I just saw this over the weekend. What the BATF did to the Davidians was just stupid. What the FBI did after they took over was evil.
I honestly believe that this was a raid gone bad- a raid initiated so the hotdogs at BATF could justify a larger budget. There were budget hearings coming up the next week and they were probably scared their funding would be cut, so they needed to make a splash. They find the Davidians, slap together a (bogus) search warrant, then serve said warrant in a most unprofessional manner. According to the documentary, over half the supporting affidavits said something about molestation. What's that got to do with Alcohol, Tobacco, or Firearms? Their inside man told them the Davidians knew they were coming, but the head guy who could have called it off wasn't there. Did he not leave anyone there in charge? Why did they proceed? As for "Did BATF fire first"? I don't know. Quite a few of the Davidians are on record stating that they did, and I don't know how helpful the front door to the building would be in determining the answer. It could be that the Davidians were so convinced they were fighting "the Army of Babylon" that they would say that even if it weren't true. However, since I personally don't know that much about what they believed, I find that I tend to believe BATF did fire first, for reasons unknown. Maybe they were out to make an example. Or, maybe it was just a jumpy agent who thought he saw someone pointing a gun at him or a fellow agent. Since BATF insists they did not fire first, we probably won't find out unless that agent comes forward (unless he is one of the 4 killed). Overall, I believe this started as a raid with questionable intent, it blew up in BATF's face, and snowballed from there.
Now, once FBI took over, here is where I really started to creep out....
A psychological professional told the SAIC at Mt Carmel to not be confrontational, to negotiate. So, what do they do? Cut off utilities, shine bright spotlights on them day and night, play loud music, and (creme de la creme) audio of rabbits being slaughtered! You're dealing with someone you think is a nutcase, and you try to end the standoff by agitating him!? Clearly, FBI was not there to peacably end this standoff. The real jewel was the accounts of agents and soldiers who were flipping the Davidians off, mooning them, running over graves! From start to end, this affair was mishandled, and the rights of the Davidians took a back seat.
Most disturbing were the FLIR images which clearly showed several someones firing full-auto weapons into the building. The FBI asserts that no agent fired a shot the whole tim they were in charge. Maybe it's essentially true. Maybe those people shown on the FLIR video firing were those Night Stalkers, or someone else. However, that doesn't change the fact that the Davidians were fired at while the CS gas was being inserted. Which brings me to-
I do believe the FBI murdered them. They knew the effects of CS gas, they knew the delivery system they chose was flammable, they should have known it would make cyanide gas which is deadly! Maybe they did know. Maybe that's why they chose that method... One segment shows some heat source go off briefly in a room that had just been gassed, and the fire started seconds thereafter. And the FBI asserts that only non-incendiary methods were used to insert the gas. Why, then, were 40mm gas canisters found in the rubble afterwards? Those are incendiary delivery systems! This post is already so long so I won't go into more detail, except to say that based on what I've seen, I, too, believe the Davidians were outright murdered in Waco, probably to hide just how massively the Federales krunked up.
PS I was outraged at Schumer's assertion that flashbangs are "harmless". He was subsequently slapped by testimony that they are, in fact, dangerous. Schumer knows nothing about explosives, nothing about firearms, and yet he feels qualified to decide what you or I "need" or "don't need"!!?? Pure elitism if ever I saw it...
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"Is fhe'arr teicheadh math na droch fhuireach"
-Sarabian Oomodo
If it isn't Scottish, it's CRAP!
A firearm isn't a weapon until it is used as such.
[This message has been edited by Jedi Oomodo (edited August 16, 1999).]