Time: Sun Dec 14 20:32:23 1997 To: From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: GAO to Investigate ATF over WACO (fwd) Cc: Bcc: sls References: <snip> > >>> Questions arise over cult siege - Military vehicles'use investigated >>> >>> 12/08/97 >>> >>> Associated Press >>> >>> WACO - Investigators with the General Accounting Office want to determine >>> whether federal agents improperly used military equipment during the 1993 >>> Branch Davidian standoff, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported Sunday. >>> >>> GAO officials will visit Waco this week to find out how the Bureau of >>> Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms obtained Texas National Guard helicopters and >>> other military vehicles for the assault on cult leader David Koresh's >>> compound. >>> >>> Two House subcommittees asked for an investigation by the accounting >>> office - an independent auditing arm of Congress - after two weeks of >>> hearings on the siege in July 1995. >>> >>> A staff member of the House Subcommittee on National Security, >International >>> Affairs and Criminal Justice told the newspaper that the GAO investigation >>> would examine whether the ATF rightfully acquired the military equipment >and >>> whether it should reimburse the Pentagon for the assistance. >>> >>> Four ATF agents and six cult members died in a Feb. 28, 1993, shootout at >>> the Branch Davidian compound. After a 51-day standoff, Mr. Koresh and about >>> 80 followers died in a fire that swept through the building after the FBI >>> rammed it with military vehicles and injected gas to force the Branch >>> Davidians to surrender. >>> >>> "The image of Bradley fighting vehicles and M1 tanks set against the >burning >>> Mount Carmel compound calls into question the role of the military at >Waco," >>> U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., said during the House hearings two years >ago. >>> >>> Michael Reyes, a special agent in the ATF's Houston office, declined to >>> comment on the inquiry but said the agency intended to cooperate. >>> >>> Members of Congress questioned whether the ATF lied about a possible drug >>> lab at the compound to secure the helicopters. The choppers served as a >>> distraction while about 100 agents rolled up in front of the cult's home. >>> >>> Republicans on the subcommittee charged that the drug allegations were a >>> ruse to draw in military help. >>> >>> The military role in the botched raid remains a question because of an 1878 >>> statute called the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits use of the Army to >>> enforce laws except in specific circumstances outlined by Congress - >such as >>> in the war on illegal drugs. >>> >>> Assistant Secretary of Defense Allen Holmes testified at the hearings that >>> even without proof of a drug lab, the military legally could have assisted >>> the ATF. However, the agency was not required to pay for the assistance by >>> including the possibility of the drug lab. >>> >>> -------------- >>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> Monday December 8 8:59 AM EST >>> GAO to investigate Waco standoff >>> >>> WACO, Texas, Dec. 8 (UPI) _ The General Accounting Office will >>> investigate the use of military equipment during the Branch Davidian >>> standoff near Waco in 1993. >>> >>> The Waco Tribune-Herald reports today that GAO investigators will be in >>> Texas this week to review the use of Texas National Guard aircraft and >>> armored vehicles during the 51-day siege. >>> >>> The investigation was requested by two House committees because an 1878 >>> federal law prohibits the military from enforcing laws except in certain >>> circumstances allowed by Congress, such as drug enforcement. >>> >>> Texas National Guard helicopters were used in the initial raid on the >>> Branch Davidian compound on Feb. 28, 1993. Four agents of the Bureau of >>> Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and six Davidians died in the initial >>> raid. >>> >>> Armored vehicles were used during the 51-day siege, and when the FBI >>> tried to force leader David Koresh to surrender on April 19, they used >>> armored vehicles to inject tear gas into the buildings. A fire killed >>> Koresh and more than 80 of his followers. >>> >>> The committees want to know if the equipment was properly used, and if >>> it was, whether the Defense Department should be reimbursed. Some >>> members of Congress say the ATF's explanation that they suspected a drug >>> lab was in the Davidian compound was a ruse to use the military >>> hardware. >>> >>> _- >>> >>> Copyright 1997 by United Press International. >>> >>> All rights reserved. > <snip>
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