The Waco Mystery

By Samuel L. Blumenfeld

WorldNetDaily.com
Auguest 31, 1999

Now that the Waco affair is back in the news with revelations that the FBI used pyrotechnic devices in its assault on the Davidian compound and that the ATF and FBI were helped by U.S. Army Delta Force personnel in that final assault, those of us who accused the government of lying and covering up their misdeeds have been vindicated. But such vindication won't bring back the nearly 80 or so human beings who perished in that horrible fire.

Back in January 1994 we wrote a newsletter about the Waco cover-up. We had just seen Linda Thompson's video, "Waco: The Big Lie," and its impact was quite powerful. Thompson, an Indianapolis lawyer, had gone through all of the available TV footage and put together an astonishing video that clearly indicted our government officials of high crimes and misdemeanors. If half of what the video showed was true, then our government was responsible for an atrocity as cruel and evil as anything perpetrated by the Nazis during World War II.

Although the video was seen by thousands of Americans, its existence was almost totally ignored by such media superstars as Ted Koppel, Peter Jennings, Dan Rather, and Tom Brokaw. These men represent the editorial function of the ruling elite. Their purpose is to present to the American people only what the ruling elite wants them to know. And when a catastrophe like the Waco massacre takes place, they put the desired propaganda spin on the news: the Davidians brought it on themselves.

But the Thompson video presented an entirely different story. The first part of the video presented information about the Branch Davidians, which clearly contradicted what the media was telling us about them. They were not suicidal, apocalyptic psychopaths. In reality they were pretty normal human beings, seriously devoted to an eccentric but charismatic teacher, living peacefully in communal style at their Mt. Carmel center.

There have been many such unorthodox religious sects and communities in America, none of which have ever suffered a military-style assault by the U.S. government. What drew the ire of the federal government toward the Branch Davidians was the fact that they bought and sold guns. Buying and selling guns is a perfectly legal way to earn money in America, and that was one of the ways that David Koresh and his followers earned money for the sect. None of them had been convicted of a violation of any of the gun laws on the statute books. The second part of the video dealt with the legal preparations made by the government to justify its planned military assault on the Davidians' compound. The video pointed out the glaring irregularities in the search warrant issued by the federal judge.

The third part showed the unprovoked military assault on the Branch Davidians on Sunday morning, Feb. 28, 1993. ATF troops were shown firing at the compound with automatic weapons from behind their vehicles with no fire being returned. In addition, it showed three helicopters flying overhead. It then showed two teams of ATF men in black uniforms at the side of the house with automatic weapons climbing onto the first-floor roof by ladders.

The group at the right was comprised of fourmen, three of whom smashed their way into a second-floor window after throwing a smoke grenade into the room. The fourth man on the roof is seen lying prone with a machine gun, covering his buddies as they entered the building. No one was firing at them.

Then, something very strange happened. The fourth man then went to the window and threw a grenade into the room his buddies had just entered. He then fired the machine gun into the room. Why was he firing at his own men? As he fired into the room, we see three shots fired from inside the room piercing the outside wall. Did those shots come from the three ATF agents in the room who realized that they were being shot at from the outside? Undaunted, the fourth man then fired into the room once more. A bullet then hit his helmet and the impact knocked him down, but he was unhurt. He scurried to the edge of the roof and quickly went down the ladder to the ground.

Who was that fourth man, and why did he fire into the room where he knew his own men had entered? We are told that the ATF rehearsed the attack over and over again. Had the fourth man been given special instructions? If so, from whom. The three men who had entered that room were the three men killed in the assault, and they have all been identified as Bill Clinton's bodyguards during the election campaign! Why was an investigation not made into the circumstances of the deaths of the three ATF agents? Whose bullets killed them, bullets from the fourth ATF man on the roof, or bullets fired by Davidians? Why was the blame immediately placed on the Davidians who themselves suffered six killed at the hands of the ATF? Nor have the circumstances of the death of a fourth ATF man prior to the assault ever been satisfactorily explained. Supposedly he was killed before the shooting even started. If Janet Reno really wants to find out the truth, let her get the answers to these questions first.

The fourth part of the video dealt with the 51-day period between the two assaults, in which the ATF and FBI engaged in psychological warfare against the hapless inhabitants of the compound, knowing full well that there were children in the building. Also, a Davidian who had been at work in town when the attack took place, wanted to get back into the building to be with his loved ones. He was shot to death while climbing over the fence. The ATF executed him on the spot, even though he had taken no part in the attack. One wonders why none of the civil authorities in Waco, the state government of Texas, or the federal government could see that what was being perpetrated against the Branch Davidians violated every precept of justice and human rights codified in American law.

The fifth part of the video depicts the final assault that led to the total destruction of the compound by fire and the death of virtually everyone inside. The first thing we see is a large military tank at about 6 a.m. maneuvering directly over the underground bunker area where the women and children had spent nights to escape the psychological torment aimed at them by their government. It is not clear what the tank is doing, but it seems to be destroying the structure over the trapdoor leading to the bunkers, which would have made it impossible for anyone to get out. We then see smoke rising out of the ground where the bunkers are located. The bunkers are on fire, and the people inside are trapped. They are being burnt to death. The ATF, or the Delta Force personnel driving the tank, blocked their escape. All of this took place early in the assault, hours before the conflagration that destroyed the entire compound. I doubt that Janet Reno or anyone else in the U.S. government really wants to get to the truth of what happened at Waco. Neither the Congress, nor the Justice Department, nor the White House want a real investigation. And we suspect that the media, which was an accomplice in the original cover up, will see to it that the public is once more deprived of the truth.


Samuel L. Blumenfeld is the author of eight books on education. For a copy of the Blumenfeld newsletter on Waco of January 1994, please call 208-322-4440.

Blumenfeld's books are available through Amazon.com.