Was David Koresh a Jim Jones-type cult messiah?

Government's Take
The ATF never portrayed Koresh as anything but a gun-toting, wild-eyed, self-proclaimed second Christ hell-bent on bringing about Armageddon. From the weapons charges to the assertion of mass suicide, federal law enforcement's take on Koresh was identical in profile to their take on Jim Jones. This is in contrast to local law enforcement, who state they never saw Koresh or his followers as a threat.

Media's Take
National media took the ATF's nefarious caricature of Koresh and ran with it like Lawrence Taylor on crack. It was easy (and sloppy) enough for the Sam Donaldsons of the world to paint a picture based on pure conjecture, and it sold well to a tabloid-hungry public.

GettingIt's Take
Koresh certainly saw himself as a prophet, but never claimed to be a Christ-like messiah. One notable difference between Jones and Koresh is, unlike in Guyana, Branch Davidians were free to leave during the siege and risk being shot by the FBI (as one was) or thrown in jail, as others were.

Was there child abuse at Mount Carmel?

Government's Take
The ATF decided the pair of allegations pointed at Koresh concerning child abuse and statutory rape was enough to tack the charges on the initial search warrant, which also included weapons charges.

Media's Take
See Government's Take.

GettingIt's Take
After two years of working with local child services to look into allegations of child abuse, the McLennan County Sheriff concluded there was not enough evidence to make a case. It's curious that the ATF ignored the sheriff's investigation and decided to serve the warrant, even though it had no jurisdiction over the child abuse charges.

Were Koresh and the Branch Davidians "stockpiling" weapons?

Government's Take
The FBI has produced a handful of components that it says could be used to convert conventional weapons into automatic weapons. Numerous legal weapons were also found.

Media's Take
See Government's Take.

GettingIt's Take
No more than any other arms dealer -- or most homeowners in Texas for that matter. Koresh and the residents of Mount Carmel lived primarily off of the money Koresh had discovered could be made by buying and selling guns. Local gun dealers testified before the Senate Subcommittees in 1995 that it was not unusual for their clients to keep an inventory of weapons at their residence. Upon hearing of the ATF's interest in his inventory in 1992, Koresh invited agents to visit Mount Carmel and see for themselves. The agents were told by their superiors to decline the offer.

Was there a drug lab inside Mount Carmel?

Government's Take
Based on circumstantial evidence of drug involvement by previous occupants of Mount Carmel, the ATF added suspicion of drug making and selling to the charges against Koresh.

Media's Take
See Government's Take.

GettingIt's Take
By the time of the Senate Subcommittee hearings in 1995, the ATF had to admit its allegations of drug activity at Mount Carmel were baseless. However, the ATF initially used the false claim to bypass the Posse Comitatus act and obtain permission to train its agents at nearby Fort Hood Army Base, as well as to use tanks typically provided only in drug raids.

Who shot first?

Government's Take
The ATF has never wavered from insisting that Branch Davidians shot first.

Media's Take
See Government's Take.

GettingIt's Take
It's unclear who fired the first shots in the disastrous ATF assault on Mount Carmel, since videotape shot by authorities has vanished. Also mysteriously missing is the white front metal door that the ATF claims the Branch Davidians first fired through (even though it would have been far easier for them to attack the agents as they were carried to the front of the building in unprotected cattle trucks). Still more suspicious is the fact that the only door missing was the one with the hole in it.

Did agents fire into Mount Carmel from helicopters?

Government's Take
The ATF told the Senate Subcommittees in 1995 that allegations that shots came from helicopters "or men from mars" were false.

Media's Take
Zzzzz...

GettingIt's Take
Taped conversations show FBI negotiator Jim Cavanaugh argued semantics with Koresh during the siege. While Cavanaugh first flatly denied any gunfire coming from choppers, he later conceded that he meant the helicopters were not equipped with mounted guns, and that agents may have fired from above.

Did Koresh lie five times about surrendering?

Government's Take
Part of the FBI's justification for assaulting Mount Carmel on April 19 was that Koresh had five times informed them of his impending surrender, then reneged on his promise.

Media's Take
See Government's Take.

GettingIt's Take
There is no evidence of these five "lies," despite the fact that every conversation the FBI had with Koresh was recorded. Koresh did once tell negotiators that he was about to surrender, but didn't because he said God had instructed him not to until he had finished work on researching the "Seven Seals" of biblical prophecy. He told negotiators that as soon as his work was complete, he would surrender to authorities. Manuscripts detailing his work on the first two seals, conducted in the last days of the siege, were found in the charred remnants of Mount Carmel.

Why weren't the Branch Davidians allowed to talk to the media?

Government's Take
Federal law enforcement has never explained why media contact was not allowed.

Media's Take
There is no reason to believe the media would not have talked to those at Mount Carmel if they'd been given the chance. Some complained about access, but were rebuffed by FBI assertions of danger.

GettingIt's Take
This is a mystery that reeks of malevolence on the part of the FBI. All media were only allowed about a mile away from Mount Carmel and had to use telescopic lenses to see just one side of the structure. Phone communication had been cut off at Mount Carmel, and the only way its residents could contact the outside world (apart from direct contact with negotiators) was through a series of messages scrawled on bedsheets and dangled out of a high window. One chilling message read, "FBI has broken off negotiations; we need the media!"

