-Caveat Lector-
http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20010419-928488.htm
The Washington Times
April 19, 2001
Detonating a Waco fireball
By James Bovard
April 19 is the eighth anniversary of the final FBI assault on the
Branch Davidians at Waco, Texas. For almost a decade, politicians
and bureaucrats have sweated to withhold key information about that
day´s events from the American public. But the ghost of Waco may be
rising from the grave once more to place its ice-cold hand again on
the neck of the Washington establishment.
Back in September 1999, Attorney General Janet Reno handpicked former
U.S. Sen. John Danforth to finally put the wooden stake in the
heart of the Waco issue once and for all.
Mr. Danforth, operating supposedly as an independent counsel, did his
pious best and raced to release his report last summer just as he
became rumored a top prospect to be Mr. Bush´s vice presidential
candidate. Mr. Danforth basically exonerated the feds, saving his
scorn for low-life Americans who dared criticize the government tank
assault and gassing of the women, children, and men in the Davidians´
home.
A key issue for Mr. Danforth´s investigation was whether FBI agents
fired on Davidians during their final attack.
Rhythmic patterns on Forward Looking Infrared ("FLIR") tapes made by
an FBI plane strongly suggested automatic weapons fire came from
positions near the FBI tanks. Mr. Danforth persuaded federal Judge
Walter Smith to conduct a re-enactment last year of the final day´s
action. Mr. Danforth then proclaimed that the film from the
re-enactment proved beyond a doubt that federal agents did not shoot
at Davidians in large part because the muzzle flashes on the
re-enactment were much shorter than the shots from the April 19,
1993, tape.
A new film, titled "The F.L.I.R. Project," produced by Mike McNulty
(one of the masterminds behind the Academy Award 1998 finalist
documentary, "Waco: Rules of Engagement") reveals fatal flaws in Mr.
Danforth´s re-enactment. (The film is available at
http://www.flirproject.com).
On April 19, 1993, FBI agents relied on a commercial, off-the-shelf
ammo the type that would be used by any hunter or shooter. For the
March 19, 2000, Danforth-FBI re-enactment, the FBI used
military-issue ammunition that had a special chemical coating on the
gunpowder to reduce muzzle flash (helpful in preventing soldiers
being detected in combat). The military ammo thus had a built-in
flash suppressant.
Since a key issue was the length of the muzzle flashes, using
flash-suppressing ammunition ensured that the re-enactment would
be a farce.
The Danforth-FBI re-enactment further biased the test results by
having the FBI agents use weapons with a 20-inch barrel instead of
weapons with 14-inch barrels that agents carried on April 19, 1993.
The longer a weapon´s barrel, the less muzzle flash will be shown
from each shot.
Again, this is a tricky way to do an accurate re-enactment.
But the re-enactment produced the politically correct result and Mr.
Danforth proceeded to denounce the American people for thinking bad
things about their federal masters.
No doubt Mr. Danforth, the FBI and others will continue to insist
there was no gunfire by FBI agents on April 19, 1993. But if the
feds are innocent, why have they gone to such absurd lengths to fix
the jury? The $12 million in tax dollars that Mr. Danforth spent
for his Waco investigation should have been categorized as part of
the public relations budget of the FBI and Justice Department or
perhaps as a line item expense in the Clinton Legacy Project.
These revelations come on top of information that has already
surfaced showing the Danforth investigation to be a sham. Mr.
Danforth personally chose Vector Data Systems to carry out the tests,
with U.S. military assistance, and to evaluate the results. Mr.
Danforth repeatedly identified Vector as independent British company.
But Vector is actually owned by Anteon, a large American corporation
that on its Web page boasts of contracts with 50 federal agencies,
including the White House Communications Agency.
A new book by former federal attorney David Hardy further debunks the
government´s Waco fairy tale. "This Is Not An Assault" provides
fascinating inside details on how private investigators squeezed out
damning information on Waco how federal judge Walter Smith stifled
lawyers at the trial last year to prevent jurors from learning of
more than 100 items of evidence embarrassing or potentially
incriminating the federal government and how Republican congressmen
(such as Dan Burton) and aides cowered and effectively aided the
Clinton administration cover-up. Mr. Hardy´s skill in hammering
federal agencies with Freedom of Information Act requests was a
decisive factor in making Waco a hot political potato in 1999.
Mr. Hardy´s book will be soon available at: http://www.xlibris.com.
If President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft want to restore
the faith of the American people in the federal government, they must
open the vaults on Waco. Neither Mr. Bush nor Mr. Ashcroft should
have any incentive to cover up the outrages of Miss Reno and other
Clinton administration officials. On the other hand, if Mr. Bush
and Mr. Ashcroft do not have the will or gumption to force the FBI,
the ATF, and the Justice Department to come clean about Clinton era
abuses, what hope can we have of their honesty regarding any abuses
occurring after Jan. 20?
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
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The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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