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Essays, Opinion, & Commentary |
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Waco, Government Tyranny, and Accountability A Commentary by Ben Yonan
Before I begin discussing the Waco case, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Ben Yonan. My wife, Deborah, and I run a private academy, which takes its name from the greatest of all philosophers, St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas Aquinas Academy offers a nation wide, Catholic, liberal arts program for the homeschool. Our program has been quite successful both with families that are new to homeschooling, and families that have homeschooled for many years. For more information about St. Thomas Aquinas Academy, please visit our website at http://www.staa-homeschool.com. While my primary interests are in homeschooling and philosophy, I also spend some time studying the activities of government, especially as they impact our Constitutional rights. The understanding I have of the Waco case and other law enforcement actions has been aided by prior experience in the private sector as an investigator. During this time, I conducted criminal investigations, worked with state and federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, and testified in both state and federal courts. Our government, like any other government, is not immune from tyranny. Thomas Jefferson once said, "Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms [of government] those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny." The federal assault on the peaceable citizens at Mt. Carmel represents a growing trend of government tyranny. These abuses of the state's coercive force are often followed by extensive cover-ups, and if a federal inquiry ensues, it is totally ineffectual. The ATF fabricated evidence against the Branch Davidians, including falsification of their affidavit for a warrant. Three days before the ATF raid on Mt. Carmel, a memo at the Austin, Texas office of the FBI acknowledged that the ATF had no evidence for a warrant. Though inconclusive, facts surrounding the raid strongly support the account given by the Branch Davidians, that the ATF fired first, without just cause. The residents of Mt. Carmel were provoked by the ATF, and resolved to defend their lives and their home. This defense lead to the 51-day standoff with federal agents. David Koresh predicted that the feds would burn down the Mt. Carmel Center to cover up evidence of what the ATF had done. The ATF fired first on the Branch Davidians at the front door from the lead truck, and through the roof of the building from one of the helicopters. The FBI's HRT (Hostage Rescue Team) responded to Mt. Carmel to resolve the situation. However, tactical members often worked at cross-purposes with negotiators and undermined chances of a peaceful resolution to the standoff. Bill Clinton and Janet Reno then authorized gassing the Branch Davidians with CS gas, a type of gas banned from use in warfare by the United States and over 100 other countries. (For some reason, it is legal to use CS gas against American citizens.) M6OA1 tanks, or CEV's (combat engineering vehicles) began punching large holes in the old wooden building, constructed of salvaged lumber. CEV's injected CS gas via hydraulic booms through these large holes. Bradley combat tanks fired ferret rounds into the building. Ferret rounds contain CS powder suspended in methylene chloride. The release of large quantities of methylene chloride in an enclosed area is known to create an explosion hazard. One of the combustion byproducts of methylene chloride is phosgene, an extremely poisonous gas. Almost 400 ferret rounds were expended by the feds, creating a condition in which explosion and death by poisonous gas was likely. The possibility of fire breaking out was also increased by the fact the Davidians were using kerosene lanterns and candles. Almost every room reportedly had a Coleman lantern. The feds were well aware of the fire hazard, and even taunted Koresh by telling him that he did not have enough fire extinguishers. The utter incapacitating effects of CS gas combined with the intentional collapsing of internal stairways by the CEV's made evacuation almost impossible. Fires broke out in areas under control of federal agents. The fire spread rapidly aided by the flue effects of the gaping holes made by the CEV's. Fire was also fueled by bales of hay the Branch Davidians had brought in and positioned against the exterior walls as an additional barrier against gunfire. Despite the known fire and explosion hazard of using ferret rounds, the FBI not only failed to have firefighters on standby, but also delayed calling the fire department. The fire fighters were then held back as federal agents directed automatic gunfire into the Mt. Carmel Center, insuring that the Branch Davidians could not escape the conflagration. Koresh was right about how the feds would resolve the standoff. The feds even bulldozed the remains of the burned building, further destroying evidence of what transpired at Mt. Carmel. Despite government denials, it has been known for years that the military's Delta Force was used at Mt. Carmel. Military tactics in warfare involve killing and maiming people, and destroying things. Delta Force, which began as an elite, well-respected special-forces unit, is now given assignments that include participation in the killing civilian men, women and children on U.S. soil. Any use of standing armies against civilians should alarm all citizens. The Posse Comitatus Act is supposed to prohibit the use of the military against U.S. citizens. However, there is a growing disregard for the Posse Comitatus Act by agencies of the federal government. Additionally, the more reserved approach toward citizens taken by civilian law enforcement that involves investigation and arrest followed by trial, is being compromised by military cross training. A majority of law enforcement agencies receive some kind of training from the military, which has created a cross breeding of military tactics and thinking with that of civilian law enforcement. A