FBI Special Agent (SA) R. Wayne Smith Waco Report Why (waco)? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America David Koresh,the leader of the branch davidians, claimed that he went to the front door http://www.apfn.net/messageboard/03-01-05/discussion.cgi.59.html
Extractions: The Waco operation turned out to be one of the most massive and tragic in the history of United States law enforcement. (7) In the initial raid, four BATF agents were killed and twenty wounded, while six Branch Davidians were fatally shot, with four others wounded. (8) The Branch Davidians inside the rambling Mount Carmel complex following the raid numbered approximately 123 persons, including 43 children. They were heavily armed and solidly behind their leader. On April 19, when it all came to a fiery end, 74 Branch Davidians were listed dead, including 21 children under the age of fourteen. (9) In the aftermath BATF director Stephen Higgins and five other high-ranking officials resigned from the agency. (10) On the very evening following the initial Sunday raid by the BATF, Koresh, who had been seriously wounded, spoke several times by live telephone hookup over Dallas radio station KRLD and CNN cable television. Koresh began, in those gripping interviews, the first of hundreds of hours of explanations, based on his understanding of the biblical apocalyptic significance of the situation in which he found himself. His last direct communication with anyone other than government agents was an impromptu conversation with the station manager Charlie Serafin over KRLD radio at 1:50 A.M. the next morning. (11) In those live broadcasts Koresh offered the key to the Branch Davidians' biblical understanding of events. Unfortunately, neither the FBI agents in charge nor the myriad of advisers upon whom they relied could comprehend their perspective.
The Massacre Of The Branch Davidians 3 Many Americans consider the branch davidians to be the religious fanatics, In this section the Committee for (waco) Justice report describes BATF http://www.firearmsandliberty.com/waco.massacre.html
Extractions: In consultation with: COMMITTEE FOR WACO JUSTICE, P.O. Box 33037, Washington, D.C. 20033, 202/986-1847 202/797-9877 Please Feel Free to Copy and Distribute! Copying for non-commercial distribution encouraged. The Public Must Know the Truth Justice Must Be Done Past Wacos: Government's "Historic Interest in Breaking Up Armed Groups" BATF and FBI Persecution of Randy Weaver ... Treasury Department and BATF Chains of Command Diagram and Drawing of Mount Carmel Center White House, Justice Department and FBI Chains of Command April 19th Diagram of Tank Damage to Mount Carmel April 19th Infrared Photo of 11:59:16 of Tank Rammings and Collapsed Gymnasium April 19th Infrared Photo of 12:10:40 Fires THE MASSACRE OF THE BRANCH DAVIDIANS A STUDY OF GOVERNMENT VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS, EXCESSIVE FORCE AND COVER UP THE PUBLIC MUST KNOW THE TRUTH
Todd Kerstetter That S Just The American Way The Branch Like diverse other religious groups, the branch davidians found freedom in the A British journalist who came to (waco) to cover the branch Davidian siege http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/whq/35.4/kerstetter.html
Extractions: Purchase a research pass to gain two hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the Western Historical Quarterly (104.3-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the Western Historical Quarterly. Instititutions can: Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges. "That's just the American way": The Branch Davidian Tragedy and Western Religious History TODD KERSTETTER This essay examines religion's role in the 1993 Branch Davidian tragedy and places the event in the West's religious history. Like diverse other religious groups, the Branch Davidians found freedom in the West for decades. That freedom's collapse in 1993 revealed limits to the region's tolerance.
