Bundys need to change tactics

By Peter McMurran, Henderson

Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016 | 2 a.m.

It was horrendous to watch the video of a deadly end game played out in the snowy, high country roads of Eastern Oregon. Robert Finicum lay dead, mortally wounded by the armed response of law enforcement members of the Oregon State Police and the FBI.

As a retired military member I understand the use of deadly force; the laws of our nation; and the importance of defending our constitutional rights against all enemies, foreign or domestic. Frankly, it was horrible to watch a citizen die for a “cause celebre” that should not have gone on as long as it did.

There was a sense of tragic inevitability as the Bundys’ Oregon occupation end game was not clearly articulated. If it was, it was too far-fetched to achieve while holed up, out of state, where the majority of locals became increasingly fed up with their presence. Strategically, the longer the Bundy plan languished, their mission eventually would play out in bloodshed with a martyr for the cause sacrificed. Was this their end game by default?

I still have a horrible taste in my mouth from the Bunkerville protests, where two mentally disturbed participants, who were asked to leave that stalemate, went off into the Southern Nevada populace and, shortly thereafter, murdered two of Metro Police’s finest. If the Bundys want to bring legitimate dialogue to the management of federal lands, stay home and do it without the call for armed militia, as it now seems to only end in senseless death.