Part of the FBI's side of the story.
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
From: cmoore@cap.gwu.edu (Carol Moore)
To: Libernet
Date: Sat, 9 Oct 1993 10:02:15 -0400 (EDT)
Cc: LPUS
I got the Justice Dept. report on Waco Friday and
enclosed two important sections below. More on
the flaws in the Treasury and Justice Department
reports will come soon.
---------------------------------
Below is the FBI's report on who started the fire at the
Branch Davidian Mt. Carmel center. My comments, summaries
in {}. Any other parenthesis or brackets are theirs. For
60+ pages of most relevant parts of report send $7.00 to
Carol Moore, Box 65518, Washington, DC 20035
--------------------------------------
Report to the Deputy Attorney General on the Events at Waco,
Texas, February 28 to April 19, 1993. October 8, 1993.
Redacted version*
* i.e. [Material redacted as required by statute.]
--------------------------------------
XII. The Events of April 19, 1993
5. Statements of Surviving Davidians {pages 300-302}
As the nine surviving Davidians were arrested and
removed form the scene...three of the survivors made
statements about the cause of the fire. Renos Avraam told
the agents that he had heard someone inside the compound
say, "The fire has been lit, the fire has been lit." Clive
Doyle told the Texas Rangers that the fire was started
inside the compound with Coleman fuel. Doyle said the fuel
had been distributed throughout the compound in specific,
designated locations.
...In his FBI interview, (Graeme) Craddock described
the events inside the compound during the tear gas operation
as follows: (he talks of moving fuel, complaints about
spilled fuel)...Craddock indicated that he had heard shouts
about starting the fire..."start the fires"..."make
sure"...Craddock said that if there was a suicide pact, he
knew nothing about it. He said that he knew nothing about a
plan to burn the building until he heard someone pass the
word to start the fire...
It should be noted that, contrary to press reports,
Craddock did not attribute either of those two statements
("Light the fire" or "Don't light the fire") to Koresh or
anyone else. He merely said that both statements were made
by male voices...Craddock said that although he was not
aware of any prior plan by Koresh to set the building on
fire, Koresh had discussed the possibility that "everyone"
would be killed as one possible outcome of the standoff.
7. False Accusations that the FBI Started the Fire {pages
304-307}
After the events of April 19 a small number of people
alleged that the FBI intentionally set the fire at the
compound. Those accusations are utterly false, as
demonstrated by the evidence discussed above conclusively
establishing that the Davidians set the fire....{summarizes
evidence}.
Notwithstanding the convincing proof that the Davidians
set the fire, a very small number of people continue to
insist hat the fire was a "mass murder" committed by the
FBI. Probably the most notable example of that thinking
appears in a videotape entitled "Waco: The Big Lie,"
produced by Ms. Linda Thompson of an organization
identifying itself as the "American Justice Federation."
{Footnote in document}: This is the same Linda Thompson who
twice attempted to encourage people to come to Waco to join
forced with Koresh against the government. {end footnote}
In the video (which Ms. Thompson has supplied to television
stations and politicians throughout the country), Ms.
Thompson alleges that one of the CEVs started the fire. To
support her claim, Ms. Thompson shows video footage of the
April 19 operation, including one scene in which a CEV backs
out of the building. As the boom leaves the building, it
appears that a burst of flame can be seen at the end of the
boom. According to Ms. Thompson, that scene establishes
that the FBI used the CEV to start the fire inside the
compound deliberately.
We have investigated Ms. Thompson's claims and find
that baseless. The specific CEV that Ms. Thompson claims
emitted a flame has been identified as CEV-1. The CEV shown
in the video was outfitted with a boom parallel to the
ground, meaning a boom aimed at the first floor of the
compound. The only CEV in use that day with a boom aimed at
the first floor level was CEV-1. Both CEV-2 and the
substitute CEV-2 {Footnote:} The original CEV-2 lost a
track and had to be replaced with a second vehicle. {end
footnote} were outfitted with booms pointed on an upward
angle toward the second floor of the compound.
The time that the portion of the video showing CEV-1
was filmed is unclear. However, based on an examination of
the tape, it has been determined that the excerpt Ms.
THomspon selected shows CEV-1 in action near the front door
of the building. However, CEV-1 was not in that location
when the fire started; instead, it was near the front-right
corner, and had backed away from the building at least two
minutes before the first reports of smoke. The split-screen
video mentioned above shows CEV-1 backing away from the
building at that moment. The infrared tape shows a heat
source--the exhaust--at the rear of CEV-1, but no heat
source at the front of CEV-1.
The army has examined all the CEVs used on April 19,
including CEV-1, to determine whether there was any
possibility that any of the vehicles could have been
outfitted with a flame-emitting device. All bills of
lading, maintenance records, and other relevant
documentation were checked. The evidence shows that none of
the CEVs was outfitted with any device capable of emitted
fire or flames. We also had each CEV examined for evidence
of charring or fire. No such evidence was found.\
U.S. Army maintenance personnel who were present in
Waco, and who were responsible for CEV-1, were also
interviewed and shown a copy of Ms. Thompson's video tape.
They could offer no explanation for the appearance of any
fire at the end of the boom. Neither CEV-1, nor any other
vehicle, was outfitted with any flamethrowing apparatus.
Moreover, there were no flammable parts at the front of the
CEV, and there were no electrical components which could
cause flame.
In summary, no evidence has been found to support the
claim that CEV-1, or any other government vehicle, started
the fire at the compound. In fact, as this report has
shown, there is conclusive evidence that the Branch
Davidians started the fire. Nevertheless, our findings may
not convince those who will believe only what they want to
believe. We are confident, however, that our findings
represent the truth.
{END QUOTES}
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