Source: The New American / June 14,1993
Author: Robert W.Lee

TRUTH AND COVER-UP
Sorting Out The Waco Tragedy

Filtering fact from fiction in the wake of the disastrous confrontation 
between federal agents and the Branch Dividian religious sect led by 
self-styled"prophet"David Koresh will be quite a task. Crucial evidence 
and key witnesses were consumed by the fire that destroyed the sect's 
complex near Waco,Texas on April 19th. Then on May 12th,government 
officials,citing a need to fill holes and cover raw sewage for safety 
and health reasons,rolled bulldozers across the burned-out ruins,
further depleting the inventory of evidence. Moreover,many important 
aspects of the entire 51-day standoff have become muddled as federal 
agencies and officials struggle to justify their actions.

On February 28th,more than 100 Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco and Firearms 
(BATF) agents stormed the complex to execute an arrest warrant for 
David Koresh and a search warrant for the premises. Four agents were 
killed and 16 wounded in the resulting shoot-out,while six members of 
the sect reportedly died and an unknown number were injured. According 
to the affidavit on which the search warrant was based,the sect was 
suspected of harboring illegal weapons and converting some of the 
weapons obtained legally to illegal ones.

The BATF apparently did not attempt (or intend) to serve the warrant 
in the usual benign manner. One agent involved told the "Houston 
Chronicle","We had practiced to where it took seven seconds for us to 
get out of the tarp-covered cattle trailers we rolled up in,and 12 
seconds to reach the front door."

Past Cooperation

In the past,the Dividians had cooperated with law enforcement and 
human services authorities. In 1987,for instance,David Koresh (who was 
then Vernon Howell-he legally changed his name in 1990)was involved in 
a shoot-out with a rival for control of the 77-acre property. Koresh 
and seven associates were arrested,indicted,and tried for attempted 
murder. The seven associates were acquitted;charges against Koresh 
were dropped after the jury deadlocked.

The prosecutor in the case was then-McLennan County District Attorney 
Vic Feazell. During a March 1st interview with the "Houston 
Chronicle",he recalled,"We had no problems"with arresting the 
Dividians. The sheriff and a deputy simply called Koresh and told him 
that charges were pending and that he and his associates would have to 
turn themselves in and surrender their weapons. Deputies went to the 
compound and the suspects readily complied."We treated them like human 
beings,rather than storm-trooping the place,"Feazell reflects. "They 
were extremely polite people. After the trial-although we didn't agree 
with everything they believed or said-many of the members of the staff 
were pretty sympathetic with them." Feazell describes this year's 
incident as"a vulgar display of power on the part of the feds being 
met with fear and paranoia on the part of the Dividians. If they'd 
called and talked to them,the Dividians would've given them what they 
wanted."

When Henry McMahon and Karen Kilpatrick operated Hewitt's Handguns in 
Waco,they sold Koresh some $50,000 worth of firearms. During an April 
21st television interview,McMahon recounted a revealing incident 
involving himself,Koresh,and the BATF. Noting that Koresh was always 
meticulous in filling out the legal paperwork for his gun purchases,
McMahon recalled that at the end of July 1992,a BATF compliance officer,
accompanied by a trainee,visited the gun shop to check records 
on the more than 4,000 guns that the store had sold over the years,
included more than 100 sold to Koresh. As the day wore on,the officer 
began asking questions about the Dividian leader and requested (and 
was given) a list of the guns that Koresh had purchased. McMahon then 
called Koresh,while the BATF functionaries were there. As recounted by 
McMahon,he said to Koresh,"They're here asking about all these guns. 
They think its a big deal that you've bought so many guns." And Koresh 
responded,"If there's a problem,tell them to come out here." McMahon 
offered to take the agents out to see Koresh,but they declined.

Could the arrest warrant for Koresh have been executed while he was 
outside the compound? Federal authorities at first claimed that Koresh 
had been under constant surveillance for about two months,had not left 
the compound for five weeks,and was not expected to do so anytime 
soon. But Paul Fatta,a Davidian who was running errands elsewhere when 
the raid took place,told reporters that on several occasions in recent 
weeks he,Koresh,and others had gone"jogging down the road. Five guys 
in tennis shoes jogging in shorts. I want to know why at that time,if 
they wanted him to come peacefully or serve the warrant,why wasn't it 
done then? We were off the property several times."

Brent Moore,Manager of the Chelsea Street Pub and Grill which Koresh 
frequented,told the "Houston Post"for March 5th,He was in here three 
or four weeks ago." One music store owner recalled that Koresh had 
stopped by in early January. When numerous other neighbors and 
merchants claimed that they also had seen Koresh around town in the 
weeks preceding the raid,BATF Associate Director Dan Hartnett admitted 
that the BATF had not monitored the complex on a 24-hour basis,which 
contradicted the earlier claims and meant that the agency was not 
certain of Koresh's comings and goings.

