comment clinton reno batf and waco input amstex documentstyle amsppt pagewidth in magnification pageheight in title letter to the editor endtitle author matthew l fante endauthor date april enddate endtopmatter in a letter to the fbi david koresh said do you want me to pull back the heavens and show you my anger fear me the day standoff between federal agents and the branch davidians ended on april in what appeared to be a mass suicide by fire now that the multi million dollar standoff is over a few things remain cleaning up the mess and assigning blame from the onset of the april tear gas attacks by federal agents president clinton already started passing the buck by saying talk to the attorney general or the fbi i knew it was going to be done but the decision was it entirely theirs it they made the tactical decision enter attorney general janet reno after most of the branch davidians died reno said she took full responsibility for the decision i approved the plan she said adding that she did not advise him clinton as to the details in fact she told clinton that it was the best way to go as the fire was roaring through the branch davidian s compound clinton said that he was deeply sadened by the loss of life and in the same breath that the law enforcement agencies involved in the waco siege recommended the course of action pursued today later he went on to say i stand by that reno s decision how did this all begin at on february agents of the bureau of alcohol tobacco and firearms batf launched a full scale high profile assault on the branch davidian s compound this raid was much more than an assault on a group suspected of possessing illegal weapons the assault was a planned media circus used as a propaganda device of the batf to show their might and just purpose at the onset of the no knock raid gaggles of heavily armed batf agents made their way inside the compound without identifying themselves or state that they had a warrant until long after the shooting began silently the agents made their way to the compound s buildings and started their search by charging at the buildings and throwing concussion grenades and ordering the cult members to come out of the buildings if unknown persons dressed in black ninja costumes and combat fatigues were to attack you throwing grenades and brandishing firearms would you not assume that these people are criminals and attempt to defend yourself the tactics employed by the batf provoked the battle the initial assualt by the batf was not successful unfortunately lives were lost on both sides but had the assault been a success the liberal media would have praised the batf by showing the footage of batf agents carting away a bunch of gun wielding religious nuts of course any violation of the cult s rights would have been overlooked and the media would proclaim america s fortune in having super cop organizations like the batf that can systematically take out terroristic groups such as the branch davidians as far as i can see the batf and the fbi dropped the ball just like philadelphia did in the move crisis which left dead homeless and a city block razed it appears that the batf has adopted the shoot first tactic of no knock raids to execute search warrants don t let the batf convince you that the no knock raid was justified no knock assaults make sense when looking for say drugs that can easily be hidden or disposed of in a few seconds the batf was looking for illegal weapons not drugs that could be hidden or flushed down the toilet in a matter of a few seconds what ever happened to this is the police you are surrounded it this policy of no knock raids by federal and local agencies should be restricted further the use of military firepower against presumed innocent citizens is a very scary idea and is why the davidians were justified in using lethal force to ensure that their fourth ammendment rights the right of the people to be secure in their persons houses papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures are not denied noindent matthew l fante newline end matthew fante mlf lehigh edu for a good prime call webster street a public key is available bethlehem pa upon request
