There were so many ways this could have been handled differently from the beginning to the end. The negotiator was upset with his own people. Every time he'd begin to build rapore with Koresh, the person in charge would escalate the activity outside the home. They basicly defeated his attempts to end the crisis peacefully *********************
You're willing to believe that one of the people who participated in a mass-murder was really a good guy who failed in his attempt to defuse the Waco situation. I'm not able to believe that.
Combined with our highly professional lawmen "mooning" the Davidian family, killing the family dogs, playing dying rabbit screams, loud music, helicopter overflights, armored vehicles circling the home, strobe lights, and shooting into the house, having a negotiator break his word to Koresh fits easily into a plan to drive the "crazy" Davidians into losing control and doing something stupid, in order to justify, on film, having been attacked by our government in the first place.
It was a campaign to make the Davidians believe that they had nothing to lose, that they were all going to die. It was a strategy of intimidation, and the "good" negotiator was just as guilty as the rest of our heroic law enforcement men, all of whom participated in the mass murder of innocent American citizens.
And got away with it.
In one of the Waco movies the negotiator is depicted as being quite ticked off at the person in charge. At one point he had achieved a concession by Koresh, which he felt signified progress, but that very night the all night music and spotlights were implemented. He made it very clear that he didn't not concur with management's actions and basicly minced no words.
I've got to admit, you and I share the same basic frame of reference with this though.
About five years ago my wife and I were asked out to dinner by a physician friend. Joining us that evening was supposed to be his wife, a nurse and her FBI agent husband.
During our dinner conversation it surfaced that this guy had been at Waco. He was a rapid response team member. This guy was very tight lipped. I'm sure he'd have rather this not come up.
I don't remember exactly how our conversation progressed now, but at one point I was asked my thoughts on Waco. After a moment I said, "People don't generally think of our nation in these terms, but our nation is not immune from the dangers that afflict other nations. The thing that concerns me, is that even in the United States we need to be vigilant against government abusing the rights of our people."
I don't think there is any doubt that at least two people at that table knew exactly what was on my mind.