Waco Keywords topical, original, chuckle, religion. Q How is (waco) like a Keywords topical, original, smirk, religion. I bet the branch davidians were http://http.cs.berkeley.edu/~lorch/humor/waco.html
Extractions: Due to the large number of Branch Davidian jokes, I'm putting out this special issue. For those of you unaware of the situation, this religious group's compound was consumed by fire recently, ending a long siege by US Federal agents. Obviously, most of these jokes are in the ``sick'' or ``offensive'' category. You've been warned. Original jokes are so designated. Subject: Good Ol' Texas Barbecue
Why Waco? Why (waco)? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America The 1993government assault on the branch Davidian compound near (waco), Texas, http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/6679.html
Extractions: Read Chapter 1, "What Might Have Been" Description Table of Contents About the Authors ... Free online edition (eScholarship) available only to University of California faculty, staff, and students (List of public titles) "Was Reno manipulated by macho FBI officials frazzled by fatigue and Koresh's biblical rant? . . . In their book, Why Waco?, Tabor and Gallagher argue that the FBI blundered into a tragedy because it never understood Koresh and his cult: 'The Waco situation could have been handled differently and possibly resolved peacefully. This is not unfounded speculation. It is the considered opinion of lawyers who spent the most time with the Davidians during the siege and scholars of religion who understand biblical apocalyptic belief systems.'"Sandy Grady, article in the Philadelphia Daily News and fifty other newspapers, August 30, 1999
Extractions: Updated September 11, Campus News News on the topic of cults and high-pressure groups on campus. News On Specific Groups Photos Find information on the topic of cults and high-pressure groups on a campus near you. Breaking a myth about cults, believe it or not? Psychological Study on the International Church of Christ/Los Angeles Church of Christ ("The six manipulative sects that showed the same pattern as was observed in the study of the Boston Church of Christ... ...were the Church of Scientology, the Hare Krishnas, Maranatha, the Children of God, the Unification Church, and the Way International."...) Responding To High-Pressure Groups at California State University, Los Angeles Frequently Asked Questions ICOC in the News Campus News Are colleges protecting students against cults? Chronicle of Higher Education - February 23, 2005 Schools urged to drop antidrug program /Scientology-linked teachings inaccurate, superintendent says - Nanette Asimov, Chronicle Staff Writer, San Francisco Chronicle, California (State Superintendent Jack O'Connell urged all California schools on Tuesday to drop the Narconon antidrug education program after a new state evaluation concluded that its curriculum offers inaccurate and unscientific information. - June 2004 Campus chaplains: cult training and perceptions PDF Version ) by Russell K. Elleven, Kimberly J. Greenhaw, Jeff Allen - College Student Journal, Mobile, Alabama (This article examines the perception of 43 college chaplains across the United States with regard to cult training and perceptions of college and university cult activity. Campus chaplains are in a unique and challenging position on college campuses to assist students and confront cult issues. The results of the survey indicate that most campus chaplains have had surprisingly little formal training with regard to cultic groups and often perceive faculty, staff, and students as requiring additional education regarding cult issues on college campuses...
Powell's Books - Why Waco? By James Tabor The 1993 government assault on the branch Davidian compound near (waco), Texas, ISBN 0520208994; Subtitle Cults the Battle for Religious Freedom in http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=28734&cgi=product&isbn=0520208
Extractions: Not all groups called either "cults" or "cult-like" are harmful (Click for full text) More Cult News Support this Site Archives :: February 24, 2003 :: After a decade what is the Branch-Davidian legacy? Ten years ago the Waco Tribune-Herald began a three-part series called " The Sinful Messiah " about a then obscure cult known as the Branch-Davidians led by Vernon Howell, later known to the world as David Koresh. The first part of that series appeared February 23, 1993, the same day the BATF came to the cult compound to serve a warrant But rather than cooperate with authorities Koresh chose to arm his followers for resistance. The ensuing gun battle ended with four federal agents and five Davidians dead. Many more were wounded. The 51-day standoff that followed tragically concluded in a horrific fire ordered by Koresh, which consumed the lives of his remaining followers, including their children. Beginning Sunday the Waco Tribune-Herald launched a new series. This time it will not cover the "Sinful Messiah," but examine the legacy of the historical event that forever changed Waco. How did it affect the town in Texas, the nation, society and those involved? What lessons were learned from this tragedy of cult devotion to a purported "
Extractions: Reviews Abstract: Essays from various points of view explore the history of the Branch Davidians and David Koresh, why the group was labeled a 'cult,' how authorities used unsubstantiated allegations of child abuse to strengthen their case against the sect, the media's role, the orchestration of public relations by government officials, the ideologies of the journalists themselves, and the role played by 'experts' and 'consultants' in defining such conflicts. Keywords: book review, conspiracy, psychology, religion, Waco Branch Davidian Disaster, Texas, 1993, religious cults 1960, United States.
