Report on ATF Siege in Waco

* Anyone who cared to carefully read the news already had a very good idea of what happened in Waco last spring. Now after more than four months, activities of 30 investigators and interviews of 400 people, and perhaps millions of dollars spent, the government finally decides that the officials of the ATF botched and later lied about important aspects of the Branch Davidian raid (Oct. 1).

When do we get the rest of the story? I mean the part about the kids being burned to death. The newspapers quoted FBI officials at the scene as stating the raid was stepped up since the men had been on duty for 51 days without replacement. Can their rest be worth the lives of almost 100 people, some of them innocent children?

Serious doubts exist regarding the origin of the fire. Was it really started inside the compound or was it ignited by the tanks attacking the building, as some of the government’s own video shows?

These and other questions must be answered before any of us can feel comfortable with these authorities again.

C. R. ESTES

Camarillo

* Your Oct. 1 editorial on the ATF does not go far enough. The ATF field supervisors and management should all be fired immediately, not put on paid leave. Furthermore, the top Administration personnel who approved the ATF raid should also be fired. The buck stops above the ATF.

What has not yet been admitted is that there were no grounds for a search warrant. The ATF falsified and fabricated information to justify a warrant. Note that to date not one illegal firearm has been recovered from the compound.

The government should file criminal charges against everyone responsible for the ATF and Branch Davidian deaths that resulted from the assault.

The Waco incident has made a mockery of justice in America. The very cornerstones of the Constitution, freedom of religion and private ownership of firearms, were trampled by the government. It is beyond time to punish all who were involved.

JOHN P. PEARSON

Toluca Lake