But are we told the truth ?With access, unheard of just a few years ago, to stories from around the world
we no longer have to rely on second-hand, politically corrected reports but
can go directly to the source of the information to see what the truth is for
ourselves.
But the belief that we are seeing more of the truth is mistaken; all we see is
the news, as it originates, truthful or otherwise.
The case of the Branch Davidian's stand-off in Waco, Texas, USA is a case in
point.
Waco
The events that took place between February and April, 1993, were broadcast
around the world. Everyone witnessed how a bunch of religious activists, led by
David Koresh, a self-proclaimed Christ, attacked, and killed, members of
an American law enforcement agency who had come to investigate this cult's
stockpiling of guns and ammunition. We all saw the subsequent stand-off and
attempts by the government agencies to defuse the situation which ended with
the mass suicide attempt of the Branch Davidians as they burnt their Mount
Carmel base to the ground.It was all clearly visible and we had seen first-hand the events unfurl. We
had seen what had really happened. And we knew what the truth was.
But were we told the truth ?
It would now appear not.
The Initial Assault
On the 28th of February, 1993, officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms ( the BATF ) mounted a raid on Mount Carmel, the home of the Waco
Branch Davidians, ostensibly because of concerns over firearms stockpiling.
This armed raid was well planned and well orchestrated but the results were not
what the BATF expected; six Branch Davidians and four [ I believe ] BATF
officers killed, many more including Koresh were injured.
The BATF's grounds for obtaining the warrant, authorising the raid, makes for
interesting reading; a great deal of concern was expressed over allegations of
child rape and drug abuse despite this not being within the jurisdiction of the
BATF.
The BATF obviously saw this raid as some sort of point scoring exercise and
ensured that officers were equipped with numerous video cameras to record the
expected success.
Prior to the raid, David Koresh had co-operated fully with law enforcement
agencies on previous allegations and it is therefore not unsurprising that, when
they were unexpectedly assaulted by the BATF, they did what any normal
person would do; they fought back to defend themselves.
It is alleged that the BATF started the shooting; a claim that cannot be
completely proven as the tape showing the initial assault on the front door of
Mount Carmel was later found to be be blank, or erased.
The BATF of course claimed that the Branch Davidians started the war and pointed
to the stockpile of armaments as evidence of their violent intent. In fact the
Branch Davidians were arms dealers; something entirely legal in Texas, the
profits of which were being used to support themselves.
The Stand-Off
Immediately following the disastrous BATF raid, the Federal Bureau of
Investigations ( the FBI ) took over the case.
The BATF retired into the background and surprisingly, given the seriousness
of the situation that had arisen, failed to file any reports at all into the
activities of the previous day. Highly irregular but consistent with later events
that occurred.
FBI negotiators attempted to convince Koresh and his followers to surrender
but got nowhere; Koresh apparently believing that God had told him not to
leave Mount Carmel and holding an obvious fear for their futures should they
leave.
Some members did leave Mount Carmel, were duly arrested and charged with the
murder of BATF officers. Koresh and the remainder stayed behind.
The FBI provided Koresh with a video camera and his footage, along with the
BATF and FBI films, and latter FBI recordings of negotiations, makes for very
interesting analysis.
Koresh, despite holding, what many would call unorthodox religious views,
comes over as a reasonable man, as do his followers; the local Sheriff is
quite adamant that over many years he had found them all to be pleasant
and peaceful people who kept themselves to themselves.
The FBI on the other hand come over as bigots and liars, even during the
later congressional hearings.
Complaints that helicopters used in the original BATF raid fired upon Mount
Carmel are completely dismissed by FBI negotiators as being untrue despite
there being BATF film evidence to the contrary. It is not surprising therefore
that the Branch Davidians, knowing full well that they had been shot at by
officers in the helicopters, became deeply suspicious of the FBI and their
negotiators who blatantly lied to them.