Who Fired First?

The crucial question of who fired the first shot during the original 
BATF raid remains in doubt. According to BATF intelligence chief David 
Troy,the entire mission (reportedly named Operation Trojan Horse) was 
videotaped,but the tapes are being withheld due to the homicide 
investigation. The unexpurgated tapes could confirm who fired first 
and clarify other key aspects of the tragedy. To preclude possible 
tampering,U.S.District Judge Walter S.Smith Jr.in Waco has ordered the 
FBI to preserve all of the government's audio and videotapes of the 
February 28th raid. Unless complete,unedited tapes can be produced,and 
soon,the widespread suspicion that the government is engaged in a 
cover-up will intensify.

Did those inside the compound even realize they were being attacked by 
law enforcement officials? Sect member David Thibodeau,who survived 
the fire,was interviewed by the television tabloid"A Current Affair"
for May 3rd. Thibodeau claimed that fellow sect member Douglas Wayne 
Martin,a Harvard-trained attorney,called 911 to report the assault. As 
recounted by Thibodeau,the"person at 911 put him through to another 
agency-I think it was the sheriff's department,but I'm not 100 percent 
sure-and the person at the other end of the phone said,"Well hi,boys,
how y'all doin' out there?" And,you know,Wayne's screaming,'We're 
gettin' shot at! We're gettin'killed! We're gettin'killed!"

Since tapes of 911 calls are preserved,it should be a simple matter to 
verify Thibodeau's account. But as"A Current Affair"correspondent Mary 
Garofalo noted,it"has become a controversial recording[that]police 
refuse to release to the press."

Flawed Affidavit

The search warrant issued by U.S.Magistrate Judge Dennis G.Green,dated 
February 25th,was based on an affidavit signed that day by BATF 
Special Agent Davy Aguilera. The affidavit is larded with 
unsubstantiated allegations by disgruntled former Branch Dividians and 
with inherently contradictory claims. Some legal scholars have 
questioned the legality or the search warrant itself-which had to be 
based on"probable cause"-in light of the flawed affidavit.

At one point,for instance,the affidavit refers to Aguilera's 
conversation with a colleague,Special Agent Carlos Torres,who related 
to Aguilera the gist of an interview he had conducted on December 4,
1992 with Ms.Joyce Sparks of the Texas Department of Human Services.

Responding to a complaint the agency had received from outside the 
state that Koresh was operating a commune-type compound and was 
sexually abusing young girls,Ms.Sparks had visited the compound on 
February 27,1992 and talked with some of the children. She did not 
report that any were abused,but in(in Aguilera's words)had"talked to a 
young boy about 7 or 8 years old. The child said that he could not 
wait to grow up and be a man. When Ms.Sparks asked him why he was in 
such a hurry to grow up,he replied that when he grew up he would get 
a'long gun'just like all the other men there. When Ms.Sparks pursued 
the subject,the boy told her that all the adults had guns and they 
were always practicing with them."Apparently,both Ms.Sparks and 
Aguilera viewed the episode as sinister,even though the same sort of 
response could have been elicited from,say,a young Davy Crockett,
Daniel Boone,or Alvin York.

Ms.Sparks returned to the compound on April 6th and (as recounted by 
Aguilera)"said that during her conversation with Koresh,{Koresh}told 
her that he was the 'Messenger'from God,that the world was coming to 
an end,and that when he'reveals'himself the riots in Los Angeles would 
pale in comparison to what was going to happen in Waco,Texas. Koresh 
stated that it would be a 'military type operation'and that all the '
non-believers'would have to suffer.

That account,which was widely publicized by the media,helped to 
underpin the contention that Koresh and his followers may have been 
plotting a violent attack on Waco. Note,however,that this account has 
Koresh claiming on April 6th that"the riots in Los Angeles would pale 
in comparison"to events in Waco,when in fact the LA riots did not 
begin until April 30th,24 days latter! Unless Koresh was indeed the 
prophet he claimed to be,something is obviously amiss!

On pages 14-15 of the affidavit,Agent Aguilera claims that a BATF 
informant within the compound reported"that he[Koresh]did not pay 
taxes or local taxes because he felt he did not have to." Yet on page 
three,Aguilera describes the 1987 shooting incident mentioned earlier 
and asserts that,although Koresh's rival"was in jeopardy of losing the 
property by foreclosure due to delinquent taxes which had not been 
since 1968,"the"taxes owed on the Mt.Carmel Center[as the compound was 
known]have been paid by Howell's[Koresh's]group."

