What a crock! David Koresh left the compound to go into town regularly and jogged daily. Why not pick him up then rather than assault the compound with flame throwers and tanks???
Not to mention the fact that the people they tried for shooting the agents were acquitted—at which point a judge promptly overruled the jury and imposed draconian sentences on the exonerated defendants.
The whole thing was an incompetent BATF publicity stunt starring Janet Reno and the nascent Clinton administration.
The feds used army assets—violating the Posse Comitatus Act—as well as CS gas, which is supposedly illegal to use against civilians.
Over 70 dead, including numerous women and children—ho hum. The feds always get their man—frequently in the bloodiest, most heavy-handed manner possible...
” It was damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t.”
So these bloodthirsty government hoods chose to err on the side of most death and carnage.
“What a crock! David Koresh left the compound to go into town regularly and jogged”
That would have been the smart thing to do and would have eliminated all the forthcoming fun for the government sport shooters.
They wanted a dramatic takedown to justify all their pretty SWAT gear at the upcoming budget hearings. Then some agents got killed. Once that happened, the feds could not afford the possibility that a Texas jury would decide the Branch Davidians shot the feds in self-defense.
The only thing missing was a flag pole with a red flag and a bugle corps to sound the deguello.
The BIG LIE is that the FBI wanted Koresh. They did not. Koresh was continuously available. They wanted to terminate the compound. They succeeded.
AG Janet Reno was a criminal engaged in anti constitutional activity throughout her tenure.