Waco
From Free Talk Live
Contents |
Introduction: Leviathan Draws Blood
Prelude
The story of the Waco tragedy actually begins on January 10, 1993 when Sixty Minutes aired a story titled "Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Harassment," exposing sexual harrasment within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF). When combined with a congressional funding battle, and the BATF's notification to news agencies to expect a big story out of Waco, it seems that the initial raid on the Mt. Carmel complex was a BATF publicity stunt.
The BATF began its investigation of the Davidians on June 4, 1992 based on a tip that the Davidians possessed illegal weapons including machine guns and hand gernades. When firearms dealer Henry McMahon informed Koresh of the BATF investigation, Koresh invited ATF agents to Mt. Carmel to inspect the Davidians' weapons and paperwork. The ATF agents declined the invitation.
The Davidians
During the fifty-one day siege at Mt. Carmel, the media demonized David Koresh and the Davidians, portraying them as a heavily armed cult of child molesters led by a maniacal madman. The Davidian "compound" was actually a group of wooden structures, not the military style, reinforced concrete stronghold that the word "compound" indicates. The "bunker," which was a concrete structure, was used as a tornado shelter. The media and government constantly referred to the Davidians as a "cult." The proper term is "sect."
The Davidians were an offshoot of the Seventh Day Adventists, a sect who believe in the infalliability of the Bible and that the Book of Revelations was literally true. Koresh preached that the Davidians were God's chosen people and would eventually face a battle with an army from the nation of Babylon. God would save the Davidians by setting Babyon's army ablaze. Thus, while the Davidians did spread kerosene throughout Mt. Carmel on April 19, this act was not probably apocalyptic as the FBI would claim, but, more likely, an act of self-defense. Because Koresh could have defused the standoff at amy time by simply surrendering, he shares some responsibility in what happened at Waco. However, on the one hand, was a group of people who firmly believed that an army was going to destroy them. On the other hand, heavily armed men with military equipment were assembled outside of their home. Perhaps if the BATF and FBI had relied on good law enforcement tactics and not just brute military force, the federal government would not have killed people it was entrusted to protect.
BATF Preparations
Although the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibits the use of the military in civilian law enforcement, in 1991, congress amended the act to allow the use of the military in drug interdiction training. The BATF used the unsubstantiated claim that the Davidians were operating a methamphetamine lab to plan, train, and rehearse the raid on Mt. Carmel with US Army Special Forces units at Ft. Hood, TX in January and February of 1992. The US Army's elite anti-terrorists unit, Delta Force, advised the BATF and FBI throughout the Waco standoff. Some have speculated that Delta Force even took an active role in the tragic events of April 19, 1993. Whether this claim is true or not, the BATF and FBI had plenty of help from the US military including the use of National Guard helicopters and, eventually, tanks (referred to by Attorney General Janet Reno as "good rental cars").
On February 25, 1993, the BATF obtained an arrest warrant for David Koresh and a search warrant for the Davidian complex at Mt. Carmel. Three days later, the most tragic, horrifying, and disturbing chapter in the history of American law enforcement would begin. In the end, four federal agents and eighty-two civilians, including twenty-seven children, would be dead. Sadly, however, this chapter may never close because, as in war, the truth also has been a casualty.
What Happened at Waco
For Fifty-one days in 1993, Americans watched the standoff between the FBI and the Branch Davidians at Waco, Texas. During the standoff, most of us assumed that the FBI was just doing its job, and that the standoff would end peacefully. Sadly, this would not prove true. Instead, Waco proved to be an egregious example of a federal government out of control and derelict in its basic duty to protect the rights of its citizens.
The February 28 Raid
The Siege
During the fifty-one day standoff at Waco, a few of the Davidians chose to leave the complex. These people were immediately arrested and charged with murder. Their children were relinquished to state custody. The FBI subjected the Davidians to a variety of psychological warfare techniques, including the use of spotlights to disrupt sleep, blasting the complex with loud music and noises such as rabbits being slaughtered, and, eventually, cutting off electricity and water. Twenty-seven children remained in the complex throughout the siege. When asked why they did not surrender their children, the Davidians replied with a question of their own: if you had been a victim of excessive government force, i.e. a military style assault, and had witnessed federal agents acting in such juvenile ways as dropping their pants and mooning you, as well as flying the middle finger while they surrounded your home, would you trust them with your children? Early in the siege, Koresh told the FBI he would surrender if he were allowed to make a radio broadcast. The FBI agreed and Koresh made his broadcast but then, unfortunately, choose not to leave, saying God had told him to wait. Despite continued telephone negotiations, the standoff continued.