With Koresh's refusal to leave Mount Carmel; the operation was stepped up to
force him and his followers to leave. Loud music was played over a sustained
period of time, flood lights were shone over the building during the night
and many other techniques were brought into play. Again, these events were
denied at the time and during the later hearing despite FBI and media news
footage showing otherwise.
Given that Koresh was considered to be a little unstable by the
authorities; it is difficult to comprehend how such psychological warfare would
improve, rather than exasperate, the situation.
Koresh refused to surrender but did eventually declare that God had indicated
that he should leave once he had written down the beliefs that he followed.
The FBI were not prepared to wait for that surrender.
The Final Assault
On the 19th of April, 1993, an assault was made upon Mount Carmel. The most
incredulous aspect being the almost continual broadcasting of the message, "You
are not under attack. If you fire it will be returned", whilst tanks punched
holes in the building's fabric, CS gas was pumped in and rounds were fired at
the building.How the Branch davidians were expected to respond to these events is unclear;
the situation certainly did not appear to match what they were being told by
the FBI.
The FBI had drafted in a massive amount of military style hardware during the
stand-off and spent a lot of time flooding Mount Carmel with CS gas and
were quite happy to knock down and punch holes in parts of the building to
achieve this end.
The CS powder that forms CS gas had settled over the period throughout Mount
Carmel and was highly combustible. The damage done to the fabric of the building
meant that it was a tinder-box come fire-stack waiting to explode.
One FBI video clearly shows an assault made on Mount Carmel by a single tank
from which at least one shot can be seen. Shortly after, two fires
started that rapidly swept through the building.
It has been widely reported that the Branch Davidians set fire to Mount
Carmel as some sort of suicide pact; the video evidence, and the later discovery
of two incendiary devices, presumably fired into the building from the aforesaid
tank, suggest that the FBI actually started the fire.
The CS powder quickly ignited and the fire soon gripped the whole of Mount Carmel.
The Branch Davidians had hidden themselves in a small room deep in the building
itself and were there when the fire erupted.
CS powder, when it burns, gives off a cyanide gas, the very same that is used
to execute criminals, and it is pretty evident, from the contorted bodies found
later, that death was caused in a number of cases due to this gas.
In all, over 80 Branch Davidians died as a result of this holocaust.
The Aftermath
Despite the obvious inferno that Mount Carmel had become; the local fire
brigade was refused entry into the area for fear that the Branch Davidians
would open fire upon them; given the extent and intensity of the fire it seems
unlikely that this would have been the case but it is perhaps, from a military
viewpoint, not an unreasonable assumption to make.
What is more worrying is that, as soon as the area was secured, the FBI had
the building entirely flattened and all vehicles towed away from the area.
Such damage to a crime scene is unprecedented and evidence as to the trajectory
of bullets, that is who was actually firing at who, was destroyed.
Luckily the video evidence, from the FBI and the media, remained, generally,
intact and presents a much better record of the events than anything that was
subsequently reported by the FBI.
The Conclusion
It is difficult to really determine what the underlying agenda was regarding
the intended action against Koresh and the Branch Davidians.
Presumably the authorities were attempting to put a stop to their activities
for some reason; probably a general fear of their apocalyptic religious beliefs,
the concerns over the number of weapons on the premises coupled with allegations
of cultism, rape, child rape and drug use led them to believe that Koresh and
his followers were a danger to society.
The initial raid by the BATF was a disaster; the evidence points to an
overwhelming attack on Mount Carmel, totally out of all proportion to the
allegations made against Koresh and his followers, that was repulsed in the
name of self defence.
The subsequent stand-off was psychological warfare at its best; it is to
Koresh's credit that there was no apocalyptic retaliation against those who
were pushing him to the limit. The descriptions of events from the FBI and
other political figures contrasts glaringly with the FBI and media video
footage of what actually took place.
The final assault was an outrageous act by an FBI that seemed to have run out
of rational and legitimate means to resolve the situation.
From the video evidence available; it is difficult to come to any other
conclusion than David Koresh, and over 80 members of the Branch Davidians, were
murdered by the FBI.
