[SauronOfMordor]

I found extremely annoying. Koresh may have been a bit of a nutcase, but he did nothing to deserve the s&*#storm that fell on his head. The Feds created that situation by not just arresting him on one of his routine trips to town. Instead, the ATF created a fiasco, because they wanted a telegenic "dynamic takedown" at budget time, which went bad, then Reno and the Feebs compounded the error.

Koresh's fate was sealed when ATF agents got killed in the initial fiasco. If he were allowed to peacefully surrender, there was a good chance that a Taxas jury would have acquitted them for acting in self-defense against an illegal attack, followed by a civil suit against the feds. That precedent could not be allowed.

[ConservaVet]

ping

[Bob Mc]

"That precedent could not be allowed."

I always thought Waco became nothing more than a cover up of giant fed bungling. But you may be right. There may have been a much larger government motivation at stake than just being exposed of their incompetence. Perhaps as you suggest, government power and control was at stake.

[txhurl]

That precedent could not be allowed.

I think you are entirely correct. How very depressing.....

[Lurker]

" there was a good chance that a Taxas jury would have acquitted them for acting in self-defense against an illegal attack, "

That's pretty much what happened to the survivors.

They were acquited of murder charges, but convicted on weapons charges. The Jury thought they were letting them off lightly, but the judge sentenced them to 80 years.

L