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The U.S. House of Representatives just finished hearings concerning the massacre at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, in 1993. These sessions have been educational, to some degree.
For instance, I've learned why our founding fathers did not want political parties to take root on American soil. Neither the majority Republicans nor the minority Democrats seemed interested in pursuing the truth; instead, they were scoring partisan points.
Republicans, who promise more law and order,
were
busy trying to embarrass a Democratic administration. So
they held federal law enforcement up to the sort of public
contempt, ridicule and hatred that Republicans generally
reserve for endangered species and single mothers.
Democrats, trying to protect an administration which was in charge of this botched effort at law enforcement, had to paint the Davidians as an unspeakable horror which had to be wiped off the face of the earth. Thus any means to this end were justified.
Amid all that posturing and spinning, I missed any effort to answer some real questions:
1) Why conduct the raid in the first place? If they wanted David Koresh, he was often at large in Waco and they could have arrested him there. ATF had informants in the compound who could have told them that. So why such a major production, with the local media invited along, even after ATF knew that the Davidians knew they were coming?
The only answer that makes sense is that it was all a publicity stunt. At the time, there was serious talk of trimming the federal government, with a proposal to fold ATF into the FBI to save money.
What better way to show that our federal bureaucrats are performing a vital service than to have them stage a televised invasion of some weird religious cult's compound?
And so what if the cult has been tipped off? There were deadlines and schedules to meet if this was going to make it out of Waco and onto the networks. And so what if four agents died as a result of this greed for publicity? Heroic funerals make good TV.
Men may have died for worse causes than preserving a federal agency's budget and protecting its turf. Just think of all the kids on fire crews that we kill in order to protect trophy homes on parcels which command a premium price because they sit adjacent to federal land.
2) When did child abuse become a federal crime? That was one rationale for sending in the tanks -- that children were being abused inside the compound, and the feds had to act quickly to prevent further abuse.
If that was indeed the case, then why aren't the tanks
and tear gas deployed at every report of suspected child
abuse? Are other children somehow less deserving of
protection than the Davidian children? Where's the notion
of equal justice under law
?
The McLennan County sheriff, or the State of Texas through its Rangers or national guard, had jurisdiction over child abuse. How did this turn federal? That's one question that the Republicans, supposedly concerned about the proper role for the federal government, didn't bother to ask.
3) Why the hurry to storm the compound? Wasn't the idea to take these people into custody? Well, there they were, already in custody. Why haul them out from behind one fence in order to put them behind another?
Attorney General Janet Reno's excuses were less than informative. They had heard rumors that a citizen militia was organizing on the Internet, and this posse might ride to the Davidians' rescue. But wait, Waco was in 1993, and militias on the Internet weren't a threat until 1995. She should get her dates straight when she's fabricating answers.
She also said that her special FBI team was getting tired after nearly two months on the job. We pay those guys good wages with decent benefits and retirement plans. In return, they're supposed to earn the money. Why didn't the Republicans examine the FBI's hiring and promotion policy if the agency can't find people tough enough for the job?
Further, the longer that gun-toting federal agents and gun-toting religious fanatics keep each other occupied, the better life is for the rest of us. We can go about our business with less risk of being invaded, arrested, harassed, questioned or proselytized -- the public interest clearly demanded that if the Waco stand-off should have been continued until Doomsday.
But I suspect the real reason for the decision to storm the compound was that the FBI commander was sick of the media.
Imagine getting up every morning and having to run a gauntlet of microphones and cameras, all operated by people desperate for a Big News Development.
Saying we'll just wait them out
is not going to
satisfy the mob. They want good visuals and they want them
now, and eventually the FBI commander, no matter how
sensible at the onset, is going to succumb.
And that's the real disappointment of the hearings. The Waco raid was staged and operated as a media spectacle, and the hearings -- another attempt at a media spectacle -- should have examined that angle.
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