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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.