And at yet another point,Aguilera asserts that a sheriff's department 
lieutenant"furnished me with recent aerial photographs of the Mt.
Carmel Center which had been taken by Captain Dan Weyenberg of the 
McLennan County Sheriff's Department,Waco,Texas. Among the things 
noted in the photographs was a buried bus near the main structure....
" During her April 6th visit to the compound,Ms.Sparks had noticed a 
trap door in the floor at one end of the building. In Aguilera's 
words,"Koresh allowed her to look into the trap door. She could see a 
ladder leading down into a buried school bus." How could an aerial 
photograph show a bus so deeply buried that it must be accessed via a 
trap door and ladder?

Despite such contradictions,Magistrate Judge Green signed off on the 
warrant that led to the attempted search that led to the shoot-out 
that led to the stand-off that led to the holocaust.

Mysterious Tip-Off?

At first,the BATF told reporters that the raid had failed because the 
Dividians were tipped off by a mysterious caller. It was subsequently 
learned,however,that actions by the BATF itself and the other law 
enforcement agencies involved may have enabled the sect to realize 
what was happening and when. At least 11 reporters were on the scene 
before the assault team struck. According to the "New York Times"for 
March 28th,residents of Waco reported that their radio scanners picked 
up BATF agents talking to each other on their walkie-talkies prior to 
the raid. Helicopters were overheard as the first agent set foot on 
the ground. A BATF spokesman acknowledged on March 1st that local 
police were talking openly about the undertaking on an easily 
overheard radio frequency 45 minutes before the raid,but claimed that 
there was "no evidence"that it was a factor in tipping off the 
Dividians.

On March 11th,BATF Deputy Associate Director Dan Conroy told 
reporters,"We absolutely,categorically deny we contacted the media 
prior to the raid." He subsequently acknowledged,however,that Sharon 
Wheeler,a BATF spokeswoman in Dallas-based news agencies a few hours 
prior to the raid and asked for the phone numbers of specific press 
representatives who could be reached"in case something happened"over 
the weekend. And during his testimony before the House Judiciary 
Committee on April 28th,BATF Director Stephen E.Higgins was asked by 
Representative John Bryant(D-TX):"Did somebody at the BATF notify the 
press in advance of the raid?" Higgins replied:"Yes,I think there's 
evidence which indicates that someone did."

An especially disturbing aspect of this whole affair is the extent to 
which federal authorities have relied on unverified charges by former 
Branch Dividians as the basis for their decisions. The testimony of 
disgruntled members of religious organizations,of former employees,or 
of embittered family members is notoriously unreliable standing alone. 
The most sensational charges about David Koresh's alleged adulteries,
multiple wives,sex with children,etc.,have come from disaffected 
Davidians such as Australian musician James Tom,who has received 
extensive media coverage for his claim that Koresh once spanked his(Tom's)
daughter for some 30 to 40 minutes (or 45 to 50 minutes,depending on the 
interview),until the childs bottom was bleeding and bruised,because she 
would not sit on his lap. Asked why he did not intervene,Tom once explained 
that"I couldn't,"because he might get hurt himself.

Tom has also charged that Koresh once asked him to surrender one of his 
children for a literal human sacrifice,and that on another occasion Koresh 
locked his own three-year-old son in a garage as punishment and told the 
boy there were rats in the garage who liked to gnaw on children.

Tom has said,"When I first saw him [Koresh],I thought this guy is the 
spitting image of Charles Manson." Why,then,did he join the sect in 
the first place? Why would he bring his children into a compound run 
by someone he perceived as a Charles Manson clone?

Tom could conceivably be telling the truth,as could the other disaffected 
Davividians who have made similar sensational allegations against Koresh,
but there is simply no independent verification of their charges. In any 
event,even if these charges are true,they do not justify the federal 
intervention that occurred. Child abusers should certainly be brought to 
justice,but child abuse is a local or state matter,not a federal matter.

Demonizing Koresh

David Koresh was no angel (nor prophet,nor Jesus for that matter). He 
also headed a sect that most people would call a cult. But how do 
these facts explain the wild exaggerations by his critics? During a 
"MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour"interview on April 20th,for example,
terrorism expert Frank McGuire claimed that "David Koresh left a trail 
of criminal behavior going back to at least 1987,"when the most that 
can be said is that he left a trail of alleged criminality. FBI 
spokesman Bobs Ricks labeled Koresh"a classical sociopath,"Attorney 
General Janet Reno branded him "a dangerous criminal," "Fort Worth 
Star-Telegram"columnist Bill Thompson described him as "one of the 
vilest mass murderers of our time,"and President Clinton said he was 
"dangerous,irrational and probably insane." Such unsubstantiated 
statements have served primarily to condition the public to accept the 
calamitous federal response as justified,no matter how unconstitutional 
and brutal,since the target was characterized as being a monster who had 
to be brought down by any means. 