Waco, Cults, And Ordinary Madness (waco), Cults, and Ordinary Madness. A review of (waco) The Rules of Engagement The branch Davidian sect in (waco), which had lived quietly there since 1935 http://www.serendipity.li/waco/jonl.html
Extractions: Waco, Cults, and Ordinary Madness A review of Waco: The Rules of Engagement by Jon Lebkowsky Originally published in Fringe Ware Review Author's preface to this article. Wake Up and Smell the Napalm The oddest event at this year's South by Southwest Music and Media conference in Austin was a panel called "Koresh and the Waco Disaster: What Really Happened at Mt. Carmel?" Moderated by Texas Monthly's Joe Nick Patoski, the panel included Waco survivors Clive Doyle, Sheila Martin, and Catherine Matteson, along with attorney Terrence Kirk and Dick Reavis, the Dallas author who's writing what might be the definitive book on the Branch Davidians and the BATF raid. Media-saturated and rockroll exhausted, Monte and I managed to miss most of the SXSW panels this year, but we made a point of attending this one, if only because it was so contextually WEIRD. I mean, SXSW is about ENTERTAINMENT, folks are there to rock out and do bizness, they're not in town to have their shit disturbed by lawyers, jornalistas, and religious fanatics... Fanatics, yes. The Branch Davidians have the kind of commitment that's easily classed as fanaticism, and they're also stereotyped as cultists armed to the teeth, demonized as the brainscrubbed mindless followers of a maniac with a God complex, who would rather burn to death in a fire than surrender to the forces of reason and social stability represented by the U.S. gooberment, the FBI and the ATF, and o'course the local citizenry, the residents of a town which before this was known to Texans as a drab god-fearing Baptist community where the streets roll up at night and everybody's punctual for the Sunday morning hymnfest.
Waco -- Operation Showtime An overview of the (waco), Texas branch Davidian confrontation with the BATF in 1993, Why (waco)? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America http://www.ameriroots.com/issues/waco.html
Extractions: All indications are that the confrontation between the BATF and the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas was a set-up, planned for public relations purposes. The BATF had the news media alerted, the cameras rolling, and a search warrant that was obtained on trumped up charges. They disregarded the invitation of the Branch Davidians to peacefully enter the building and have a look around. They ignored opportunities to arrest David Koresh when he was alone. They recklessly ignored the presence of innocent women and children, and staged a paramilitary-style assault on the community. For what? To make a political statement? Excuse me, but I don't think that is the proper role of law enforcement in a Constitutional Republic. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco (BATF) Special Agents called it "Operation Showtime" when they set up their cameras and summoned the TV crews and newspaper reporters for the arrest of David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidian religious community in Waco, Texas on February 28, 1993. The community consisted of approximately 100 men, women and children, all living in a large wooden structure that they called "Mount Carmel." It was a religious community Mount Carmel included a large chapel. The BATF had a more ominous name for the wooden structure: "The Compound." The BATF had done months of advance work for this operation. They knew that David Koresh could often be found by himself outside Mount Carmel, where he could easily be arrested. They knew of the many women and children living inside Mount Carmel. They had been invited by David Koresh to come in and look around. But they chose instead to arrest Koresh using a technique known in law enforcement circles as a "dynamic entry" using some seventy-six heavily armed men and women firing submachine guns, by some accounts including from helicopters and throwing flash-bang grenades.
