Posted on 04/19/2006 5:57:10 AM PDT by Coop
BBC archive:
1995: Many feared dead in Oklahoma bombing
A huge car bomb has exploded at a government building in Oklahoma City killing at least 80 people including 17 children at a nursery.
At least 100 people have been injured and the number of dead is expected to rise.
In an emotional speech, President Bill Clinton vowed "swift, certain and severe" punishment for those behind the atrocity.
"The United States will not tolerate and I will not allow the people of this country to be intimidated by evil cowards," he told a White House news conference this evening.
Trapped in the rubble
The blast happened just after 0900 local time when most workers were in their offices. It destroyed the facade of the ten-storey Alfred Murrah Building.
One survivor said he thought there was an earthquake: "I never heard anything that loud. It was a horrible noise...the roar of the whole building crumbling,"
There were scenes of chaos as paramedics treated the wounded on the pavement and rescue workers battled to dig out those still trapped in the rubble.
The building housed a children's nursery on the second floor as well as social security, customs, agriculture and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).
Some federal agents noted that the ATF mounted the operation two years ago today which ended the siege of David Koresh's Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas. However members of the cult commemorating the siege have angrily denied any connection.
The State Department would not discuss the possibility of this being a terrorist attack but the FBI and Oklahoma police put out an alert for three men believed to be of Middle Eastern origin driving a brown Chevrolet pick-up truck.
Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman and ten of his supporters are currently on trial for the World Trade Center bombing in February 1993.
Government buildings in Washington and all over the US have been put on high alert. Federal offices in Wilmington, Boston and Rochester were evacuated after bomb scares.
What about Woosley, Gaffney and Michael Medved?
My "where were you" on this one is pretty boring. I was at home, in bed. At the time, I worked 2pm-10pm, so I usually stayed up pretty late and slept till 12 or 12:30pm. The only unusual thing is that, for some odd reason, I'd left my TV on the night before; perhaps I'd just fallen asleep in bed before turning it off. In any case, around 10:00am or so, I started going in and out of that groggy semiconscious state every few minutes to the sound of Tom Brokaw, and I just barely made out words like "bomb" and "explosion". I looked up, saw what seemed to be a never-ending overhead chopper shot, and all in all, it just wasn't enough to stir me to full consciousness, even though there was part of my brain trying to wake me up, yelling, "Hey, this isn't normal pal! Tom Brokaw doesn't do the news in the morning!"
I never did finally wake up for real until my alarm clock went off a couple of hours later, and then I had a very busy day at work that prevented any of it sinking in until after I got home for the night.
Rita has an interview on tonight with Josh Nichols (son of Terry). They are talking about who else may have been involved.
I was at work in Fort Riley, Kansas.
I was driving on Middlesex Turnpike in Burlington, Massachusetts with Howie Carr on the radio. Howie immediately blamed "towelheads" then later apologized for jumping to conclusions.
Uh oh.
Are you calling me crazy too?
Remember, that's my theory. ;-)
But it's really not that crazy. If he did it out of some sort of perceived righteous motive (accurate or not), it would be immoral to target any one but the guilty. In my theory, the 'Feds' were all one. Department, age, and culpability were irrelevent, but a 'local' wasn't the bad guy.
A crazy and immoral person wouldn't make any such distinction and just blast anyone in his way.
Now please don't misconstrue what I'm going to say next. What follows is just something to think about. (While I share his outrage (if my theory is correct), I do not approve of what he did. As Claire Wolf said: "The problem with America is that it is too late to work within the system, but it's still too early to start shooting the bastards.")
Think about the various agencies housed in that (and every other federal building in this country. How many of them are constitutionally mandated? Not many. How many of them violate and restrict our God given rights or extract our money through taxation and our property through regulation under the guise of 'helping' us? Probably most of them.
If we just followed the Constitution and those unauthorized agencies didn't exist, would there have been such a horrific death toll? Or even a target? If the government wasn't out of control, would there even be the outrage that could trigger such a horrible act?
If we could only unring that bell or prevent it from ringing again.
My condolences on your loss.
I had the same thoughts. What was the hurry to destroy the scene? I don't buy the story that it was to protect the familes.
Oh, I'd never heard that before. It just makes the tragedy that much worse. Three little angels who never had a chance.
I'd say "yes." The target & motivation may have been different, but the evil would have still been there. Just MHO.
As I read your post I could only imagine how you and your friends, having experienced first hand, these two horrific events , coped with the reality of what you had experienced...twice.
I don't believe in coincidences....you people are special.
New tagline..
My office was near the capitol, my brother was miles away, and (by the grace of God) my sister-in-law didn't have to pick up her documents at the Murrah Federal Building that particular day!
I guess you never read any of Jayna Davis's work?
http://www.jaynadavis.com/
97.5 KMOD ???
Well, Of course!!!!
I could use some Roy D Mercer today. Too bad I can't get that station from here.
Guess not. Never heard of her.
And a good one it is.
Yes, evil exists. Always has. Always will.
But I think that you miss my point.
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