April 19, 1993
At approximately 6am, tanks which were specially equipped with booms to insert CS tear gas into the complex began smashing holes in the buildings while the FBI made broadcasts over loudspeakers that "this is not an assault." At approximately 6:47, the FBI began launching "ferret rounds" into the buildings. A ferret round is a 40-mm canister that discharges tear gas on impact; it is fired from a grenade launcher. Throughout the morning, the Davidians had been spreading kerosene throughout the complex. Although the government would claim that this was an act of mass suicide, according to Davidian prophecy, God would save the Davidians by destroying the army from Babylon with fire. In any case, at around noon, several fires start in the complex. Because of strong winds on that day, the fires quickly spread and engulfed the entire complex. The FBI refused to allow fire trucks to procede to the scene because of fear of hostile gunfire. Nine Davidians escaped the fire. They are immediately arrested. Seventy-six others die, including the twenty-seven children. While most die from smoke inhalation, at least twenty have gunshot wounds. Symbolic of a military conquest, the BATF raises it flag over the smoking Davidian compound. Before investigators can perform a thorough search and finish gathering evidence, Mt. Carmel is bulldozed, effectively closing the investigation.
The Aftermath
After witnessing the disaster, Attorney General Reno accepts "full responsibility" and offers her resignation to President Bill Clinton. Clinton refuses her resignation, saying that the government and Reno are not responsibily just "because some religious fanatics murdered themselves." The following years would see congressional investigations, the trial of the Davidians, the Davidian lawsuit against the federal government, and mulitple investigative reports and documentaries about the tragedy. None of these has provided the answers to what really happened at Waco. The congressional investigations and the Davidian lawsuit were marked by more government abuse and cover-ups, including ATF and FBI agents lying and perjurying themselves, missing evidence, conflicting testimony, and the government refusing to allow the Davidian lawyers to question certain government agents. All of the Davidians were found not guilty of conspiracy charges. Four were found not guilty of all charges, and seven were found guilty of lesser chargers. However, in a final show of government power, the judge in the case leveled harsh punishments, giving five of the Davidians the maximum possible sentence of forty years in prison. His decision left the jury forewoman, Sarah Baine, in tears. Before the sentencing, she wrote the judge that even "five years is too severe a penalty." Her pleas fell on deaf ears. The Waco incident had another tragic aftermath. On April 19, 1995, the second anniversary of the Waco tragedy, Timothy McVeigh would bomb the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. McVeigh would claim that this act was aimed to avenge the Waco seige.
Questions and Analysis
While Senator John Danforth assured Americans that his investigation of Waco would restore trust in their government, his flawed investigation actually produced more questions than answers. Once again, this investigation was characterized by lying, perjury, and lost evidence. In fact, the Waco incident and the resulting government cover-up exemplify why Americans should regard their government with suspicion.
The BATF Investigation and Raid
The BATF ignored Koresh's invitation to inspect the Davidian firearms. The Davidians possessed a large supply of firearms and ammunition, mostly as an investment. Koresh believed that the Clinton administration would propose more prohibitive gun control laws, driving up the price of guns (as it turned out, his prediction was correct). The search warrant claimed that the Davidians also possessed kits to convert the AR-15s into fully automatic machine guns. In fact, this claim was erroneous; the Davidians had E2 repair kits which contained replacement parts for the AR-15 (AR-15s use many of the same parts as M-16s); the warrant said these kits were EZ conversion kits. Additionally, the hand grenades found at Waco were inert, practice grenades. The chemicals that the Davidians had were once again legal unless they were used to manufacture destructive devices, in which case these devices would be illegal.