Child Abuse + Child Deaths In Cults + Sects Child abuse + child deaths in Cults + Sects + Religious Organisations Christian branch Davidian / (waco). Vow of kids safety Koresh s final lie http://www.factnet.org/CIF/child_abuse.htm?FACTNet
Child Abuse + Child Deaths In Cults + Sects Child abuse + child deaths in Cults + Sects + Religious Organisations Christian branch Davidian / (waco). Report to the Deputy Attorney General on the http://www.factnet.org/CIF/child_abuse.htm
Extractions: All Products Books Popular Music Classical Music Video DVD Electronics Software Outdoor Living Cell Phones Child abuse + child deaths in Cults + Sects + Religious Organisations The 3 main topics on this page are: Life of a Child in a Cult Physical Child Abuse Children's deaths associated with Cult + Sects You can also see the latest newspaper reports about general child abuse around the world: FACTNet Search Yahoo Search Google Search Life of a Child in a Cult
WACO Book Reviews Armageddon in (waco) Critical Perspectives on the branch Davidian Conflict Why (waco)? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America , by James D. http://reason.com/9603/dept.bk.WACO.text.html
Extractions: BURNING QUESTIONS By Jacob Sullum The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation Armageddon in Waco: Critical Perspectives on the Branch Davidian Conflict , edited by Stuart A. Wright, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 394 pages, $15.95 paper Why Waco?: Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America , by James D. Tabor and Eugene V. Gallagher, Berkeley: University of California Press, 252 pages, $24.95 In 1979, the year after more than 900 followers of Jim Jones committed suicide in the Guyanese jungle, I attended a gathering sponsored by the National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY) where a speaker warned us about the dangers posed by "cults." He said cult members reach out to young people, pretend to be their friends, and invite them on retreats where food is meager, group activities such as prayer and singing are emphasized, and new recruits are never left alone, lest they start thinking for themselves. To me and several other wise guys in the group, this sounded a lot like an NCSY convention. It was an observation we could laugh at, because clearly there was a big difference between a youth group run by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and loony cults like the Moonies and the Hare Krishnas. Superficial similarities aside, one was legitimate and respectable while the others were weird and vaguely sinister. That sort of confidence, reinforced by decades of propaganda against unconventional religious groups, helped set the stage for the deaths of 80 men, women, and children at the Mt. Carmel Center near Waco, Texas, in 1993. As Texas journalist Dick J. Reavis writes in his thorough and lively account
Breaking Issue: Waco Armageddon in (waco) Critical Perspectives on the branch Davidian Conflict, Why (waco)? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America, http://reason.com/bi/biwaco.html
Extractions: questions about Waco to rest. Jacob Sullum, Creators Syndicate, 2/23/00. Persecution, American-Style Were the Branch Davidians targeted by the government because of their religion? Reason Senior Editor Jacob Sullum, New York Times, Burning Questions The federal government is beginning to sound like Billy Joel. "We didnt start the fire," it keeps saying, every time the subject of Waco comes up. Jacob Sullum, Creators Syndicate, 9/1/99. The Fire Last Time A review of Waco: The Rules of Engagement , and No More Wacos: What's Wrong with Federal Law Enforcement and How to Fix It , by Jacob Sullum, Reason More Burning Questions A review of The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation;
Anticultists Influence In The Waco Tragedy compared (waco) and Jonestown There, too, an exceptionally volatile religious 32 The only branch Davidian to turn state s evidence is Katherine http://bernie.cncfamily.com/acm/waco3b.htm
Extractions: January 28, 1994 If the anti-cult movement (ACM) involvement in the Jonestown tragedy is not as widely documented, their involvement in the Waco blunder is more evident. The questionable role of the FBI and BATF, acting under the influence and along the line of the anti-cult rhetoric, is also the subject of a film, the The Rules of Engagement . The film is being shown around the States and has received quantities of positive reviews, as well as met with a well deserved success. The following excerpts show the ACM involvement in the Waco tragedy. I let the references number in the text but they currently do not link to the reference. You will need to consult the full report for that. I cut what was not directly relevant to the point and marked the deletions with ellipses (...). Chapter 3.4 is left intact because everything it contains is relevant. Some of the things that are shown here are: the ACM fear inducing propaganda and rhetoric how the ACM pushed for forcible intervention by authorities the use of "deprogrammed" ex-members as "evidence" for the need of such an intervention