At one point during the standoff it was rumored that Koresh was planning 
to destroy a dam in the Waco area,presumably to initiate a Noachian-type 
flood. The charge,it turned out,was predicated on a letter Koresh had 
written in mid-April claiming that he had been shown (presumably by God)"
a fault line running throughout [the] Lake Waco area,"and that an
"earthquake in Waco is something not to be taken lightly." Even the FBI 
interpreted the letter to mean that the Davidians intended to destroy 
a dam,but the agency was assuaged after Koresh lieutenant Steve Schneider 
explained,in the words of FBI spokesman Bob Ricks,that Koresh was merely 
"predicting a natural disaster,and there is no criminal intent on his 
part nor is he the requesting anyone else take action on the part of David 
to fulfill their prophecy."

But even after the fire,the rumor persisted,and"Inside Edition"for 
April 21st somberly claimed that authorities had told the publication 
"that there is concern that surviving cult members will try to fulfill 
that prophecy by vandalizing the dam." Needless to say,such an act would 
not fulfill the prophecy,which entailed destruction by earthquake,
not vandalism.

Charges of Child Abuse

As we have already indicated,child abuse falls outside the constitutional 
purview of the federal government. Yet concern that children within the 
compound were being physically and sexually abused has been cited by 
President Clinton,Attorney General Reno,and other officials as a 
justification for federal intervention. White House spokesman George 
Stephanopolous told reporters on April 21st that there "is absolutely no 
question that there's overwhelming evidence of child abuse in the Waco 
compound."

Indeed,as the ashes smoldered,Attorney General Reno claimed on April 
19th that it was concern for the children that had first brought 
federal attention to the Davidians,that suspected sexual abuse of 
children was a basis for the original raid,and that the decision to 
punch holes in the compound and insert chemical irritant was based in 
part on "information that infants were being slapped around and 
beaten." She subsequently admitted,though,that "we can't prove it 
[child abuse] in terms of a criminal case."

Moreover,the Justice Department acknowledged on April 21st that there 
was no hard evidence of any recent child abuse,but instead only 
speculation by psychiatrists who had studied Koresh,analyzed his 
writings,and interviewed former members of the sect. On that basis,the 
"experts"had concluded,and advised federal authorities,that abuse had 
occurred and was probably continuing. Also on April 21st, 1,100 pages 
of unsealed documents were released in Waco. They contained only two 
allegations of child abuse,both of which emanated from disgruntled 
former members of the sect.

On April 28th,FBI Deputy Director Floyd Clarke told the House 
Judiciary Committee that the Branch Dividians had used their own 
children as human sheilds. He asserted that sect members"would appear 
in the windows and hold the children up"and would even refer to the 
children as "Kevlar Kids." Kevlar is a bulletproof material.

Clarke's account is evidently based on an incident that occurred one 
month earlier when federal agents used an M1-A1 Abrams battle tank to 
clear vehicles,brush,and other debris from the front of the compound 
property. Some sect members lifted children to windows,apparently to 
satiate their curiosity about what was taking place. There were no 
other indications of evil intent,no display of weapons,no acts of 
aggression. FBI spokesman Richard Swensen acknowledged that the 
children may have been hoisted up simply to satisfy their curiosity 
about the tank,but added that it was a dangerous maneuver which 
"raised the anxiety level of everyone." The FBI's concern was 
understandable,but so was the Davidian's deportment,and the episode 
hardly merited the self-serving spin given it by Deputy Director 
Clarke.

In the wake of the tragic fire,FBI spokesman Bob Ricks told reporters 
on April 19th that one of the surviving sect members reported that 
children had been safely placed in a bunker before flames swept the 
compound. "It appears that this was one final lie on David's part to 
assure the people that the children had been taken care of," Ricks 
asserted "It appears once again his final act to the American people 
was to go through a lie." But on May 14th,the Associated Press 
revealed,"As it turned out ,it was no lie:Most of the children were 
found huddled in the concrete bunker,enveloped in the protective 
embraces of their mothers."

During the standoff itself,the FBI seemed to show little regard for 
the welfare of the children. The bizarre psychological operations 
(psy-ops) to deprive the Davidians of sleep included recordings of 
dental drills and rabbits being slaughtered,which was hardly 
conducive to the children's welfare. Indeed,if officials actually 
believed that adult members of the sect were prone to child abuse,
making them more highstrung and emotionally exasperated could only 
make matters worse.

