FBI crossed a historical line at Waco

Diana Butler Bass

Most news stories, particularly those involving religion, have a short shelf life. But six years later, Waco is still news.

The FBI has hinted at what many have speculated: It may not have been as innocent in the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, as we were led to believe.

The Branch Davidians, founded in 1934, is a sectarian group of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. In 1987, David Koresh became one of their leaders. The Davidians believed themselves to be a separate spiritual nation headed by a prophet. They expected the imminent return of Christ. Their special status, as forerunners of the second coming, created tension with the surrounding society.

Eventually, the Davidians identified the United States as "apostate." They anticipated a violent confrontation between themselves and the evil powers.

The government depicted Koresh and the Branch Davidians as a dangerous "cult" akin to Jim Jones and the People's Temple. Koresh was stockpiling weapons and, most damning, abusing children. If not stopped, they would commit mass suicide or attack the surrounding community. Thus, Koresh's religion justified the government's siege of the compound.

What is odd about the scenario is not Koresh's religion. What is odd and deeply troubling is what the government did about that religion.

A distinct people  

Koresh and his followers were Christians. They certainly were not Presbyterians or Baptists, but they believed everything more mainstream Christians do. And like other Christians do, they embellished parts of the tradition. The Branch Davidians emphasized the Book of Revelation, separating themselves from the sinful world as distinct people. Koresh was their prophet (not a new Messiah) who helped them interpret scripture and prepare them for their destiny.

Among their more particular beliefs were that Koresh needed to father 24 children and that the government would one day attack them.

The Branch Davidians are best understood as a nonconventional religion. Such religions are generally the offspring of more traditional groups. They tend to overemphasize some part of the tradition, thus creating a "super pious" group within the older institution. Eventually the tension causes them to form a new organization.

Throughout American history, nonconventional groups have spun off of nearly every mainstream religion. But Protestantism has been especially susceptible to the process. And the line between "mainstream" and "nonconventional" has often been thin.

In the 1830s, for example, Presbyterian minister Charles Finney led a spectacular series of revivals that resulted in hundreds of thousands of conversions. Finney's manipulative methods often produced unusual manifestations such as instantaneous healing and tongues speaking. Although controversial in his practices, Finney stayed on this side of the theological law and never significantly deviated from traditional Protestant doctrine.

One of Finney's followers, John Humphrey Noyes, however, modified both Christian practice and theology. Noyes believed that Jesus' second coming had already occurred and that Christians had achieved sinless perfection. Noyes instituted "biblical communism" among his followers, including the practice of "complex marriage," where everyone in his commune was married to everyone else.

The group, known as the Oneida Community, survived for almost 50 years. They experienced legal persecution (Noyes was indicted on adultery charges) and informal persecution from neighboring Christians. But they carried out their religious experiment in relative peace.

Other 19th-century groups could tell similar stories. Nonconventional religions, like the Mormons and Shakers, were often construed as dangerous, especially regarding sex and violence.

America's valued "religious freedom" only grudgingly welcomed non-mainstream, non-Protestant religions. Even Roman Catholics and Jews were persecuted. But violence against them was generally sporadic, local, and not directed by a government agency.

A critical difference  

Therein lies the difference with Waco. David Koresh did exactly what hundreds of American religious leaders had done before him. For nearly four centuries, Americans have embellished upon theological traditions, experimented with marriage and childbearing, formed isolated communes, started new religions, kept firearms and challenged political and cultural norms. At least theoretically, the government protected the right to do so.

I cannot defend Koresh theologically. But unless he and his followers were breaking the law -- and it is not altogether clear they were -- the Davidians' religious rights should have protected them from a military assault on distasteful theology.

One need not be a paranoid anti-government fanatic to think something went terribly wrong at Waco. Government agents shouldn't throw "pyrotechnic canisters" on churches, especially with children inside.

If the line between mainstream and nonconventional is indeed thin, Presbyterians and Baptists -- indeed those of all faiths -- must remember Waco.

-- Diana Butler Bass is associate professor of religious studies at Rhodes College in Memphis

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Commentary: Waco crackdown set off self-fulfilling prophecy

Jacob Sullum

"The Japanese believe that the United States often emphasizes individual rights at the expense of society as a whole," a front-page article in the New York Times reported last week.

This was by way of explaining Japan's crackdown on Aum Shinrikyo, which carried out a nerve gas attack in the Tokyo subway four years ago, killing a dozen people and sickening thousands. Local governments have been refusing to grant followers of the sect residence permits, without which they cannot legally work or get driver's licenses, passports or public services. Children of Aum members have been turned away from public schools and parks. Most Japanese, it appears, do not object to these tactics.

The crackdown suggests a contrast with the United States, where unconventional religious groups presumably do not have to worry about this sort of persecution. But that take was undercut by another front-page article the same day, concerning the federal government's 1993 confrontation with the Branch Davidians near Waco, Texas.

