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The Waco Incident

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The Sound-Byte

All indications are that the confrontation between the BATF and
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The Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas was a set-up, planned for public relations purposes. The BATF had the news media alerted, the cameras rolling, and a search warrant that was obtained on trumped up charges. They disregarded the invitation of the Branch Davidians to peacefully enter the building and have a look around. They ignored opportunities to arrest David Koresh when he was alone. They recklessly ignored the presence of innocent women and children, and staged a paramilitary-style assault on the community. For what? To make a political statement? Excuse me, but I don't think that is the proper role of law enforcement in a Constitutional Republic.
The Details

The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco (BATF) Special Agents called it "Operation Showtime" when they set up their cameras and summoned the TV crews and newspaper reporters for the arrest of David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidian religious community in Waco, Texas on February 28, 1993. The community consisted of approximately 100 men, women and children, all living in a large wooden structure that they called "Mount Carmel." It was a religious community -- Mount Carmel included a large chapel. The BATF had a more ominous name for the wooden structure: "The Compound."
The BATF had done months of advance work for this operation. They knew that David Koresh could often be found by himself outside Mount Carmel, where he could easily be arrested. They knew of the many women and children living inside Mount Carmel. They had been invited by David Koresh to come in and look around. But they chose instead to arrest Koresh using a technique known in law enforcement circles as a "dynamic entry" -- using some seventy-six heavily armed men and women firing submachine guns, by some accounts including from helicopters and throwing flash-bang grenades.

What happened next is a matter of dispute. The official story is that when the armed BATF agents swarmed towards Mount Caramel on Sunday morning, they were greeted by gunfire from the occupants of Mount Carmel. Four government agents were killed. The surviving Davidians tell a different story -- that the government agents fired first without identifying themselves as law enforcement officers serving an arrest warrant. [Note that there is case law which supports the right of private citizens to defend themselves against attack by unidentified law enforcement officers, and the surviving Branch Davidians were acquitted of murder charges in the deaths of the Federal agents killed during that assault.]

What followed was a protracted siege, in which government agents and Branch Davidians each accused the other of acting in bad faith. The lack of trust was exacerbated by the Fundamentalist religious beliefs of the Branch Davidians (an offshoot of the Seventh Day Adventist tradition). The Branch Davidians viewed the situation as a possible prelude to Armageddon. The government forces viewed the Branch Davidians as a dangerous right-wing religious cult. The Branch Davidians accused the government of firing the first shots, and of firing at them from helicopters. The Branch Davidians repeatedly expressed their concern that the siege must be ended in a way that would preserve the physical evidence of government misconduct embedded in the doors, walls, and roof of their home.

The siege ended on April 19, 1993 when government tanks began ramming the walls of Mount Carmel and firing tear-gas into the building. Fire broke out and the entire structure was rapidly enveloped in flames. Most of the Branch Davidians, men, women, and children perished in the fire. The few surviving Branch Davidians claim that the fire was started by the tanks; the government forces claim that the Branch Davidians committed suicide by starting the blaze themselves. The remains of Mount Carmel were bulldozed away a couple months after the fire, leading some observers sympathetic to the Branch Davidians to suggest that the government wanted to destroy any evidence of wrong-doing by the government agents before or during the siege.

Congress held hearings on the matter in 1993 and 1995, which ended basically upholding the point of view of the BATF and FBI.

Government sources have recently (June to August 1999) admitted that military-style tear gas grenades that contain a pyrotechnic charge capable of starting fires were fired at the Branch Davidian complex, but now maintain that the incendiary devices were not fired in the direction of where flames broke out in the Branch Davidian complex, and were fired hours before the flames broke out.

The Austin American Statesman reported September 11, 1999 that the Texas Rangers Report on the Waco Branch Davidian disaster included classified military secrets, thus raising further questions regarding the military's role in the government operation. Normally, the military is prohibited by the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act from engaging in domestic law enforcement activities. However, the Commander in Chief has authority to override the Posse Comitatus restrictions by Executive Order. Investigators sympathetic to the Branch Davidians have long claimed that the U.S. Army Delta Force played an active operational role, which the government has long denied.

Attorney General Janet Reno deflected criticism away from the President in 1993 by taking responsibility herself for the Waco tragedy. However, if military units did indeed have an operational role at Waco, then direct involvement by the President is implied [or else insubordination violating Posse Comitatus ]. This of course raises the question of "What did the President know, and when did he know it?"

