David T. Hardy, author of This Is Not an Assault: Penetrating the Web of Official Lies Regarding the Waco Incident, discusses the regular practice of federal law enforcement agencies conducting headline-grabbing raids just before Congressional appropriations, the scandal-plagued ATF’s attempt to get back in the Clinton government’s good graces by cracking down on right-wing groups, how ATF “undercover” agents – just nine days before the assault began – were granted access to the Branch Davidian compound and test-fired weapons with David Koresh, the FBI’s attempts to humiliate and provoke a violent response from the Davidians, how FOIA requests have reclaimed some of the reams of missing evidence, how Janet Reno was apparently lied to and manipulated into approving an escalation of force, the lethal effects of highly concentrated CS gas and the infrared footage that shows gunfire was indeed coming from FBI positions surrounding the compound.
Listen to Scott Horton Interview David T. Hardy:
- Antiwar Radio: David T. Hardy – 4/20/10
The Following is via Archive.org as the site appears to have vanished…
Waco Feb 28-April 19, 1993
Five Year Freedom of Information lawsuit yields new evidence–
Videotapes, audiotapes, planning documents. But first, a few late-breaking
(hey, this page has been here for years) highlights:
(1) For a preview of my new book, “This Is Not An Assault,” click here.
(2) A brief word about the author. Ignore it if you want to assess the evidence. Take a look if you’re concerned about whether the author is an anarcho-fascist who sleeps in camoflage pajamas and believes that the meaning of the Constitution can only be determined with his secret decoder ring. (Decoder rings available for $10 plus S&H)
(3) A discussion of the continuing FLIR (forward looking infrared) controversy, over whether the FLIR videotapes indicate FBI agents may have shot on the day of the fire.
(3) A roster of the extensive military aid (never mind the Posse Comitatus Act) given at Waco — everything from barbed wire to battlefield robots. Not just the ATF raid, but the entire FBI siege were funded out of “War on Drugs” monies — until the military figured out the ruse, months later, pointed out that FBI had violated two statutes, and demanded reibursement.
(4) For the latest revelation from ATF–a taped conversation between the wounded Koresh and ATF agent Cavanaugh, at the end of the gunbattle, in which Koresh says he “really liked” the ATF agent who investigated him, and had “always loved law enforcement, ‘cuz y’all guys risk your lives every day.” click here.
(5) Another new page: click here for a discussion of how high the responsibility really went on April 19, 1993.
The 1993 incident outside Waco, Texas, was the bloodiest encounter in the history of Federal law enforcement. By its end in the fire of April 19, nearly a ninety civilians and four law enforcement agents were dead.
The incident originated in an attempt by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to serve search and arrest warrants on a building, known to its residents as Mount Carmel, located in a rural area a few miles outside of Waco, Texas. The operation required mustering appoximately a hundred agents (flown in from sites around the country), and who received military training at Ft. Hood. They travelled in a convoy of sixty vehicles and were supported by three National Guard helicopters and one fixed-wing aircraft, with armored vehicles in reserve.
The official explanation is that the raid was intended to gather evidence in support of suspicion that the residents of Mount Carmel (members of the Branch Davidians, an offshoot of Seventh-Day Adventism), possessed machineguns without the required licenses and tax, and that nothing but overwhelming military force would enable he arrest of their leader, David Koresh, and a search of the residence.
The official version is undercut by BATF’s concession that, when informed of the investigation, Koresh invited agents to come over, look at the firearms, and take any that they might feel were questionable. It is also undercut by a rather embarassing event. Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, we now know how ATF undercover agents investigating the case spent February 19, 1993–nine days before the raid.
They went shooting with David Koresh. He provided the ammunition, and they handed him their guns. No, I am not jesting. And yes, he knew they were agents. Click here for their report.
Even a well-heeled agency does not divert a hundred agents with air support to investigate a single and rather small case–particularly not if a simple audit could resolve the matter.
A different, and less acceptable, motivation appears most likely. At the Federal level, law enforcement operations center upon the annual appropriation process. Anyone who has worked with such an agency (as I did, for nine years) knows that they try to schedule a “showcase” operation, one which will garner national coverage, just before their House Appropriations cycle begins. An agency director loves to begin the hearings with “Typical of the dangerous work undertaken by our agents is ….” Such a showcase move is usually given a suitably dramatic and military-sounding name.
The codename for the Waco raid was “Operation Trojan Horse.” The code for its initiation was “Showtime.” The target date was less than two weeks before BATF’s House Appropriations hearings were scheduled. The team assigned included a Public Information Officer, who made sure to alert newspapers to stand by for a story that weekend. There would indeed be a story–four agents and six civilians would die to make it.
