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Koresh may have been a nut...

There are a lot of odd people in this world, and only a very very small percentage are dangerous. It's a very open question whether Branch Davidians were all that nutty. "Branch Davidian" mean they are a splinter group of Seventh Day Adventists. Ooooooo, that sounds dangerous! Better burn them!

What next? Surrounding charismatic Lutheran sects with tanks?

The Seventh-Day Adventist Church is a non violent religion, that urges it's members to abstain from military combat but serve as non-combatants. Seventh-Day Adventists serve as chaplains, medical corp members in and out of hot war zones and as test personel at a large well-known government run medical facility in Maryland. I can't think of the name right now. My brother served in that program.

It is said that Koresh was a cult leader. I would like to propose that the closed unit of the BATF that staged the operation on the fateful morning, was itself operating under a cult mentality. A more classic set of mistakes and failures has hardly been seen in US history.

Why would anyone attack a peaceful compound in the manner the BATF did? Was there a history of violence? Was there a segment of the community that was threatened? Did the local sheriff ask for help? It is beyond comprehension that the BATF decided that the best way to notify Koresh of their desires to inspect his home, was to show up in two or three cattle carriers in full battle gear.

A phone call to the local sheriff could have facilitated an arranged tour of the Koresh home. The sheriff knew Koresh. He also knew he wasn't a threat.

Instead of making arrangements to serve a warrant, the BATF blew in military style. If warranted this might be a fairly good battle plan. If not, it could just scare the bejesus out of the Davidians and make them panic. What would you do if you saw between thirty and sixty paramilitary people coming at you, then heard shots around back as they took out the family dogs?

Who will know exactly what set this in motion. All I know is this was the worst, most botched bunch of loonacy I've seen conducted on our soil, followed up closely by the Weaver incident.

I find it interesting what we're willing to do to our own citizens, but if you ask someone to halt illegal immigration, you're a meanie. We can't even stop immigration from the middle east temporarily. We have lost our will to survive, and the morality to treat our own citizens with respect.