That incident, the deadliest law enforcement operation in American history, was in the news again because the Federal Bureau of Investigation had finally admitted, after six years of denial, that it used "pyrotechnic" tear gas canisters against the Davidians on the day flames swept through their residence. The FBI continues to insist that the fire -- after which 80 people, including 25 children, were found dead -- was started by the Davidians themselves.

Even if that's true, the government created a situation where mass suicide was predictable. Its actions -- including a gratuitous raid by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF); a 51-day siege in which the FBI used harassment techniques to unnerve the Davidians, and a final onslaught in which tanks rammed the group's home, Mount Carmel, while loudspeakers incongruously announced, "This is not an assault" -- seemed calculated to convince an apocalyptic sect that the end was indeed nigh.

It is sobering to recall that the justification for the initial ATF raid was the suspicion that residents of Mount Carmel had illegally converted semiautomatic weapons to machine guns. For this victimless crime by a few of their members, scores of Davidians ultimately died.

Before the raid, the Davidians had not been charged with harming or threatening anyone, in contrast to members of the Aum Shinrikyo sect. And what has happened to Aum members pales in comparison with what happened to the Davidians. Yet I suspect that many Americans who disapprove of Japan's intolerance still believe that the Davidians basically got what they deserved.

The Davidians were stigmatized as a dangerous "doomsday cult" unworthy of respect, muting the public outcry about their mistreatment. They were tarred with unsubstantiated allegations of child abuse and accused of hostile intent because they owned guns. Their beliefs were depicted as utterly bizarre and alien, and the Davidians themselves were portrayed as mindless drones under David Koresh's spell, when in fact many of them were highly educated.

During its siege, the FBI kept the press away and withheld a videotape from Mount Carmel that showed not a sinister collective but individual human beings with strong religious beliefs.

The vilification and isolation encouraged the Davidians to conclude that a peaceful resolution was impossible. And thus the perception that they were inclined to violence because of their beliefs became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

-- Jacob Sullum, a senior editor at Reason magazine, wrote this article for the New York Times.

-- Arachnid (spider@web.net), September 11, 1999

Answers

Would someone please explain the child abuse part of the Davidians. I have heard that there was child abuse going on in the "compound". Has that been proved or disproved? If there was child abuse going on, what good was burning the children that were being abused to death? Please help me understand this point from either side.

-- a mom (children@first.com), September 11, 1999.

"The FBI continues to insist that the fire -- after which 80 people, including 25 children, were found dead -- was started by the Davidians themselves. Even if that's true, the government created a situation where mass suicide was predictable."

So.. is the implication of this article that this was just an over-reaction to a religious group? That the military was called in because of a difference of religion? That unsupportable charges were fabricated in order to get the warrent and to involve the military because of religious differences? That the over-reaction of the seige supported the religious views of the group and led to their suicide?

Bullsh*t.

Then how does the author explain the bulldozing of the evidence? How does the author explain that people who were found in a concrete building which did not collapse, and who supposedly died of smoke inhalation, were found without heads and limbs and in one case only the lower legs were found? What happened to the double metal doors that are missing that would show who did the shooting because they would show if the bullets went in or out?

The local sheriff had checked out the weapons charges and charges of child abuse and found them unsubstantiated. Why was the military brought in? Why did the DoJ and FBI lie about it? Why did both the DoJ and the FBI hide and destroy evidence? Over religion?

Where is the missing computer disc?

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), September 11, 1999.

"Koresh and his followers were Christians. They certainly were not Presbyterians or Baptists, but they believed everything more mainstream Christians do."

I beg your pardon, but this person's ignorance is showing. People who do not study belief systems thoroughly should not insert foot into mouth so blatantly. Many people concoct a religious mix and label it Christianity, but for the sake of theory, let us define Christianity as being represented by the traditionally accepted version of Holy Scripture, and Christians as those who, based upon this Word, have made the decision to believe and follow Christ. It is then generally understood that individual Scriptures must always be understood in context to other passages, and not distorted and convoluted as cultists love to do. (e.g. "Among their more particular beliefs were that Koresh needed to father 24 children and that the government would one day attack them.) You won't hear this from the Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, or any of the mainstream evangelical pulpits. That stretch of comparison would be like saying Martin Luther King Jr. was a Black Panther.

"Finney's manipulative methods often produced unusual manifestations such as instantaneous healing and tongues speaking. "

Another biased ass-umption. Was the writer there? Is this based on a scientific analysis? Egad, perish the thought that the supernatural exists and could have spontaneously manifested itself somewhere on earth!

"Noyes believed that Jesus' second coming had already occurred and that Christians had achieved sinless perfection"

This is in direct opposition to Scripture, and therefore no longer qualifies as an example of basic Christianity.

"Nonconventional religions, like the Mormons "

The Mormons follow their own prophets and their proclamations as a higher authority than the Bible. When contradictions and mistakes have occurred, it is their prophets who take precedence.

"I cannot defend Koresh theologically. But unless he and his followers were breaking the law -- and it is not altogether clear they were -- the Davidians' religious rights should have protected them from a military assault on distasteful theology."

Right on!

The second article is more accurate in presenting the real problems that Waco presents.

Linda's questions need to be answered, or we will all suffer for it.