On March 5th,FBI spokesman Ricks had said that the goal of the 
negotiations was to make Koresh feel comfortable with the federal 
officials and to convince him that authorities act in a humane 
fashion. The "Houston Chronicle"had claimed earlier in the week that 
psy-ops were being planned,but on March 6th reported that FBI 
officials "deny that they have any plans to use 'psychological 
warfare' techniques such as the loud rock music"used against 
Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega in 1989.

Psy-Op Effect

After the fire,FBI spokesman Jeff Jamar told "Nightline's"Ted Koppell 
that the goal of the psy-ops was to keep the Davidians "from being 
able to sleep"and to "distract them and at least hopefully break down 
some of [Koresh's] control over them."  Yet it is a well established 
principle of psychological warfare that sleep deprivation makes 
individuals more suggestible and therefore more likely to believe what 
they are told by those with influence over them. Rather than "break 
down"the sect leader's control,the psy-ops approach may have enhanced 
it.

Actually,though,the loud-sound,bright-light histrionics appeared to 
have had little impact on the Davidians. They may have done more to 
unnerve federal agents,and possibly contributed to the "fatigue"cited 
by Attorney General Reno as another reason for giving the go ahead 
for the April 19th assault."Newsweek"for May 3rd noted that,according 
to Steve Schneider's attorney Jack Zimmermann,the spotlights shining 
through windows all night simply provided "more illumination for Bible 
study" and was "especially welcome since the electricity had been cut 
off." And FBI spokesman Bob Ricks admitted on April 8th that if "we 
were to say psy-ops were to have the least effect on almost anyone,it 
probably would be Mr.Koresh." Its greatest impact,in all likelihood,
was on the children.

The Texas Department of Human Services had on at least three prior 
occasions investigated allegations of child abuse at the compound. 
Both children and adults were interviewed,but investigators were 
unable to gain any hard or credible evidence of abuse. Similarly,21 
children were released during the early days of the standoff,and 
authorities could find no evidence of abuse. Janice M.Caldwell,
executive director of the Texas Department of Protective and 
Regulatory Services,told reporters on March 5th,"They're in remarkably 
good shape considering what they have been through. No signs of 
physical abuse have been found." The next day's "Houston Post"reported 
that authorities had found that "all the youths appear to be in good 
condition psychologically and physically," and that only one child 
required even "minor medical attention." Social worker Joyce Sparks,
according to the "Post",said"the children are remarkably well-educated 
and they're facinated by the books in the residence where they're 
staying."

Psychobabble

But while the authorities who checked the children when they were 
released could find no evidence  of abuse,a team of therapists led by 
Dr.Bruce D.Perry announced on May 4th that the kids were afflicted 
with all sorts of problems. Dr.Perry,chief of psychiatry at Texas 
Children's hospital and vice chairman for research of the department 
of psychiatry at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston,spent two 
months working with 19 of the 21 children (the others were too young). 
While his team's report did not claim that the children had been 
physically or sexually abused (he specifically said that the team had 
found no evidence to support President Clinton's and Attorney General 
Reno's contention that the children had been abused),Dr.Perry told 
reporters that the children had been subjected to harsh physical 
discipline for minor infractions,that round lesions that might have 
been caused by paddling were found on the buttocks of some of the 
girls,that there had been gym classes that included marching and 
drilling possibly with firearms,that Koresh had told the children to 
call their parents "dogs",that only he was to be referred to as their 
father,that girls as young as 11 were given a plastic Star of David 
signifying that they were ready to have sex with Koresh,etc. Dr.Perry 
also claimed that the children feared Koresh,even though he 
acknowledged that nearly all of them talked about their love for him. 
"Fear is what it was," he said during an interview. "They learned to 
substitute the word'love'for fear."

The credibility of much of what the children told the Perry team is 
questionable. As "Newsweek"for May 17th observed,"Some of the 
children's more fantastic stories may not be true. In his report,Perry 
mentions that several children said dead babies were kept in the 
freezer until they could be buried or burned. Perry says that there's 
no way to determine the accuracy of these stories." Nor is there a way 
to determine the accuracy of the stories Dr.Perry does appear to 
believe.

