As for the topic at hand: if I understood it correctly, the ATF itself went after gun shops for participating in another ATF project / investigation / sting / whatever.
You can't really argue that it is part of a cunning plan :)
The way I see it, it is a classic case of one department not talking to another.
Like friendly fire in a war, where both parties have been gunning each other all afternoon before they figured it out.
I think is it pure incompetence, rather than maliciousness.
The coverup is a different issue of course.