Koresh had been arrested once before (for attempted murder) and he had cooperated peacefully with police. Why did the BATF simply not knock on the doors of Mt. Carmel and serve their warrants? Additionally, Waco residents said that Koresh was often seen jogging around Mt. Carmel as well as in Waco itself. If the BATF deemed peacefully serving the arrest warrant at Mt. Carmel too dangerous, why not arrest Koresh when he was away from the complex? Unbelievably, the BATF would admit that, despite the fact that it considered Koresh so dangerous that it had to deploy a force almost the size of an army company to serve its arrest and search warrants, the BATF had not maintained twenty-four hour surveillance on Koresh!
Despite the fact that the search and arrest warrants were not "no-knock warrants", the BATF practiced only "dynamic entry" while rehearsing the raid. Instead of serving the arrest and search warrants in a peaceful manner, the BATF used the most violent means at its disposal, a military-style raid, thereby endangering the lives of over 100 men, women, and children who were not accussed of any crimes. Additionally, under Texas state law (Texas Penal Code Title 2, Section 9.31 (c)), the Davidians had the right to protect themselves from the BATF's show of excessive force: "when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to protect himself against the peace officer's (or other person's) use or attempted use of greater force than necessary."
FBI Personnel at Waco
FBI Assistant Director Larry Potts, Deputy Assistant Director Danny Coulson, and Michael Kahoe, chief of the FBI’s Violent Crimes and Major Offenders Section all participated in planning the April 19 assault on Mt. Carmel. The FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) on the ground in Waco was commanded by Richard Rogers and included a sniper team leader named Lon Horiuchi. In August, 1992 all of these men were involved in an incident very similiar to Waco, the Ruby Ridge standoff. At Ruby Ridge, Rogers had proposed amending the FBI's rules of engagement to include "shoot on sight" orders. Potts approved these orders. The FBI, as well as all law enforcement agencies, are only justified in using deadly force if someone's life is in immediate danger; for example, if someone is pointing a gun at the policeman or another individual. The "shoot on sight" orders gave agents permission to shoot any armed adult even if they did not pose an immediate threat. To his shame, Horiuchi chose to follow these orders even as his fellow agents refused. From a distance of over 200 yards, Horiuchi shot fugitive Randy Weaver in the shoulder. As Weaver dove inside his cabin, Horiuchi shot at Weaver again, this time blindly through the cabin door. Horiuchi's second shot struck Weaver's wife, Vicki, who was holding the couple's ten month old infant in her arms, in the head, killing her. During the ensuing investigation, congress determined the "shoot on sight" orders were "unConstitutional." In actuality, the orders were illegal. Although the US Solicitor General would argue that "federal agents can do things that would be illegal if a normal person did them," law enforcement officers have no more right to employ deadly force than civilians. Thus, Horiuchi should have been charged with attempted murder, manslaughter, and reckless endangerment (in fact, the local prosecuter did try to charge Horiuchi with manslaughter, but the case bounced between state and federal court and was eventually dropped). Anyone else aware of the orders should have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Kahoe would eventually be found guilty of destroying evidence and lying to investigators in the Ruby Ridge affair. Despite all of this, however, the FBI chose to deploy these men, people who should have been facing serious criminal charges and had already shown a reckless disregard for the basic tenants of law enforcement, to another potentially volatile situation.
Helicopters and Tanks
The FBI's use of tanks to rip holes in the Mt. Carmel complex and then insert CS gas is highly questionable. Despite not knowing where the Davidians, including the children, were inside the buildings, the tanks destroyed large sections of the buildings, putting the people inside at risk to injury both from the tanks and from debris. Investigators also found the mutilated body of one of the Davidians that was missing large portions of its upper torso. This corpse was found in the area that one of the tanks had been operating, indicating that the body had been torn apart by the tank's treads.
CS Gas
The use of CS tear gas, a chemical weapon under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), was integral to the FBI's April 19 assault plan. In concentrated doses, CS gas produces incapacitating coughing, burning eyes, disorientation, and vomiting. While the Davidian had gas masks, children do not have the lung capacity to use them; the use of the gas, then, would be mainly directed against the children. Thus, it seems as if the FBI's tactical plan, approved by Attorney General Reno, was to torture the children until the adults surrendered.
