Grim Anniversary: Waco Siege [28 February 1993]

Answers.com ^

[yankeedame]

"Waco Siege, a fifty-one-day siege by federal
agents of the Branch Davidian religious group's commune
headquarters outside Waco, Texas, in early 1993. The
siege, which began after a botched and bloody attempt on
28 February 1993 to arrest the group's leader, David
Koresh, on a weapons charge, ended in the deaths of four
federal agents and seventy-eight Branch Davidians. The
stalemate ended when U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno
ordered the use of force on April 19. Soon after federal
agents moved, fire engulfed the compound, killing
seventy-two, provoking controversy over the use of force
in dealing with dissident sects. Although some surviving
members of the sect were acquitted of manslaughter, they
received harsh sentences when convicted on lesser
charges. In August 1999, new documents surfaced
indicating that the FBI had fired three flammable tear
gas canisters during the raid on the compound. Following
a ten-month investigation, Senator John C. Danforth
released a report concluding that although federal
agents had mishandled evidence, they had neither started
the fire nor improperly employed force."

-- US History Encyclopedia: Waco Siege

[Designer]

"It was a quagmire so they went for total annihilation."

Then quickly destroyed all physical evidence.

[Dead Corpse]

What happened to illegal drug manufacturing and child abuse?

Tossed out of court. Zero evidence of either. One of the "child brides" later was found to have been lying during initial testimony.

They were religious nuts and that was about it. Everything else was above board. For daring to think they could live their lives as they saw fit, the government killed them.

Same government we have today. EXACT same government. It's only a matter of time before it happens again...

[DuncanWaring]

Note also that the final assault on 19 April 1993 occurred 50 years to the day after the final assault on the Warsaw Ghetto during the uprising there.

[Charles Martel]

Anyone have an update on the FBI's favorite hitman?

Just curious.

[napscoordinator]

Grim??? That situation did not have to happen if David Wacko did not cause it in the first place.

[DuncanWaring]

What did David “Wacko” (sic) do to cause it in the first place?

[napscoordinator]

Grim statistic: Clinton pick Janet Reno was the worst and most corrupt AG in American history.

Most people here have been saying Alberto Gonzales was...who is right? Who is wrong? I really could care less personally as I am glad both are gone.

[DuncanWaring]

I remember you.

You’re the guy who loves the idea of using the brute force of government to take money from some people to give to other people.

[Eaker]

He has only murdered one woman holding a baby?

Still, more than most of us.

[DuncanWaring]

How many people did Alberto Gonzales burn alive?

How many people did Alberto Gonzales send back to Cuba to a life of slavery?

[napscoordinator]

I never really blamed the government for this. How long did we request for them to leave and they didn’t? We did not know if they had bombs and stuff of that nature. I think the government did the best it could with the information given. I guess I was too young to care or fully understand but I do know that they were given ample time to rectify the situation and they did not.

[JPJones]

I never realized that the first WTC bombing and the Waco siege were just two days apart.

Part of Clinton's 'wag the dog' distraction policy from his failure to recognize and fight the WOT.

[DuncanWaring]

You don't blame the government for machine-gunning the building as they walked up to the front door?

Why should the Davidians leave? They hadn't done anything wrong.

We did not know if they had bombs and stuff of that nature?

That justifies killing them all, machine-gunning anyone who tried to get out of the back of the building on April 19?

You may have been too young to fully understand 15 years ago, but you're not too young now.

These were law-abiding American citizens MURDERED BY THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT.

[TYVets]

I never realized that the first WTC bombing and the Waco siege were just two days apart.

I never realized that Slick Willie needed a military media diversion so soon after he took office.

[Dead Corpse]

I never really blamed the government for this.

Then you weren't paying attention...

[E. Pluribus Unum]

John Danforth lied: the Feds executed the Branch Davidians as they fled the burning buildings.

Film Review: The FLIR Project

I would be willing to rip the tape to mpg and post it on YouTube if is anybody is interested.

[from occupied ga]

That situation did not have to happen if David Wacko did not cause it in the first place.

Da Komrade Я с вами. If that Wacko had not wanted to start a weird church and if he had either a lot more followers or a lot fewer followers then none of this would have happened. The nerve of that guy wanting to do something different. Well we showed him didn't we? Who the hell did he think he was trying to worship in a non-approved way?

[Old Teufel Hunden]

The shame of it all is that if they wanted to just arrest David Koresh this could have all been avoided. They are the ones that thought he was a whacko and knew the compound had weapons. They also knew he took regular trips to town.

Instead of inflaming the situation, why did they not simply arrest him in town on one of his visits? These bozos at the ATF wanted a confrontation, but they got more than they bargained for.

[crazyhorse691]

I spent a couple hours in 2001 walking the grounds there...that particular sect of the Branch Davidians had some evil in it, but, they certainly did not deserve or warrant an attack of that scale by the US Government.

[1066AD]

Gen Wesley Clarke wasn’t it ?