Cleaning the ATF House : Waco report helps Bentsen do exactly what’s needed

Despite all that went wrong with the raid by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on the Branch Davidian compound last February, the thorough and complete report released Thursday by the Treasury Department shows that much in its aftermath is going right. By airing its tragic mistakes now, the federal government can, we hope, take the steps necessary to prevent such debacles in the future.

Rightly, Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen suspended five officials who directed the raid at the cult’s Waco, Tex., headquarters, in which four ATF agents and six Davidians were shot to death. The shootings were followed by a costly 51-day standoff that ended, horribly, with 85 cult members perishing as fire swept the compound after authorities moved against it.

In a scathing indictment of the initial raid, the 220-page report found “disturbing evidence of flawed decision-making, inadequate intelligence gathering, miscommunication” and “supervisory failures.” The five-month investigation of the incident was aided by L.A. Police Chief Willie L. Williams and USC professor Ed Guthman, a former aide to Robert F. Kennedy. They brought great expertise to the job.

Especially troublesome was the finding that ATF field commanders failed to abort the raid after they found out that cult leader David Koresh had been tipped off, and that the agency did not adequately explore other options, such as “the possibility of arresting Koresh away from the compound.”

John Magaw, a former director of the Secret Service who was appointed acting director of the ATF on Thursday, has a tough job ahead of him. Given the tragedy of errors surrounding the Branch Davidian case, Bentsen and Magaw must move quickly to restore credibility to a beleaguered agency. This report will help them set off in the right direction.