Was the govt out of line in the Waco massacre?

Question

I think so.

The tear gas they pumped into the building was highly flamable and creates cyanide gas when it burns. The authorites also used incendiary rounds, which ignited the fire. They found children curled up like shrimp due to the extreme muscle contractions caused by the cyanide gas. All records were suddenly lost afterwards and the site was quickly cleaned up and bulldozed.

Answer 1

The US government murdered many innocent children by burning them alive.

They didn't want to arrest Koresch when they had the chance to; they wanted to make a statement.

The media mass-brainwashed the public by making David look like he was crazy, but he was only standing upon principles.

The Clintons are evil!!

Answer 2

Yes. And I do not forget that it started while George HW Bush was president, as was the Ruby Ridge incident. The ATF were out of control in those years - real loose cannons, IMO.

I thought the conclusion to the Waco was just horrible, and it was even worse that Clinton passed the buck on the responsibility for it, and that Reno brushed off any accountability for it.

It should never have happened.
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The only reason it went the way it did was because of how it started - with the sneak-attack by the ATF on them. They were a survivalist cult, so they had weapons and they fought back against this unwarranted invasion.

Answer 3

The Texas Rangers found spent rounds from the same rifle that killed Viki Weaver, from ambush, outside the FBI forward position. That means Lon Horouchi was using the Branch Davidians for target practice. Of course the Governer of Texas put a lid on that one.

Answer 4

Yes. Now imagine if something like Waco would happen and it went the same way under Bush's Presidency. How the media would attack Bush nonstop and would demand impeachments and firings and everything else under the sun. You know, a lot like they did when Gonzalez fired 4 measly DA Attorneys and they are complaining and wanting an investigation being done over that.

Answer 5

It appears so. They had several opportunities to arrest David K outside of the compound but decided to wait until he was inside.

Other than that, if the compound fired first than all bets are off. If the government fired first, than they should be held even more accountable, not just for allowing David K to go home versus arresting him on the street.

Answer 6

David Koresh, the cult leader, ordered the killing of children in this compound. The man was a deluded pedophile who raped 12 year old children and then called them his wife and he is a man with a messiah complex. He also abused children in horrible ways through punishment if they stepped out of line in any arbitrary way he saw fit. I don't know what you are reading but I remember the event like it was yesterday as I watched it on television. Why do you stick up for cult leaders and pedophiles? According to autopsy reports many of the children were shot and the bullets came from Koresh's gun and the gun of his assistant.
However, considering the criminal background of Koresh and how much he was threatening violence and advocating violence, it's surprising how patient the FBI was at WACO.
People who think it was mass murder by the government are deluded from the facts. Koresh had over 50 days to send out the children. The fact remains that he was a murderer himself and threatened many others and here you are trying to protect a mass murdering cultist.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/waco/timeline.html

Answer 7

No. Regardless of whether you felt they should have gone in when they did or not, they first abushed and killed government agents. Whether you feel the FBI actions precipitated the setting of the fires by the Branch Dividians, the cultists still set the fires.

When the FBI did roll in, they committed suicide by setting the buildings on fire.

These are all active decisions on the part of the cultists that lead to their death. Calling it the "Waco massacre" makes it sound like the government killed them in a botched raid or a gunfight.

They killed themselves. Period.

Answer 8

Anytime the government actions lead to so many people dying at its hands when no one was at risk - it made a very bad decision. It is not like they were on a jet liner heading into a building.

Answer 9

It wasn't handled in the best way, but David Koresh was a maniac who had people at that compound against their own will. And he was having sex with and impregnating children. When people would die, he'd keep them in the freezer instead of letting their families bury them.

Something had to be done.

Answer 10

Tanks with flamethrowers is way out of line.