Original Sources "Mary Quite Contrary" August 1999 on members of the rebellious religious cult and, especially, their children. branch Davidian Steve Schneider, stated clearly on Friday afternoon, http://www.bannerofliberty.com/OS8-99MQC/8-30-1999.1.html
Extractions: Waco and Kosovo-Clintons Legacy of Church Burnings By: Mary Mostert, Analyst, Original Sources (www.originalsources.com) August 30,1999 Cox Washington Bureau reported Saturday that "Army anti-terrorism specialists, including the commander of the top-secret Delta Force, attended the 1993 meeting at which Attorney General Janet Reno approved use of tear gas against members of the Branch Davidian group near Waco, Texas." "It is the first indication that the Delta Force, whose presence at the fatal raid was disclosed this week, was involved in planning the operation." In 1995 I watched, and taped DAYS of testimony during the Congressional Hearings during which Reno managed to say almost nothing - certainly nothing about the involvement of Delta force. There was conflicting testimony about the flammability of the CS gas which, the Davidians claimed, was the agent which killed most of the children, who were underground in a shelter that they believed was the safest area of the facility. Government witnesses denied categorically that a flammable substance had been used and claimed the Davidians had set the fire themselves and killed their own children. I might point out that there are STILL Davidians in prison over this event - after the media had demonized David Koresh, just like they have demonized the Serbs in recent months. Remember the clip, played over, and over, and over on network news in which David Koresh was saying "I am Jesus Christ?" A lot of talk show mileage was gotten out of the often played remark. However, nothing preceding or following the abrupt - "I am Jesus Christ" statement was EVER played. And, you know why? Because David Koresh was responding to a stupid question by a reporter in which he was stating that "...if that is correct, then I am Jesus Christ." His statement was followed by a burst of laughter because Koresh had put the reporter down. Only, it seems, the reporter had the last laugh because he doctored the tape to Koresh by cutting everything before and after "I am Jesus Christ" and was able to portray him as a monstrous fraud who claimed to be Jesus Christ who raped little girls and used religion as a means of controlling his followers.
Waco, Texas: Where A Part Of America'S Heart And Soul Died. David Koresh and the branch Davidian religious sect in (waco), Texas, held centerstage in America for fiftyone days. A Rambo-style raid on a quiet Sunday http://www.islandone.org/Politics/Waco.McCurry.html
Extractions: By Robert McCurry David Koresh and the Branch Davidian religious sect in Waco, Texas, held center stage in America for fifty-one days. A Rambo-style raid on a quiet Sunday morning in February by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) touched off one of the most incredible and tragic events in American history. The ATF stormed the Branch Davidian home to serve a search warrant issued on the suspicion that the group was stockpiling automatic weapons. Within minutes it was evident that the raid was an utter failure. The whole thing had been orchestrated by some bureaucrats whose brains were obviously on vacation and whose allegiance to the U.S. Constitution is totally defective. It was a fiasco from the start that resulted in senseless, needless, carnage and human suffering - not only of those inside the home, but also of the ATF agents who were wounded or killed and forced to retreat. Credible sources report that the ATF fired the first shots; those within the home returned fire. Four agents were shot to death; 15 were wounded; in addition to that, an indeterminate number within the home were killed or wounded. Thus began the worst, darkest, most despicable, and most grievous saga in American history. Fifty-one days later on Monday, April 19, 1993, the government's massacre of almost 100 men, women, and children who lived in the Branch Davidian home marked the climax of this "drama in real life."
Kellermann's Kollectionn Of Waco/David Koresh Trial Books The branch Davidian Siege at Ranch Apocalypse Near (waco), Texas A Chronology . Why (waco)? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America. http://www.physics.unlv.edu/~farley/humor/K/koresh.htm