military style assault was conducted on the somewhat unusual, yet peaceable, Protestant religious community in Waco. Over 80 Branch Davidians -- men, women and children were killed. President Clinton, with no sign of compassion or sadness, announced to the nation that "Some religious fanatics murdered themselves." No prosecutions of federal agents followed the congressional investigation of the Waco incident. Janet Reno's statement that it had been decided the use of gas would not start a fire deserves no credibility. Even to assume that Janet Reno and the federal agents in charge of the Waco case actually believed the use of ferret rounds would not cause a fire, at the least indicates a dangerous level of incompetence - grounds in itself for removal from their respective positions. FBI Hit Squad? What exactly is the FBI Hostage Rescue Team? Why was the HRT at Waco? I have never heard of the HRT engaged in hostage rescue. So what is their function? Perhaps the incident at Ruby Ridge will explain the true role of the HRT. The ATF had previously created quite a mess at Ruby Ridge, also. The HRT was called in to resolve the situation, apparently by whatever means necessary since their orders, both illegal and unconstitutional, were to "shoot on sight." FBI sniper, Ron Horiuchi, shot and killed Randy Weaver's unarmed wife while she was holding her baby in her arms. Blew off half her face with a sniper rifle. What was the Weaver family's crime? Randy Weaver refused to cooperate with the ATF as an informant. There has been no accountability for the federal assault on the Weaver family that left Randy Weaver's teenage son and wife dead. If we look for some sign of a conscience among the federal agents involved, we see only arrogance. Medals of bravery were awarded to the US Marshals that participated in the assault. The FBI Director called the Weaver case one of the most dangerous cases in the history of the Bureau. This is the same HRT that was at Waco, where the FBI claimed they never fired a shot. The evidence, however, tells a different story. No Accountability Why do federal agents so often escape accountability for their actions? Part of the answer may be found in what an ATF agent told me back in 1993. This agent said nothing would happen to the ATF agents that were at Waco because "the ATF is a protected agency since they do a lot of dirty work for the government." (The FBI's role both at Ruby Ridge and Waco reveals that the ATF is not the only agency that does "dirty work" for the government.) I have no expectations that a new congressional investigation into Waco will be much more than an interesting show. Federal agents have lied continuously, fabricated evidence, concealed evidence, obstructed inquiries into their actions by Congress and the Texas Rangers, and conducted a malicious prosecution of the surviving Branch Davidians. If the original investigation into Waco was totally ineffectual, what will be different about this investigation? Newly discovered facts such as the use of pyrotechnic devices by the feds could be useful if it is handled correctly. Yet, little or nothing was done with the damning evidence already accumulated by the first congressional investigation. Will Congress continue to protect Janet Reno as it has done from the beginning? Reno has a history from her days in Florida of professional incompetence, and a sordid personal life. At least six police officers from Florida were willing to present evidence at Reno's confirmation hearing regarding her background. However, not a single Senator was willing to call the officers for testimony. Janet Reno now calls for an investigation to determine whether any evidence had been withheld from her in the Waco case. That will prove to be an interesting investigation since Reno herself is a key player in the suppression of evidence. This renewed investigation will provide further opportunities for the feds to conceal evidence, control witnesses, and confuse the public. It seems that the norm for federal inquiries has been to spend a lot of money while accomplishing very little. Let us take special prosecutor Ken Starr as a case in point. What did Ken Starr accomplish? Starr obtained several convictions in the Whitewater matter and cornered Clinton in regard to his conduct with Monica Lewinsky. Good in itself, but what this means is Clinton had little to fear from Ken Starr. Starr refused to pursue the extremely serious matter of treasonous dissemination of classified nuclear missile technology, or even the death of Hillary's Clinton's lover, Vince Foster. There could not have been more evidence of foul play than there was in the Foster case, yet Starr summarily dismissed the incident as a suicide. Once Starr pursued the Lewinsky matter to the exclusion of everything else, it was predictable that the Senate, considering its makeup, would retain Clinton in office. The bottom line in the Starr investigation is that it kept Clinton from being held accountable. Government Cover Up at Oklahoma City Most people accept the official story that Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols, a couple of ex-military, social misfits, acted alone and blew up the Murrah Building using an ANFO bomb. There is only one problem with this story: its not supported by the evidence. There is a tremendous amount of evidence showing that additional accomplices were involved, and that multiple explosive devices were used. For some reason, the federal government has been working overtime at suppressing facts in Murrah Building bombing case. Even the pulverized debris from the Murrah Building is kept under guard at a refuse site, thereby preventing an independent chemical analysis of bomb residue. A supposed 4,800 pound ANFO bomb inside a truck parked on the street is incapable of causing the kind of damage that occurred to the building. The building was sheared, with supporting structures collapsing downward, not inward, as would have been the case if the damage had been caused from a truck bomb located on the street. Besides not having enough force in itself to cause the kind of damage that occurred to a steel reinforced, concrete