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), September 11, 1999.

Linda,

What is this about a missing computer disk??? This is the first I've heard of it.

-- K. Stevens (kstevens@ It's ALL going away in January but not WACO.com), September 11, 1999.

One of the most disturbing aspects of the Waco confrontation, is the terrible condition of many of the Davidian corpses. Many reports and pictures document dismembered and decaying bodies. Who could have done this? These bodies had supposedly been in this condition long before the final day of the siege. Who else but those inside the compound could have done these things? Are we to believe that the surrounding government personnel managed to sneak inside, kill and dismember these poor souls, then sneak out again? This is an area that has always bothered me.any answers?

-- Truth (at@the.ready), September 11, 1999.

K.,

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3691e2526c13.htm

This didn't happen. You don't know anything. You didn't hear it from me. Anyone who says different is a kook (this is late 20th century America - you know the drill).

Liberty

-- Liberty (liberty@theready.now), September 11, 1999.

a mom,

Indications are there that Koresh was indeed a pedophile. However, everything I've seen regarding this came out after the fact. There is apparently nothing to support any theory that allegations of child abuse played any part in the assault on the Branch Davidian compound, six years ago.

-- Bokonon (bok0non@my-Deja.com), September 11, 1999.

"These bodies had supposedly been in this condition long before the final day of the siege"

Correction. There were wide degrees of decomposition, but this does not necessarily directly correlate to the mutilation, dismembering and decapitation. Those were all signs of professional 'body laundering', which our elite Delta types are trained to do. The problem with the varying degrees of composition, is that the bodies were all alleged to have died at the same time in the same place. (Remember, the Feds do not want to admit that they might have killed the women and children in particular, and the varying stages of decomposition could have helped prove that the initial attack on the compound was done with unwarranted and malicious aggression that resulted in the deaths of women and children.) The bodies that were found with these varying degrees of decomposition, that were dismembered and decapitated, that were burned, were alleged by the government to have died from being crushed and suffocated by the ceiling of the concrete storage room falling in. Unfortunately, the ceiling had not fallen in quite yet.

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), September 11, 1999.

Mumsie, you said: 'Those were all signs of professional 'body laundering', which our elite Delta types are trained to do.' Please explain.

-- Truth (at@the.ready), September 11, 1999.

She did explain. They are special ops. They kill people, sometimes covertly and secretly. That means they sometimes have to conceal what they've done, or alter the evidence. Stands to reason. You're asking for proof that Delta Force is trained to kill people covertly, and not leave a big trail that says "Delta Force was here, and we did it THIS way"? You might as well try to say that Delta Force doesn't officially exist, therefore they couldn't have been there (that fits your overall strategy of dumping FBI press releases onto this forum with even the effort to format them). Or maybe you think the American People care which branch of the New Gestapo killed what percentage of Davidian victims, or that we think absolving DF of blame for altering this evidence will improve the Fed's image? I swear to God, you are from Planet Reader's Digest! At this point, the only people who could possibly fall in with your attempt to piss out this three-state forest fire are people who simply do not WANT to know. Mumsie is talking about kids who died of smoke inhalation, and yet were dismembered. It begs the question: BY WHOM? She suggests that Delta Force might just know a little something about baffling forensic efforts to identify cause of death. Maybe they can really shoot, too - do you need an explaination of that assertion? We're talking EVIDENCE TAMPERING here, and all you can do in this situation is try to put Mumsie on the defensive with fussy fact-checking. Your pathos is truly multi-faceted...

Liberty

-- Liberty (liberty@theready.now), September 11, 1999.

K - the disc? - see: The Waco Burn Bed Mystery

More about the burn beds: FBI Alerted Dallas Hospital Hours Before Waco Fire

More on possible computer connection: Waco, Vince Foster, and the Secret War

Tidbit about the ATF agents supposedly killed by the Branch Davidians: People Who Have Died Since Bill Clinton Took Office

6. Four agents killed in the Waco tragedy were Clinton's bodyguards: Conway, Bleu, McKeen and DeWillis. They often use ATF agents as bodyguards during campaigns. All of these were out of the Little Rock, Ark. area, and had guarded Clinton when he was Governor. Each of these agents had one wound to the left temple that blew our the back side of their heads, just like an execution. Each one of them hard an identical wound to the left temple.

a mom - about the allegations of child abuse? - Cults, Anti-Cultists, and the Cult of Intelligence

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), September 12, 1999.

Oops.

Tidbit about the ATF agents supposedly killed by the Branch Davidians: People Who Have Died Since Bill Clinton Took Office

6. Four agents killed in the Waco tragedy were Clinton's bodyguards: Conway, Bleu, McKeen and DeWillis. They often use ATF agents as bodyguards during campaigns. All of these were out of the Little Rock, Ark. area, and had guarded Clinton when he was Governor. Each of these agents had one wound to the left temple that blew our the back side of their heads, just like an execution. Each one of them hard an identical wound to the left temple.

a mom - about the allegations of child abuse? - Cults, Anti-Cultists, and the Cult of Intelligence

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), September 12, 1999.