In one of the most dramatic segments of his May 4th news conference,
Dr.Perry displayed pictures drawn by the children. In one instance,a 
girl had depicted her "home",and when Dr.Perry asked if there was 
anything else,the youngster took the crayon and pounded a number of 
marks at the top of the structure. When Dr.Perry asked what it meant,
she replied"bullets". This was viewed as an indication that the sect's 
alleged obsession with guns and shooting had scarredthe youngster 
emotionally. But the possibility that the youngster was emotionally 
affected by the government's raid on the compound was ignored. It is 
no exaggeration to state that the event must have been traumatic for 
the children. As the "Houston Chronicle" for March 2nd had reported:
	    
	Children trapped inside the Mount Carmel cult compound during
	Sunday's deadly gunbattle cowered under their beds,horrified,
	while federal agents pumped a barrage of bullets into their
	quarters.
	Six of the children were released Sunday,joined by four 
	 others Monday afternoon. The first group told social workers 
	 and therapists Monday that bullets were whizzing through 
	 windows and walls and they feared they would be killed with 
	 their families.

Deteriorating Conditions

Deteriorating sanitary conditions within the compound,due to the 
presence of dead bodies and the buildup of raw sewage,were cited as 
another justification for the tragic April 19th assault. Attorney 
General Reno asserted on CNN's"Larry King Live"that her "horrible 
fear"was that"if I delayed,without sanitation or toilets there...I 
could go in there in two months and find children dead from any number 
of things."  But as explained on "Nightline" for April 28th by former 
Pentagon official Noel Koch,whose specialty was counterterrorism and 
internal security,deteriorating conditions within the compound were 
actually "good problems for the negotiators. They buy you time. If you 
think things are getting bad inside,that's just a signal to you to 
continue to let them get worse and not try to interrupt the process." 
After all,"it's better to have a terrible situation than be dead."

The Drug Connection

For weeks,officials insisted to reporters that there was no suspicion 
of illegal drugs at the compound. But the BATF enticed Texas officials 
to allow the use of three National Guard helicopters in the raid by 
claiming that illegal drugs were indeed suspected. Only in late March,
when the governor's office maintained that it had been misled,did the 
BATF for the first time publicly state that the compound may have 
harbored a methamphetamine laboratory. The "Houston Chronicle"for 
March 25th reported that"a review of federal guidelines by the 
governor's staff indicated that the only way the Guard could have 
assisted in the ATF investigation was that evidence indicated illegal 
drugs were involved."

A BATF source "confirmed that the Texas Guard was told of the 
possibility of an illegal drug lab at the compound",but at the same 
time,"the source said the agency was uncertain whether a lab actually 
was in operation at the time of the raid". Indeed,as revealed by the 
"Waco Tribune-Herald"for March 28th,the BATF's "evidence"that the sect 
was making and selling illegal methamphetamines consisted of nothing 
more than that 11 members had been involved in prior drug activity.

Just as it is not known with certainty who fired the first shot at the 
beginning of the 51-day standoff,so it is unclear how the fire started 
at the end. The government claims that the Davidians ignited the blaze 
in an act of religiously motivated mass suicide. On the other hand,a 
number of surviving Davidians contend that the fire began after a tank 
bashed a hole in the compound and tipped over a kerosene lamp.

On April 19th,FBI spokesman Bob Ricks claimed that one of the 
survivors had heard someone inside the compound yell:"The fire's been 
lit. The fire's been lit." But when sect member Renos Avraam,the 
source for Rick's comment,was queried on camera by reporters,he 
declared the opposite:"One of the tanks knocked over a gas lantern,and 
it started a fire under some bales of hay that were lying around....
The fire wasn't started by us."

Fortress or Firetrap?

The possibility of fire,accidental or otherwise,should have been 
apparent to the federal agents all along. Electricity to the compound 
had been cut off on March 12th,forcing the Davidians to rely on 
gasoline-powered generators,kerosene lamps,and propane. The building 
(on occasion described as a "fortress"by authorities)was a veritable 
tinderbox constructed of used lumber,plywood,and sheetrock tacked 
together with tar paper. All of its floors were littered witlinens,
cardboard,and bales of hay pushed against windows to parry bullets.

The FBI claims that heat sensors detected fires at a number of points 
simultaneously;some accounts say that fires began in two places,others 
say three,and still others say four. A team of"independent"arson 
investigators announced on April 26th that,in its opinion,the fire was 
set by persons inside the building in at least two separate locations 
at about the same time. Since the 30-mile-per-hour winds blowing 
through the many flue-like holes punched by the tanks could have 
upended other ignition sources throughout the building,while rapidly 
spreading the fire,the government's position depends in large part on 
the simultaneous setting of the fires at multiple points.

But "U.S.News & World Report"for May 3rd reported that"FBI officials 
say their aerial surveillance of the area picked up with infrared 
imaging flames breaking out at three different points within 50 
seconds. And "Newsweek"for May 3rd asserted that "Justice Department 
spokesman Carl Stern says three separate sources reported fires 
starting in three different locations within 120 seconds." An interval 
of 50 seconds to two minutes is hardly "simultaneous"when we are 
talking about a wind-driven conflagration in a tinderbox that burned 
to the ground in under 45 minutes.