While Reno would claim that the military assured her that the gas would have no lasting effects on the children, the Army's own literature indicates otherwise. Army Field Manual FM 19-15 warns that CS "is not to be used in buildings, near hospitals or in areas where lingering contamination could cause problems." Additionally, a spokesperson for the company which produces CS gas said the chemical is designed for use in a large, open area: "If you were to shoot too much in a building or enclosed area, you could suffocate individuals."
The FBI not only used tanks to insert the gas, but also fired ferret rounds into Mt. Carmel. Ferret rounds pack enough power to punch through walls. One of the rounds struck and killed a Davidian. Because the ferret rounds contained a small explosive charge to disperse the gas, some have speculated that the ferret rounds, as well the CS gas itself which leaves a potentially flammable residue, could have contributed to the fire at Mt. Carmel. Interestingly, Reno would testify that the FBI did not use any pyrotechnical rounds at Waco. The FBI would later admit to firing not just one, but over 350 ferret rounds into the building.
The FBI was Unaware of the Davidians' Fire Plan
According to Jeff Jamar, the on-scene commander at Waco, the FBI had no idea of the Davidian's plan to set fire to Mt. Carmel in case of attack. Colonel Rodney Rawlings, who was assisting the FBI at Waco, contends that the FBI listening devices clearly picked up the voices of the Davidians making such plans. Colonel Rawlings, a combat veteran with thirty-one years experience, said that the FBI's contention that it had no warning of the Davidians' plans is "the worst lie of all." Additionally, the day before the assault, the Davidians held up signs saying "flames await."
The FBI Fired No Shots on April 19
Of all the questions about Waco, the FBI's contention that it fired no shots during the April 19 assault is the most troubling. While the rest of the evidence indicates incompetence or negligence on the part of the FBI, the agency's own videotape of the April 19 assault points to something much more ominous: deliberate murder. One piece of videotape, for example, shows a helicopter firing into the complex. By far, however, the most damning evidence are the FLIR (Foward Looking Infra-Red) videotapes. FLIR photography is a technique which measures heat emissions. Although the FBI would claim that flashes seen on the FLIR footage taken from an airplane circling Mt. Carmel are relections off of glass or some other object, multiple thermal imaging and video analysis experts have stated that since FLIR measures heat and not light, this claim is impossible. The flashes seen on the tapes are automatic gunfire directed into the Davidian complex. Additionally, one of the sniper teams reported hearing gunfire from another sniper position, Lon Horiuchi's position. Four spent shell casings were later found at his position, but these casings could be left over from the BATF February 28 raid.
The FBI admitted that ten Delta Force personnel were present at Waco. Although the FBI claimed that these soldiers only had an advisory role, other government personnel said the commandos "were pulling triggers" at Waco. The judge in the Davidians' wrongful death suit against the government would not allow the Davidians' lawyers to question the Delta Force personnel; only allowing a statement from a Pentagon lawyer that "based on currently available information" the military fired no shots at Waco.
Conclusion
David Koresh may have been everything that the government said he was, a violent child molesting egomanic. None of this changes the fact the Koresh and the other Davidians still possessed certain rights. The government is charged with ensuring those rights. Instead of protecting them, the government abused and killed them. The Davidians were a victim of federal government agencies that were more concerned with the image of their agencies than with the sworn duties of their office. The same pattern occured during the congressional hearings. The government was more concerned with "restoring the people's trust" than discovering the truth behind the incident and punishing those who had acted so dishonorably in its name. Their image was more important than the lives of eighty-six people. During the trial Victory Oboyski, President of the Law Enforcement Officers Association, defended the raid and practice of no-knock warrants in general, saying that they were the ones standing between us and people like David Koresh. In light of Waco, the question we should ask Mr. Oboyski is who stands between us and you.
A church and memorial now stand on the site of Mt. Carmel. In the memorial, the Davidians chose not only to honor their own killed at Waco, but also had the decency to honor the four fallen ATF agents. Would the government have done the same? Attorney General Reno and President Bill Clinton eventually blamed the entire affair on Koresh. Unfortunately, Koresh seems to have had a better understanding Consitutional principles and protections than these two public officials who took an oath to defend and preserve the document. During the siege, Koresh said, "This ain’t America anymore when the ATF has that kind of power, to come into anybody’s home and kick doors down and things like that." Indeed, this ain't America anymore.
