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To: 68skylark
Sorry for the drive-by posting. Here's some info I found. From a 1999 Dalla Morning News story:
One undated document stated an Army general with an extensive special-operations background had been given special permission to go to Waco despite questions about the military's authority to send him. U.S. military special-operations lawyers had previously ordered Special Forces soldiers not to go to Waco even to watch the botched Feb. 28, 1993, raid that began the standoff...Federal law prohibits any military involvement in domestic operations against U.S. citizens without authorization from the highest levels of government.

"No auth. for Gen. Shoomaker [sic] to go. Has been approved, but approved by SEC DEF," the note on stationery from an FBI commander in Waco. "SEC DEF" is an abbreviation for the secretary of defense, then Les Aspin.

The general, Peter J. Schoomaker, had once headed the Army's secret, anti-terrorist Delta Force unit and now is at U.S. Special Forces Command at Macdill Air Force Base in Florida. He was one of two senior military special operations officers who visited Waco during the standoff and then attended FBI briefings with the attorney general before she approved the final tear gas plan.

Another undated, handwritten note mentions that Delta Force commandos and intelligence experts should be "invited" to Waco, stating "Delta commo/intel guys - helpful in observation role."


And to show that it isn't just the liberal media dragging Schoomaker's name through the mud, this is from a portion of a WorldNetDaily story:
In the opinion of WorldNetDaily's military source it is telling that in the five years since the two officers in the memo met with Reno about Waco, they have, between them, collected six stars -- a nearly unprecedented rate of advancement. Boykin, then a colonel has gained three stars to become a lieutenant general in command of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, and Schoomaker, then a brigadier general, quickly gained three stars to become commander in chief of the United States Special Operations Command, the ultimate leader of all Special Forces units, Ranger units, Air Force Special Operations wings and all Navy Seals, making him arguably one of the most powerful men in the military, after the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

It appears that Schoomaker declined to offer Reno advice on the Justice Department's proposed plan for attacking the Branch Davidian compound, saying it was not a military operation and he couldn't give an opinion. To me that is a plus for him. However, there are still some questions--raised primarily by conservative media outlets-- about exactly how involved Delta Force was in the operation. Does this stuff disqualify him from being Army Chief of Staff? Probably not, but it is food for thought.
16 posted on 06/10/2003 12:16:23 PM PDT by drjimmy
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To: Valin; Matthew James
What I would give to be in on the confirmation hearings and see if any sneator has the guts to mention the word Waco. Any takers on that wager?
18 posted on 06/10/2003 12:28:38 PM PDT by SLB
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To: drjimmy
It sounds like he asked (or was ordered) to show up at Waco and have a look. To me, it doesn't sound like he broke the rules that forbid the Army from being "involved" with domestic law enforcement.

I can think of any number of reasons why a good spec ops Army leader would want to look at the Waco situation. I'd say he wasn't doing his job if he didn't try to learn as much as he could about real-world stand-off situations, in order to improve the way the Army handles the situations they have to deal with overseas.

What the FBI and ATF and the Reno Justice Department did at Waco was terrible, but from what I know at this point it doesn't seem fair for any of the stink to rest at the doorstep of the Army.

Unless I heard more information, I'd say this was a non-issue.
19 posted on 06/10/2003 12:29:45 PM PDT by 68skylark
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To: drjimmy
If he went to see what is going on that is possibly a good thing as well as possibly a bad thing.
22 posted on 06/10/2003 12:37:48 PM PDT by harpseal (Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown)
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