He also noted that no young men were leaving the compound. Still unsatisfied, Agent Ricks cranked up the rhetoric another notch Wednesday, in effect calling Mr. Koresh a liar as well as a coward. It's often used when talks are stalled, he says, to send a message. Mr. Carter remembers using much the same technique, in reverse, during the Iranian hostage negotiations. After a prolonged period without movement, the public would be scratching their heads, so you explain to them.
Ricks wants the public to know what the bureau is up against.
Public statements also can be used to pre-empt certain actions by the adversary, says Pete Williams, the Pentagon's chief spokesman during the gulf war. Mr. Williams recalls releasing spy photos of Iraqi soldiers deliberately damaging a mosque. U.S. strategists believed the Iraqis were planning to complain that U.S. bombs had caused the damage. However, both Dr. DiVasto and Mr. Carter caution against reading too much into briefers' statements. To some degree, he notes, authorities are in uncharted territory because of the extraordinary length of the siege.