Real Laws in the US
by
Matt Giwer (c) 1995 (5/21)

      Let us for the moment presume that everything the BATF and the FBI did in Waco is perfectly legal. If anyone has been reading between the lines in what I have been writing on the subject you might notice this is what I have been avoiding addressing. This is the worst thought of all.
      My sources will be, without tedious reference, to the findings of the Treasury and Justice Departments internal investigations and to the testimony as the trial of the Waco hostages and public evidence such as press statements that are contradicted by the same sources later. I will avoid tedious reference as those who are familiar with them do not need them. Those who are not, will ignore them.
      To start with it is completely legal in this country to deliver warrants by throwing grenades through windows without even having a warrant to present to legally justify entrance. It is also legal to attempt to subdue over 100 people using the threat of being killed, that is, at gun point without pausing to present legal justification for doing so. There are a few other points at the beginning of the raid but this will do to set the flavor of what is legal in the US.
      It is further legal to lie to the media and thereby lie to the public. It is well known the BATF claimed it was subjected to "withering machinegun fire" and that the first man out of the horse trailer was killed as he got out. We know this kind of lying to the public is legal and is in fact the policy of the US government.
      We know that is the legal and the policy of the US government, in a case where there is a residence filled with women and children and certainly male noncombatants, to shoot indiscriminately at anything that moves. We also know that it is not only legal but government policy to simply raise a gun over the hood of a car without looking and empty the magazine of a high capacity semi-automatic or machine pistol in the general direction.
      Do not look at me folks. This is our government in action. Were there a law against these things there would be indictments. Were there regulations against such things there would have been administrative penalties. There have been no indictments. The few administrative penalties have been rescinded and in some cases resulted in promotions. All of this has been rewarded, that is, encouraged.
      But there is more. Even though the people inside are not shooting at the BATF yet, it is government policy to refuse a cease fire request by those being attacked. It is government policy for one agency to lie to another (BATF to FBI) and for the other agency to accept it as truth without investigation.
      It is completely legal and within policy for a government agency, once having agreed to a cease fire, to kill two unarmed people with whom the agreement has been made.
      It is further government policy to demonize people based upon public misunderstanding of the federal government. That is, it is policy to accuse people of things that have nothing to do with the purpose of that attack.
      And related to this, it is standard operating procedure for the government to refuse to divulge the reason for their attack in the first place (sealing the warrant) and instead to lie about the reasons for the attack to the public. This is our government in action. Our laws permit this. Their regulations permit this.
      Moving on to later it is permissible for the government to arrest and jail hostages for as long as it pleases without charges. That is the law.
      It is permissible for the government to shoot grenades at hostages who are attempting to escape in order to force them back inside. And as with the above, should they brave the grenades, they can be held without charges indefinitely.
      It is within the law for the government to put the children of hostages into foster care while their parents are indefinitely jailed.
      It is legal for the government to lie to a state governor that there is a drug connection and thus be permitted to use military equipment against civilians. This is the policy of our government, the lying to get the use of the equipment that is.
      It is further the policy of the government and completely legal to use psychological warfare upon American citizens. Of course the objective of such tactics is to make people what they would not otherwise do. That is also a working definition of making people irrational.
      In all of this, it is government policy to be the only source of information as to what the hostages are saying. It is not their policy to allow contradiction. It is to control the news and the facts. In this regard it is the policy of the government to lie to the people saying there is no evidence the children are safe and then to release the videotape showing they are safe almost a year later.
      It is government policy to gas hostages despite questions of the safety of the gas. It is government policy also to trap people in a gas filled structure so they can not escape. It is also policy, in case the gas does not work, to collapse stairwells and underground safe places so they can not hide either.
      It is also government policy to collapse the building around hostages, women and children, by driving tanks and CEVs through the walls without regard to who is on the other side.
      It is also the policy of the government, knowing the highly flammable nature of the lanterns and the hay bales inside not to care about starting a fire.
      It is the policy of the same government that preserves every crime scene to bulldoze all the evidence in cases like this. And when the courts finally grant access to the site, it is government policy to discover (after five weeks) that there is a health hazard on the spot and bury it.
      Now how do I know all of this is legal? Because ALL government employees to uphold and defend the constitution of the United States. That oath means upholding all laws of the United States unless they law conflicts with the Constitution. As there have been no prosecution then all of the above actions are completely within the law.
      That all other actions are approved policy of the US Government, I note that there were a few handslaps ALL of which have been rescinded, forgiven and forgotten.
      As further proof, the man in charge who was not only in charge but who forgave and forgot was promoted as a consequence.
      Perhaps the BATF and the FBI are not the people who have to answer for Waco. Perhaps it is the entire federal government that makes all of these things legal and proper.
      I would hate to think these things are legal and proper. But in dispassionately reviewing the facts and the results that is the inevitable conclusion.