building of this type, the majority of an ANFO bomb's explosive force would have dissipated traveling through the air before it ever reached the building. The federal government, in effect is asking us to believe that the laws of physics do not apply in Oklahoma City, at least not on the day of the bombing. Credible witnesses have seen three unexploded bombs with mercury switches being removed from the Murrah Building by the fire department following the explosion. One explosives expert, Ret. Brigadier General Partin, has determined that demolition charges had been placed inside the building. The particular damage sustained by the Murrah building can be accounted for by demolition charges being placed on three supporting columns. The ATF and other federal agencies knew well in advance of the plot to bomb the Murrah Building. McVeigh had been in contact with a neo-Nazi group at their Elohim City compound. The ATF also had an undercover informant, Carol Howe, inside Elohim City. Howe produced several reports for her ATF supervisor regarding plans by individuals in the group to blow up federal buildings, including the Murrah Building. The ATF later pulled Howe off the case and prosecuted her to keep her quiet. That is another revealing story in itself. While the ATF knew about the plot to bomb the Murrah Building it did little or nothing to stop it. What the ATF did do was issue a memo regarding the bomb threat so their Murrah Building office would be empty of ATF employees on the day of the explosion. One theory about the bombing is that it resulted from a government sting operation gone south. There is much credible evidence for this theory. McVeigh and Nichols may have been mere dupes of Middle Eastern accomplices known to the feds. But the theory does raise, in my mind at least, a particular question. Why did the sting operation go bad if the ATF knew enough about the plot to evacuate their own office on the right day? In such a situation they would have known enough about the plot to stop the bombing or at least to make a good effort at it. If the ATF had instead evacuated the entire building they would have prevented 168 deaths. The least that this situation suggests is "negligent homicide" on the part of ATF agents. A few people have gone as far as to assert that federal agents were "directly" responsible for the bombing. However, to date, there is not much evidence to support that theory. Yet, the scenario that one or more federal agents intentionally allowed the sting operation to go bad is a possibility that should not be arbitrarily dismissed. Much remains to be learned about the bombing. The motive of federal agents for suppressing facts regarding multiple explosive devices remains to be explained. The motive of federal agents for suppressing evidence regarding additional accomplices and a Middle Eastern connection to the bombing remains to be explained. The motive for the ATF in evacuating only their own office and then lying about the reason for the absence of employees on the day of the bombing remains to be explained. If we assert that federal agents are not capable of a heinous crime such as allowing the bombing of innocent civilians, then we have learned nothing from Ruby Ridge or Waco. Curiously, we find some of the same AFT and FBI supervisors from the Waco case also involved in the Murrah Building bombing case. History provides us examples of governments permitting its enemies to succeed in carrying out some plan of attack. The "victim" government then exploits the situation to justify or gain support for a furthering of its own agenda. This strategy is known as "controlled opposition." This scenario is not beyond the realm of possibility in the Murrah Building bombing, and we do not know what new facts will emerge. Whatever the case may be, we must make sound judgments based on the available evidence. Concluding Remarks If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin. Samuel Adams Many more situations could be presented that illustrate a pattern of government tyranny, cover-up, and lack of accountability. I have briefly discussed only a few, well-known cases. We are a tolerant society, too tolerant. We are tolerating an increasingly illegal and illegitimate federal government, which operates outside its constitutional limits and authority. The media also plays a culpable part in the Waco case by its unquestioning acceptance of false and misleading federal reports on Waco. The media also failed in its reporting of just what kind of community were the Branch Davidians. To provide a reliable analysis of the Branch Davidians requires understanding their particular, personal interpretation of the Bible. Most journalists, however, lack sufficient understanding of the Bible for this task. It's also worth noting that we saw little concern by the major media for the women and children that met a fiery death. So long as the public relies solely on popular media sources for its information, it will remain ill informed about the activities of government. There is nothing new here. During the Revolutionary period in America, patriots could not rely on the press for information. Instead, American patriots set up their own Committees of Correspondence for reliable news and information. The American colonists did not tolerate tyranny and oppression. St. Thomas Aquinas did not think tyranny should be tolerated, either. The position of Aquinas is that if the king becomes a tyrant, the people should devise a clever plan to depose him. Aquinas also says that the overthrow of a tyrannical government "is not strictly sedition, unless perhaps, when accompanied by such disorder that the community suffers greater harm than from the tyrannical government." Protecting the common good requires that citizens hold the government accountable for its actions. There is little possibility of this happening as long as the full truth about Waco and other government atrocities remain concealed from the public. And federal investigations have at times served only to further the cover-up, protect the guilty, and mislead the people. 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