I hesitate to jump into this fray with you Robert, because I can't afford devote the time it will take to debate you properly in this forum. But, suffice it to say that I respect your ability to frame an argument well, and I like your enthusiasm in expressing your opinions in a cogent and persuasive manner. (Now, don't go getting sloppy and emotional on me, it was just a statment of fact, not a marriage proposal) :-)
That said, the debate can start. First, the BATF. I single them out from other National Law Enforcement Agencies because they are so sloppy in their tactics and roughshod in their dealings with people. I suspect the DEA would fall under the same heading, but I don't know as much about them. There have been many reports of ATF breaking into homes of regular people at oh-dark-thirty, yelling and waiving guns at terrified people, including small children, pushing and bullying them, and in several instances actually shooting someone, only to find that they were at the wrong address. Even when they accidently DO manage to get the right address, often the SWAT attack is against some poor slob who made some sort of trivial offense in paperwork or even was just turned in by a lying, spiteful neighbor. Their gestapo-like tactics are well documented, although not nearly as well reported -- your "free and objecive press" seems to think these boys in black are doing something for the good of society by terrorizing those nasty ol' gun owners (like you and me).
With that as a background, think back to the first weeks of the Waco invasion. The ATF made certain that there was plenty of press coverage in the initial attack so they could strut their stuff and, by example, make certain that all gun owners or dealers would have an adequate level of fear of what you call "fine and upstanding law enforcement officers." (We'll just have to agree to disagree on your qualitative assessment here). At the time, I was very curious about what the assault was for, and the only answer from the "objective" press coverage was a blurry comment about "weapons violations." Also during the first weeks of the standoff, there were several interviews with local people who wondered, on camera, why the ATF didn't grab Koresh on one of his many trips to town when he would have been easy to arrest. The answer, in retrospect, is clear -- no glory in that!
True to form, the ATF chose to look for any excuse, regardless of how hairbrained, to justify their chance to put on a good show for all us TV watchers. Hence the nonsense about child molestation/abuse -- now, that's a good one, because just the accusation will brand a person or a group for life. There are some (and I suspect that perhaps you may be included) who think that even an unfounded accusation of such a dastardly act should result in the person accused being subjected to capital punishment if he can't prove his innocence, or a lifetime of ostracism if he can. So, the ATF found some flake with a grudge to make the accusation, and then it was showtime! Subsequent interviews with surviving Davidians have provided no evidence to substantiate the allegations.
The whole thing was a showboat move by the ATF, the American Gestapo, most aptly called "jackbooted thugs." I strongly disagree with you when you say they made some minor mistakes, but it was all in the interest of protecting the rest of us timid and quivering Americans who live in fear of Koresh's vicious religious followers.
If I were able, I'd now launch into the FBI's role in the matter, but I just don't have time. Suffice it to say that they covered up most of the illegal and stupid things done by the ATF, and brought in some of their best paid assassins who had proven their ability to kill without remorse in other venues. The politics of the time had both agencies worried about a merger into a single agency, and neither wanted it to happen, so both necessarily had to be made to look like professionals. (Coincidently, the FBI was under a low grade attack for manufacturing and falsifying evidence in their internationally renowned Crime Lab, and agents were shown to have lied under oath in testimony to convict people they'd accused of crimes. So, they had a bit of a stake in the Waco attack, too.) Then, if you'd give some thought to the lockdown on information after the fire and how quickly things were bulldozed over, you can understand why so many theories about government wrongdoing have so much credence with the general public. If some overly active imaginations hyperbolize some of the facts, on either side of the issue, I think it is to be expected.
For myself, I feel the National Government has too much power and routinely uses that power to intimidate, harass, and punish people, often well outside the boundries of what the Constitution provides for. Worse, even when caught in the act, the agents of national law enforcement receive no (or inappropriately light) punishment for transgressions that would put "regular people" in jail for a long time.
Good posts, Robert. I disagree with you, but it takes both sides to see the truth.
jim |
