[BillCA]

Originally Posted by Aguila Blanca

I am prepared to accept that this was not Barry's brainchild. But I don't think it's at all unreasonable to suppose that some unelected, unappointed, liberal Democratic apparatchik might easily have dreamed up this operation as a way of promoting the administration's agenda to discredit gun ownership and to eviscerate the 2nd Amendment. So this genius talks to some other equally unelected, unappointed, unaccountable apparatchiks, one of them takes it down the street to some upper-mid-level honcho in BATFE, and from there things start snowballing rapidly downhill.

I don't think Barry ordered it. I don't think Holder ordered it. I do think Holder authorized it, and I do think both he (and probably Obama) knew about it pretty much from the outset. I think the important thing for us to learn/remember from this is that there are a great many hidden layers within our government, and they generally do not function to our benefit. Many of them, in fact, are there largely for no reason other than to provide plausible deniability.

Aguila Blanca (aka white water )

I don't think, at this point, it matters one whit who was the "brainchild" or "brain trust" that hatched this felony stupid plan, unless it was the POTUS or a cabinet level position.

The more important point is at what level was the plan approved to begin execution and was the approver/authorizer given all the details of the plan?

We can envision that unnamed, unelected GS-5 bureaucrat who takes some initiative to create the plan and pass it along through to someone who can "get the ball rolling". We can also envision some mid-to-high level officials "packaging" the plan for Holder (or deputy AG Ogden) without the sordid little details -- like losing track of the guns. Or simply saying they intend to cooperate with Mexico... but leaving out precisely when that might happen. We can see how such a plan might be endorsed with the belief it will be implemented according to agency policy and best practices.

Except for a few niggling little details in this case.

From what I've read, the jurisdictions on border cases requires inter-agency cooperation and teamwork (something the ATF also does poorly). Operations along the border use EPIC (El Paso Intelligence Center) with multiple agency members only steps away. Much of the work along the border is done under the OCDETF (organized crime drug enforcement task force) oversight, which combines DOJ and DHS resources (ICE, Customs/BP, USCG, etc). In addition, incidents along the border are reported to the State Department to notify them of potential diplomatic issues. Operations targeting Mexican nationals or US citizens involved in criminal activity within Mexico are also summarized for State.

It's possible that these agencies were "kept in the dark" about ATF's operation, but not plausible. Not with the jurisdictional turf wars each agency plays (each wants the credit for any major case). Plus, the State Dept. would be in the "need to know" category about any operation attempting to break the drug cartels or their supply chain(s).

It seems almost inconceivable that this operation could be contained entirely within the mid-level bureaucratic layers of DOJ, DHS and State. Government bureaucrats don't take a dump without a plan that is approved by at least one or two layers higher up. And a plan who's prima facie presentation looks good does not excuse agency heads from doing their due diligence by asking questions or trying to poke holes in the plan.

The important thing here is that AG Holder is the holder of the bag. It's his job to know what kinds of operations are going on within his agency and his responsibility that every agency and department adheres to the constitution and US laws.