Was the FBI's conduct during the siege designed to antagonize the Branch Davidians?

Government's Take
The FBI's Hostage Rescue Team, which orchestrated both the siege policy and the final assault, presented their various forms of psychological warfare as the team's modus operandi in such situations.

Media's Take
Most media outlets accepted these tactics as a means to an end.

GettingIt's Take
As confounding as the idea of goading those already construed as dangerously unstable may be, actions both by individual agents and by the bureau as a whole seem to suggest this. Agents in the field routinely pulled down their pants to "moon" women inside (remember folks, these were religious people), used tanks to demolish everything in the perimeter of Mount Carmel, and even repeatedly ran over the freshly-dug grave of a Branch Davidian killed in the initial ATF raid. Though FBI leadership called these acts aberrations, the bureau's nightly waging of psychological warfare (bright spotlights and sound collages that would make Crash Worship jump out of a window) was certainly no aberration.

Did the FBI use incendiary tear gas canisters during the assault?

Government's Take
For six years, the FBI insisted no explosive tear gas rounds were used in the attack. Only after the Dallas Morning News confirmed their existence through court documents did the bureau finally 'fess up.

Media's Take
Since the FBI's admission, the media's interest in the events at Waco has increased exponentially.

GettingIt's Take
Of course they did. But never mind the two rounds lobbed into the concrete bunker in the early hours of the assault. Further evidence shows these rounds were the least of the Branch Davidians' worries. More intriguing is the recent finding of flares in the charred rubble by Texas Rangers, flares that could easily have ignited the highly unstable tear gas.

Did the FBI pump a dangerous amount of tear gas into Mount Carmel?

Government's Take
The FBI contends that their destruction of the Mount Carmel structure would have allowed the gas to dissipate, and cites that there were gas masks inside.

Media's Take
See Government's Take.

GettingIt's Take
According to Eric Larsen, a retired Dow Fire Propagation and Chemical Anesthesiology Specialist, the amount of tear gas the FBI used at Mount Carmel would have left many residents dead and many more "basically inert." An autopsy photo shows an eight-year-old girl who had broken her own back during muscle spasms caused by inhalation of the gas.

How did the fire start?

Government's Take
Despite the acknowledgment of incendiary rounds used, the FBI contends that beyond any doubt Koresh and his followers set themselves on fire.

Media's Take
See Government's Take.

GettingIt's Take
FBI "bugs" inside Mount Carmel offer no evidence of the planning of a mass suicide, and nothing Koresh ever taught or stated indicates an inclination to do so -- if anything, the opposite "fight until the end" sentiment seems more accurate. Fuel for the fire was abundant -- between spilled kerosene from lamps the residents were forced to use for heat when the FBI cut off their power and the highly flammable tear gas and its residue, any random spark would have ignited a blaze.

Did the FBI use lethal force during the assault?

Government's Take
The FBI insists that not a single round was fired by its agents during the 51-day siege or the final assault.

Media's Take
Only Fox News has suggested anything besides the FBI slant could have occurred.

GettingIt's Take
Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR) imaging shot by the FBI two miles above Mount Carmel paints a disturbing picture. An independent FLIR analysis conducted by Infraspection Institute at 60 Minutes' request (and subsequently never aired) concludes that it was "obvious ... on several occasions that there was gunfire or automatic weapon discharge, seemingly fired toward the building from the outer perimeter." Thermal signatures of automatic weapons bursts can be seen from about 11:15 a.m., continuing well into the blaze, as the shooters fired continuously into the only escape route from the burning structure, all unseen from the media's vantage point.

Equally disturbing is I.I.'s conclusion that "there were occasions on the video that seemed to appear as though people were ... being run over by an armored vehicle." One tank had to be towed from the scene after its tread had gotten snagged on something that resembles a human body.

Did the recently admitted presence of the Army's top secret Delta Force constitute a violation of the Posse Comitatus act?

Government's Take
The FBI and the Department of Justice contend that Delta Force operatives were present only as observers and advisers, which they say does not violate the law that states that U.S. armed forces cannot be used against their own citizens.

Media's Take
This is currently an issue that the media is paying some attention to, but has not really taken a stance on, one way or the other.

GettingIt's Take
Some feel it very well might have. Unfortunately, the incidents at Mount Carmel continue to be seen by many in academia as a fringe issue, and as such no constitutional experts of any regard have weighed in on the issue.

Has there been a high-level cover-up in the aftermath of April 19, 1993?

Government's Take
Federal authorities deny any conspiracy, although they have admitted that elements within the FBI may have withheld or even misrepresented some facts about Waco.

Media's Take
Mainstream media pundits have cited the FBI's recent admissions, and in covering former Sen. John Danforth's appointment as an independent counsel, reported the possibility that facts may have been omitted, doctored, or outright falsified.

GettingIt's Take
It's difficult to tell whether conspiracy or incompetence led the American public to this point. Dan Gifford, producer of the Emmy Award-winning Waco: The Rules of Engagement, stated he feels Attorney General Janet Reno has been lied to by her subordinates, and that any conspiracy is likely a low-level one.