The following is a condensed version of "The Conflagration at Waco" by Mike Pulliam, published at Law & Liberty.
In Rashomon fashion, the horrific 1993 showdown between federal law enforcement officers and David Koresh and his followers at the Mount Carmel compound outside Waco tends to be perceived in different ways, depending on one’s perspective. Over 80 persons, including four ATF agents and many children, tragically died during the encounter. The widely-covered events inspired Timothy McVeigh to plot the Oklahoma City bombing two years later. What really happened at Waco?
Was the protracted siege, which ended in a catastrophic inferno, the fault of a manipulative, child-abusing, polygamous cult leader who prophesied—even provoked—a fatal encounter with the authorities? Or was the appalling outcome, which came on the heels of the ATF’s and FBI’s 1992 debacle at Ruby Ridge, due to the poorly-conceived, overly-aggressive, and ineptly-executed tactics of federal authorities?