The Washington Times reported September 14, 1999 that the same FBI sharpshooter, Lon Horiuchi, who killed Vicki Weaver [as she held an infant in her arms] during the Ruby Ridge incident in 1992 was also present at the Waco Branch Davidian siege. Although the government settled a wrongful death suit with her husband Randy Weaver in that case, Lon Horiuchi escaped prosecution on involuntary manslaughter charges when a Federal judge ruled that the Federal agent could not be tried under Idaho state law. The Washington Times further reported that three dozen spent sniper rounds were found by the Texas Rangers at sniper sites occupied by the FBI during the Waco Branch Davidian siege, and at least one witness has reported hearing gunfire originating from the FBI positions. The FBI denied firing any such rounds, but pointed out that the same sniper positions had been previously occupied by the BATF. There are also reports that thermal imaging [infrared] videos exist showing gunfire directed into the Branch Davidian community complex.

These recent revelations have cast sufficient doubt on the completeness and veracity of the information provided to Congress by the BATF and FBI in 1993 and 1995 that Attorney General Janet Reno has launched a new investigation, headed by former Senator John Danforth (R-MO). Senator John Danforth has in turn enlisted the assistance of the Postal Inspection Service in conducting the investigation. CNN reports (September 14, 1999) that the Postal Inspection Service is independent of the Justice Department (which houses the FBI and DEA) and the Treasury Department (which houses the BATF, Secret Services, Custom Service, and IRS). To its credit, the Postal Inspection Service was included in the investigation of the FBI actions at Ruby Ridge in 1992, which concluded that the FBI engaged in a coverup of activities which lead to the wrongful death of Randy Weaver's wife and son.

Among the issues which need to be explored by Senator Danforth's commission include the following:

Why did the BATF use a high-risk dynamic entry which endangered the innocent children inside Mount Carmel, rather than arresting David Koresh when he was alone outside Mount Carmel? Why did they not accept David Koresh's invitation to come into Mount Carmel and look around peacefully? Evidence suggests that the dynamic entry was chosen to enhance the publicity value of the operation, rather than to maximize the safety of the occupants Mount Carmel and the BATF agents themselves.
Did the BATF act in good faith when it obtained search and arrest warrants? It appears that most if not all the allegations were false, irrelevant to the jurisdiction of the BATF, or insufficient to indicate criminal activity. In the previous Congressional investigation, independent investigators were not allowed to examine using sophisticated instruments such as X-rays the remnants of the Branch Davidians' firearms.
The BATF claims that they only returned fire after the Branch Davidians fired the first shot, and the FBI claims that they never fired any shots. Spent sniper rounds, infrared video camera data, and some testimony may contradict these claims. Complete ballistic tests and analysis have never been made.
Was there any operational involvement by military forces? Although such involvement is denied by the FBI and BATF, there is evidence that suggests otherwise. If so, why?
Who started the fire? The FBI claims that surveillance microphones (bugs) had suggested that the Branch Davidians might be planning to start the fires, but the FBI also denied using incendiary devices. Evidence now demonstrates that military incendiary devices were actually used.
If the FBI did have advance warning that the Branch Davidians might start a fire if a direct assault was made on Mount Carmel with tanks and tear gas, why did the FBI proceed with the assault anyway, knowing that there were many women and children trapped within the building? Why did they not at least pre-stage fire-fighting equipment before beginning the assault?
Did helicopters ever fire down on Mount Carmel? If so, why did they endanger the children in this way?
Did the Justice Department or Department of Treasury conspire to obstruct justice by lying, hiding, or destroying evidence?
If there was any wrong-doing, who knew about it and when?
Only time will tell whether Senator Danforth will aggressively seek answers to these and other questions. On the one hand, if he finds substantial evidence of wrongdoing, then the so-called "right-wing conspiracy theorists" will be vindicated on the matter of Waco, thereby accruing greater credibility on other matters where the Clinton Administration has thus far gotten by with a shibboleth jig, a wink, and a nod. On the other hand, if he is seen as conducting a cursory investigation aimed at "restoring faith in government agencies" then he runs the risk of engendering even greater mistrust.

The best outcome would be a full, thorough, and open investigation that convinces even the most dedicated skeptics that everything is kosher. But I am not holding my breath.

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