The arson investigation team led by Paul Gray,assistant chief 
investigator for the Houston Fire Department,discounted Davidian 
claims that a tank knocked over a can of fuel. Gray claimed during a 
news briefing on April 26th that it was impossible because,as captured 
by videotape,the last assault by the tank was at least four minutes 
before the fire actually broke out. But NBC News reported later in the 
day that it had videotaped a tank "tearing away the corner of one 
building only 2 minutes 50 seconds before the first signs of fire." 
Those first indications of fire emanated from a window almost directly 
above the point where the tank ripped the hole.

On April 28th,CBS News correspondent Sarah Hughes reported that the 
supposedly"independent"arson investigation team"has close ties with 
the FBI". In response,Mr.Gray groused that to "even suggest that any 
information we may be getting from the FBI is somehow tainted is
absolutely ridiculous". During an ABC News "Nightline" interview that 
evening,attorney Jack Zimmermann asked,referring to Gray,"Why in the 
world did they bring in as chief of this investigating team looking 
into the fire,a fellow who had been on an ATF joint task force for 
eight to ten years,out of the Houston office of the ATF,the office 
that planned and executed the raid?" Good question!

The government's position also depends heavily on whether members of 
the sect actually intended to commit mass suicide. If so,then the 
possibility that they torched the compound to fulfill their role in 
apocalyptic prophecy becomes plausible. If not,however,then the 
likelihood that they purposely set the fire dwindles.

In 1992,former sect members in Australia charged that Koresh was 
contemplating a mass suicide. The State Department relayed the 
information to authorities in the U.S.,Koresh denied it,and it 
obviously never happened. Nevertheless,Treasury Secretary Lloyd 
Bentsen told reporters on March 3rd that concern that the Davidians 
would commit mass suicide had guided federal actions since the initial 
raid.

As with child abuse,keeping people from killing themselves is a state 
and local concern,not a federal government concern. In any event,the 
preponderance of evidence,including that gleaned by federal 
authorities themselves,indicates that suicide was not only alien to 
Davidian religious tenets,but that Koresh and others were making plans 
for the future.

On the day of the fire,for the first time,the FBI's Bob Ricks told 
reporters that on March 2nd Koresh intended to emerge from the 
compound with "hand grenades attached to himself". Ricks continued:
"When the FBI approached him,he was going to pull the grenades and was 
going to kill himself....Everybody knew this was the plan. They all 
reconvened back in the chapel. David Koresh kissed the kids good-bye 
and was going to go outside and was going to commit suicide in front 
of all the TV cameras. At the last second, he chickened out."

If this indeed was Koresh's intention (and we only have Rick's word), 
it would have been a clear indication of suicidal tendencies on 
Koresh's part. But according to FBI Director William Sessions, the 
agency had no such indication at all that Koresh was suicidal. During 
an April 20th "MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour" interview, Sessions asserted 
that "every single analysis made of his writing, of what he had said, 
of what the behavioral science people said, what the psychologist 
thought, the psycholinguists thought, what the psychiatrists believed, 
was that this man was not suicidal, that he would not take his life." 
Which makes Agent Rick's version of events seem somewhat apocryphal.

PLANS for the FUTURE

One of the experts that the FBI consulted was Syracuse University 
psychologist Dr. Murray Miron, a linguistics expert. On April 20th, 
Dr. Miron told NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw that, regarding the five 
letters by Koresh that the FBI had asked him to analyze, "All of his 
communications were future-oriented. He claimed to be working on a 
manuscript. He was taking about the publication rights to that 
manuscript through has lawyer. He was intent upon furthering his 
cause." Koresh had reportedly retained New York literary attorney Ken 
Burrows to negotiate the sale of his story. He had asked his local 
attorney, Richard DeGuerin, to prepare a will protecting sect property 
rights and establishing a trust fund for his children to safeguard any 
money made from movie or book deals. When armored vehicles moved has 
black Camaro from the front of the compound, he reportedly became 
enraged, indicating that he had hopes of driving it again someday.

There are also indication that other sect members were not 
contemplating suicide. According to "Newsweek" for May 3rd, Steve 
Schneider, who always tried to be well-groomed, asked his attorney, 
Jack Zimmermann, "Should I get one of our people in here to cut my 
hair before I come out or let the people at the jail cut it?" And FBI 
spokesman Ricks told reporters on March 15th that "occupants of the 
compound...are very interested in how the judicial process might work" 
should they surrender.

