’s capital on June 9 and 10 to meet President Clinton, Attorney General Janet Reno and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, told Freedom, “We have told them in Washington that the white supremacists have a policy of infiltrating local, state and federal law enforcement, that they must be mindful of this, and that this needs to be investigated in relationship to what is happening in the South.” Jones added, “We have got to continue to force the question of why it has taken so long for the investigators to get to the bottom of these firebombings.” More than two years after the bombings shifted into high gear—two years of little or no results—the ATF says, following strong pressure by local pastors, the National Council of Churches and the public, that it can now really get on with the investigation. The ATF priority seems not to have been apprehending the culprits but exploiting the tragedy. Observers have also pointed to a financial factor which works as a disincentive to rapidly solving the firebombings. “They get a lot of overtime for that stuff,” a retired Treasury Department employee said. “They can double their salary.” If ATF agents work at night, he explained, “they get time and a half; on weekends, double-time—a clear advantage to string out an investigation.” ATF spokesman John O’Brien refused to comment on the church burnings or any aspects of the bureau’s investigations.
A Fire on the Cross continued...
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