Gunwalker Roundup: "If it got that high, odds are good it would have gotten to the AG. And if it got to him, odds are decent that it got to the WH."

"I am not a Gunwalker!"

David Hardy, prompted off an astute comment by our own Dedicated Dad, gets closer to the ultimate truth of Gunwalker in: "'Gun Walker' keeps growing."

Exactly. How could anyone imagine (3). If the Mexican authorities don't know, they can't investigate (might not anyway, but if they don't know they surely cannot. ATF can hardly mount an on the ground investigation there, esp. without notifying local law enforcement. All that could ever be ascertained was that guns shipped to cartels wind up at crime scenes, and everyone already knew that. That'd get you nowhere toward making a big case.

Another thought: I'd initially figured knowledge of this operation wouldn't have gone to high levels. The managers who were running it probably would have figured that if they sent the info up the chain of command, somebody might stop it, or have lots of awkward questions, or delay until he got a lot of consensus (as in CYA -- spread the blame around if things go bad). But now it appears knowledge did go high. The guy who is telling the attache that it's gone to the agency head and higher is implicitly telling him: "if you keep arguing about this, you'll eventually have to explain to someone a LOT more powerful than you, and someone's gonna phrase it as "the operation you allowed -- there's some attache guy who thinks only a moron could have allowed it." And now it appears knowledge got as high as an Assistant Attorney General, an appointee. If it got that high, odds are good it would have gotten to the AG. And if it got to him, odds are decent that it got to the White House. I note the official denials are that anyone high up "approved" it. You can of course know of something, decide to let it run its course, and still deny having "approved" it. CYA and all that. "They told me about it, I just assumed they knew what they were doing."

Kurt Hofmann asks: "Does Obama have too many 'moving parts' to get handle on 'Project Gunwalker'?"

Latin American Herald Tribune: "Ex-Agent: U.S. Justice Department OK’d Flow of Guns to Mexico."

Bill Conroy of The Narcosphere writing in Salem-News: "Federal Agency’s 'Good Story' Spin Conceals Ugly Underbelly of the Drug War; ATF’s PR Gun Busts Perpetuate Drug-War Fairy Tale."

Van Helsing writes at Moonbattery.com: "NRA Provides Details on Obama's Mexican Gunrunning Operation." Riiiiiight.

Thomas Amshay writing at the Digital Journal: "Project Gunrunner — U.S. government train wreck."

Robert Farago: "ATF Agent: Department of Justice Greenlighted Fast and Furious."

And finally there is this discussion on CleanUpATF.org.

First, ATF agent Thor writes:

To President Obama and Senator Grassley,

In the past, HEADS have ROLLED at ATF and it has been the same old BS for the last 20+ years. With each new Director, we get a bunch of new maggots!

This is the arrogance of the past leaders and the leaders we currently have. We need change that we can believe in!

The solution is simple and very obvious. The rules need to apply to everyone in the same manner and not have special treatment for some. This double standard is at the core of the corruption at ATF. There are some that believe that they are entitled and are above the rules, regulations and even the laws of these United States!

I equate the current leadership of ATF to some of these dictators that are being ousted in the Middle East that terrorize and abuse their own people without being held responsible or accountable for their actions. It is time that this terror and abuse stopped and these ATF dictators are ousted!

Agent Simple Man responds:

Excellent point Thor. The current events at ATF are a micro study of the macro events in Egypt and Libya. Abused citizens having enough of oppression and rising up. Things aren't going to work out much better for Melson and crew than they have for Mubarek and Gaddafi.

ATF is the Titanic. The ship is going down. There are a limited number of lifeboats. The situation we are all sitting and watching is which leaders get on the lifeboats and which ones go down with the ship. We all know the best bet is that the crew members die and the Captains seek safety.

Finally, Agent GoodWorker:

People, I was thinking the same thing this morning. Now the question is, will the DOJ act similar to Egypt and correct things in a lawful and respectful manner or are they going to stand by and let ATF management retaliate like Gaddafi or the leaders of Bahrain. Are we going to witness similar actions like the news played video of the Libyan lady who went to a hotel to tell the Western media of her alleged rape and torture by the government as she is dragged away with a hood on her head? Who is going to stand up and do the lawful and respectful thing in this case to correct all of the wrongs that have been alleged on this web page? We are showing the rest of the world that we too can use lawful forms of communication such as the internet and the media to bring about positive change in a corrupt system.