In these and other ways, David Koresh and other sect member were 
sending signals that seriously conflict with the government's 
contention that they had a tropism toward self-immolation.  The 
location of the bodies that were discovered after the fire also 
challenge the suicide hypothesis.  In the words of arson investigator 
Paul Gray, the bodies were "generally distributed throughout the 
rubble," not huddled close together as one might expect in a 
pre-planned mass suicide.

As we write, 78 bodies have been recovered, including 22 that 
reportedly died from gunshot wounds. It has not been (and may never 
be) established if those gunshot wounds were the result of willful 
suicide, murder while trying to escape, or an expedient alternative 
to the excrutiating pain and suffering of burning to death.

According to Attorney General Janet Reno, nobody high up in government 
said "don't do it" as she considered the disastrous plan. But it is 
not mere hindsight to say that someone should have. On March 10th, the 
"Houston Chronicle" reported that former Houston police SWAT commander 
Lieutenant Jim Gunn had advised that, considering the variety and 
firepower weapons Koresh and his followers were alleged to have, 
"About the only thing you could do in there with the M-1 tanks and 
start knocking down walls, and they are not going to do that with the 
children in there." And use of tear gas was not a feasible 
alternative, according to Gunn, because "tear gas can get into a 
child's lung  and cause congestion and kill them."


USE of TEAR GAS

Lieutenant Gunn was proven wrong, but only because our new attorney 
general and President were so terribly wrong. The tear gas that was 
inserted into the compound--a white, crystalline powder called CS 
(O-chlorobenzylidene malonitrile)--is scheduled to be be banned for 
military use by the Chemical Weapons Convention signed in Paris in 
January by the U.S. and some 130 other nations. There is an exception 
in the treaty, however, for its use in domestic law enforcement. Used 
during the Vietnam War to flush the Vietcong from hidden tunnels, the 
has causes dizziness, disorientation, shortness of breath, chest 
tightness, nausea, burning of the skin, intense tearing, coughing, and 
vomiting.

Benjamin C. Garrett, executive director of Chemical and Biological 
Arms Control Institute in Alexandria,Virginia,told the "Washington 
Times"for April 23rd that CS would have most harshly affected the 
children in the compound. "The reaction would have intensified for 
the children," he noted,since "the smaller you are,the sooner you 
would feel response." The FBI claimed that it had hoped that mothers,
anxious to protect their children,would run outside when the chemical 
irritant was inserted into the building. At a news conference,White 
House spokesman George Stephanopoulos declined to explain why,if that 
were the case,a substance that temporarily blinds and disables a 
person was selected.

The tragedy near Waco has predictably spawned new calls for additional 
gun controls to close alleged"loopholes"in the existing federal laws 
and further erode the Second Amendment guarantee of law-abiding 
Americans. On May 5th,for instance,Senator John Chafee (R-RI)announced 
that he would seek a new law requiring handgun owners,with few 
exceptions,to surrender their firearms for $25,or the market value of 
each firearm,as part of a nationwide ban on handgun ownership. He also 
seeks to prohibit the sale,purchase,transfer,manufacture,possession, 
transportation,and import and export of handguns and handgun 
ammunition.

Killer Gun Laws

Assuming(it has yet to be confirmed)that the Davidians obtained some 
of their weapons illegally,they did so despite the plethora of 
already-existing gun control statutes. A waiting period for gun 
ownership would not have precluded them from collecting an arsenal 
over many months or years. Neither would a one-gun-per-month 
restriction have affected them,since more than 100 persons were 
involved. On May 5th,the Associated Press reported that the Texas 
Rangers leading the investigation into the standoff and its aftermath 
had collected 1.916 pieces of evidence from the charred ruins,
including"200 recognizable firearms",or about two per adult Dividian. 
(David Koresh,by the way,was a licensed firearms dealer.)

Make no mistake about it:Gun control laws increase the power of 
government and the criminal element over the average citizen,and serve 
no other purpose. As syndicated columnist Paul Craig Roberts has noted,
the tragedy near Waco"happened precisely because of federal laws 
regulating gun ownership. The Branch Dividians hadn't assaulted 
anyone. They lived peacefully in the community. Except for the federal 
gun laws,they would all still be alive." It is,Roberts continues,the 
liberal premise "that gun ownership should be illegal,or at least 
heavily regulated," that "has created the atmosphere in which the ATF,
like an unthinking bully,feels compelled to increasingly and brazenly 
show its presence."

	*       *       *

During an April 20th ABC News special on the tragedy,FBI Director 
William Sessions asserted that "the American public expects that law 
enforcement will deal with those people who have broken the law." He 
is right,and that expectation includes-indeed should begin with-those 
federal officials who violated both the spirit and the substance of 
the Constitution they are sworn to uphold.

 

