Boston Globe, Wednesday April 21 1993

col. 4  "Bodies found in ruins as FBI defends raid on cult ranch"
col. 5 "Clinton blames Koresh, orders probe of siege"
col. 2 "The children: panws in a horrifying game"

pg. 18, col. 1, Editorial page  
	"Judgment at Waco"

	Now the scientific and political scrutiny of the
horror show in Waco begins, though nothing can
undo the tragedy that might have been prevented 
there.
	Forensic experts will study the rubble and
ashes of the Branch Davidian compound, where at
least 85 people, including 24 children, perished in
smoke and fire caused by theapocalyptic visions of
a manipulative madman AND A STUNNING LAPSE IN
JUDGMENT BY FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS.
   [emphasis added by me]
	Investigators will re-create conditions at the
compound and identify accelerants and other fac-
tors fueling the inferno.  That is their strong suit.
	But the public must question why agents of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation lacked the oper-
ational skill and teh behavioral insight to resolve
the 51-day standoff free of flames and fury.
	The loss of life most clearly reflects the demen-
tia of cult leader David Koresh, whose personal
delusiosn are now seared on the public conscious-
ness.  His assembly of Davidians had stockpiles of
arms--and had used them.  LIttle in the way of
rationality could be expected from Koresh, a self-
confsesed "sinner without equal."
	What continues to mystify are th eactions of
federal agents, who bungled the case from the
start.  The misadventure began on Feb. 28 when
100 agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, To-
bacco and Firearms storemd the compound, intent
on seizing Koresh and a cache of automatic weap-
ons.  Four agents and an estimated  six cult mem-
bers died inteh ensuing gun battle.  Earlier
oppor-tunities to isolate and arrest Koresh outside the
complex had not been adequately explored.
	Authorities prepared a siege and resolved that
those deaths would be the last.  Fifty-one days into 
the siege there was no public outcry to storm the
compound.
	It had been correctly perceived that the chil-
dren inside "Rancho Apocalypse" were essentially 
hostages.  With their lives at stake, there was no
reason for the government to be impatient.  The
government's superior firepower, control of water
and utilities and freedom of movement created the
conditions for a belated but bloodless resolution.
	Neither Attorney General Janet Reno nor the
FBI has provided a sigle compelling reason for
abandondoning the course of patience.
	If intelligence was accurate and Koresh was
growing increasingly violent and bizarre, it is diffi-
cult to see how a tear-gas attack launched by an
M-60 combat vehicle would clear his mind.  If re-
ports of escalating child abuse were accurate, they
would have to be weighted against the potential for
eve ngreated hamr.


etc etc tec....
[paragraphs, 2.5 paragraphs deleted]

But some of the responsibility rests with Clinton,
and inexperienced president who did not pay
enough attention to the life-and -death decisions
being made on WAco.
	If Reno is to be faulted for anything, ti would
be for her overreliance on the judgment of law en-
forcement officers--a common problem among
prosecutors.
	Full investigations into th eWaco tragedy must
be conducted by both the executive and legislative
branches.  The first step is to verify how the blaze 
started.  Though apportioning blame will play a 
role, it is of greater importnace to find strategies
to elude the fire next time.