The press and other local law enforcement agencies were kept out of the area, and neither were allowed to work within the negotiations. In the end the government of the United States used tanks and fired automatic weapons, in a military type assault, and gassed the compound with high concentrations of flammable cyanide tear-gas. The compound burned, ultimately killing nearly everyone inside.
In the investigations that followed, the evidence showed that government officials at various levels lied, and that many mistakes were made by the ATF, FBI, and others, before, during, and after the siege. The church camp was mischaracterized as a fortress, the group labeled as child-abusers, and their legal weapons reported as 'stock piles'. There also seems to have been an extensive cover up by the government agencies involved as the crime scene was destroyed and CSI evidence lost.
The tragic end was unnecessary, and the church leader, a man named Vernon Wayne Howell, known as David Koresh, was never proven to be guilty of any crimes. To this day some still see him as a Messianic figure, that fact would not be likely if this incident had been resolved differently. This incident is also known as a motivating cause for the Oklahoma City Bombings one year later.
This kind of incident shows the inept stupidity inherent in our Federal law enforcement and military systems, where politically appointed bureaucrats and military goons clumsily try to impose their world views upon civilians.
Today, the project of 'Homeland Security' is in place, and the Executive branch has used legal maneuvers like the 'Patriot' Acts and the Defense Authorization Bills, that circumvent the very checks on power that used to protect us (See Habeas corpus and Posse Comitatus Act), there is noting to prevent more Waco type incidents from occurring. The new twist is that now our government can hire 'Private Security' Mercenary forces (like Blackwater) to do such evil things, thus keeping those responsible safe from being accountable.
Watch this Film: WACO - The RULES Of Engagement
