|
|
The Branch Davidians are a religious group originating from the Seventh-day Adventist church. They are best known because of the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas by federal agents.
In 1929, Victor Houteff, a Bulgarian immigrant, claimed that he had a new message for the SDA church. It was submitted in the form of a book entitled "The Shepherd's Rod." His claims were not accepted and he left to form the Davidian Seventh-day Adventists. In 1955, after his death, a split of this movement formed the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists. Leadership and occupancy of the property had been the subject of inner conflict among the Davidians before Vernon Howell (later renamed David Koresh) took charge of the property in 1988.
From its inception, the group was apocalyptic, in that they believed themselves to be living in a time when Christian prophesies of a final divine judgment were coming to pass. Davidians under Koresh believed prophesy to foretell a cyclic series of events, described as a spiral, with history returning to prophetically foretell events but each time, advance in terms of cosmological progress. Koresh supported his beliefs with detailed biblical interpretation, using the Book of Revelation as the lens through which the entire Bible was viewed.
On February 28, 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) raided the Branch Davidian ranch in Mount Carmel, a rural area near Waco, Texas. The raid resulted in the deaths of four agents and five Davidians. The subsequent 51-day siege ended on April 19 when the compound was completely consumed by fire killing 75 men, women, and children, including Koresh.
Justification for the raid, as widely repeated in initial media reports, was a report by a delivery company that a package of grenade casings had been shipped to the Davidians. Later investigation revealed the casings were legal dummy grenades often used for paperweights or sold to military enthusiasts. The media also repeated what officials had told a judge who signed the warrant, that there was evidence the Davidians were converting semi-automatic weapons to automatic weapons.
Agents approached the compound on Sunday morning, February 28, 1993, in trailers covered to appear as cattle trailers hauled by a local rancher. Some of the first shots during the raid are reported to have occurred near the front door. There is no agreement as to the shots' motivations or origins. Government officials established contact with Koresh and others inside the compound at some point after they failed to rapidly secure the scene and retreated. The FBI took command of the scene soon after the initial raid. For the next 51 days, communication with those inside included telephone contacts with various FBI negotiators who reportedly were not always in touch with front-line tactical units surrounding the building and pressing those inside to come out. Amplifiers were used to broadcast sounds at the building in a psychological warfare tactic intended to fatigue those inside. The Davidians hung banners from high places in the building, seeking help from those outside the government siege.
Attorney General Janet Reno approved the recommendations of veteran FBI officials to proceed with the final assault after being told children were being abused inside the besieged complex. Armored vehicles retrofitted for gas warfare approached the building from two sides. As the fighting vehicle first forced the tube of its gun into the building, debris and structural damage compromised a stairway. A few people spilled out, diving from windows and were immediately arrested by FBI agents. Most remained inside as fire engulfed the building.
The cause of the fatal fire is disputed. The government claims that the fire was intentionally set by Koresh and his followers as a suicidal act. Others claim that the fire was caused by the FBI's use of flammable CS gas grenades injected into the wooden buildings. Several documentaries suggest that the FBI fired weapons into the compound, which the FBI denies. The fact that fire crews were prohibited access to the burning buildings until they were reduced to ash has led many people to severely question the motivations of the FBI site chief.
|
|
Waco: The Rules of Engagement
DVD
Shaking the foundation of democracy, the shocking revelations behind the tragic series of events outside Waco, Texas that killed four federal agents and 76 men, women and children of the Branch Davidian religious sect has finally been exposed. Winner of an Academy-Award® nomination in light of its incredible discoveries, Waco: The Rules of Engagement brings forth devastating evidence of federal law enforcement gone tragically wrong. It dares to suggest the ATF provoked war with a group whose apocalyptic religious beliefs and rumored manufacturing of illegal weapons made them easy targets for an inevitable abuse of its members’ civil and human rights. Waco: The Rules of Engagement will change forever the way the world thinks and talks about the tragedy at Waco and, most importantly, it will renew our commitment to the basic precepts of tolerance and freedom upon which American society is built.
MORE... USA
MORE... UK
Armageddon in Waco:
Critical Perspectives on the Branch Davidian Conflict
By Stuart A. Wright
Could the tragedy have been prevented? Was it necesary for the BATF agents to do what they did? What could have been done differently? Armageddon in Waco offers the most detailed, wide-ranging analysis of events surrounding Waco. Leading scholars in sociology, history, law, and religion explore all facets of the confrontation in an attempt to understand one of the most confusing government actions in American history. The book begins with the history of the Branch Davidians and the story of its leader, David Koresh. Chapters show how the Davidians came to trouble authorities, why the group was labeled a "cult," and how authorities used unsubstantiated allegations of child abuse to strengthen their case against the sect. The media's role is examined next in essays that considering the effect on coverage of lack of time and resources, the orchestration of public relations by government officials, the restricted access to the site or to countervailing evidence, and the ideologies of the journalists themselves. Several contributors then explore the relation of violence to religion, comparing Waco to Jonestown. Finally, the role played by "experts" and "consultants" in defining such conflicts is explored by two contributors who had active roles as scholarly experts during and after the siege The legal and consitutional implications of the government's actions are also analyzed in balanced, clearly written detail.
MORE... USA
MORE... UK
This Is Not an Assault
By David T. Hardy, Rex Kimball
In February, 1993, a gun battle erupted outside Waco, Texas, as federal agents attempted to search the communal residence of a religion known as the "Branch Davidians." The battle, and the following siege, was the greatest law enforcement debacle in American history, costing nearly a hundred lives. After a criminal trial, two Cabinet-level studies, and three sets of Congressional hearings, the truth appeared to be firmly settled. A cult led by a madman had shot at federal agents and had then set themselves aflame. The issue was settled. Then in 1999, the Waco issue exploded, with proof that the Federal agencies had lied to their own leadership, to Congress, and to the courts. "This Is Not An Assault" explores this remarkable turnabout. It is authored by someone who saw it from the inside, a former government attorney whose lawsuit forced ATF and FBI to divulge the incriminating documents and tapes.
MORE... USA
MORE... UK |
The Ashes of Waco:
An Investigation
By Dick J. Reavis
MORE... USA
MORE... UK
No More Wacos:
What's Wrong With Federal Law Enforcement and How to Fix It
By David B. Kopel
MORE... USA
MORE... UK
|
|
The Siege at Waco:
Deadly Inferno
By Michael D. Cole
MORE... USA
MORE... UK
Why Waco?:
Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America
By James D. Tabor
MORE... USA
MORE... UK
|
|
BACK | TOP
|
|