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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Daniel Schuh who wrote (12562)	11/3/1998 1:38:00 PM
From: DMaA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 67261

Since no reporter has the guts to ask them I'll ask you. What do you think it means? Yes, Reno assumed full responsibility.

To: Daniel Schuh who wrote (12562)	11/3/1998 3:11:00 PM
From: mrknowitall	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 67261

Dan - You're right - the FBI folks owe her their careers. But to answer your question, no, I don't think they cooked up a stupid plan to embarrass the upper echelons. The ATF, truly emboldened by the anti-gun fervor of the Clinton administration, decided to play paramilitary army instead of letting local law enforcement pick up Koresh for questioning. When the original assault didn't go as planned and the FBI took over, I think they came up with a "plausibly justifiable" plan that played on Reno's sensitivities (and the public's as well) about the dangers the children were allegedly being exposed to in the Koresh cult. I also believe that the administration and their cohorts in the media at that time, used every opportunity to villainize political opposition on the right, and that the propaganda about some enormously dangerous "right-wing militia movement" fit in nicely with the defense of the Waco action. IMO, it was used to escalate fears about conservatives in general and coupled with the threat of terrorism, the spin engendered some popular support for additional police powers, gun control and almost limitless surveillance authority. I don't equate Waco with Foster's suicide; I fail to see Clinton as that overtly sinister - but I believe there is a climate of "we don't have to be honest" in the White House - it is elitism run amok. Mr. K.