[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 153 (Wednesday, November 3, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H11444-H11445]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           INVESTIGATING WACO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Idaho (Mrs. Chenoweth-Hage) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. CHENOWETH-HAGE. Mr. Speaker, as we continue in this body with 
the day-to-day debate over next year's budget, I would like to take a 
moment to help refocus our attention on an issue that demands the 
attention and the action of Congress, an issue that is not necessarily 
pleasant to deal with but one that we must deal with, and that is the 
role of the Federal law enforcement and the military in the Waco 
tragedy.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to share with my colleagues an article 
written by George Nourse, who is a sheriff of Canyon County in my State 
of Idaho. This article is about the outstanding and relentless work of 
the Texas Rangers in seeking justice in the Waco tragedy and is 
appropriately entitled, quote, ``Spin is Not an Investigation,'' end 
quote.
  Mr. Speaker, I will read only a portion of this article and would 
submit the remainder of the article to be included in the Record.
  It is imperative that we investigate what went wrong in Waco and that 
we consider the view of those who know how to do it right, the many 
dedicated and honest law enforcement officials throughout this great 
country. In commenting on how Washington works when it comes to 
investigations, Sheriff Nourse, in his article, profoundly states, 
quote, ``Washington does not investigate. It spins. The spin in Waco 
was to demonize the people who were killed. The Feds killed more people 
at Waco than all the school violence and wacko shootings added together 
over the last 6 years. Seventeen of the 24 Waco children were under the 
age of 10. Think about it.''
  He wrote, ``The terror! The pain and confusion those young children 
went

[[Page H11445]]

through before they died. However, the media bought Washington's spin, 
plain and simple,'' end quote.
  Sheriff Nourse contrasts the Federal spin with the real investigation 
by the Texas Rangers in pointing out the following: He said, ``The 
investigation by the Texas Rangers is not spin. A dozen spent rifle 
cartridges preferred by sharpshooters, as well as the FBI and ATF, were 
found in a house near the Davidians' compound that was occupied by 
Federal agents during that stand-off. Both agencies denied firing a 
single round during that stand-off that followed the initial attack.''
  Mr. Speaker, Sheriff Nourse also asked the puzzling question that 
every single county sheriff must grapple with. He wrote, ``The question 
that really bothers me is how did the Federal Government take over such 
an operation? And why the total absence of local law enforcement on the 
scene? And what was the local sheriff doing while all of this was going 
on?''
  Sheriff Nourse continued, ``I have never been told this part of the 
story and it deeply worries me. I know what my position would be here 
in Canyon County and I am more than a little concerned as to what that 
might lead to.''
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, Sheriff Nourse, who has himself participated in 
numerous law enforcement activities, makes an observation that 
dumbfounds us all. States Nourse, ``Think about it. Law enforcement 
officers shooting fully automatic weapons at a building knowing there 
are 24 small children inside. That is not law enforcement,'' the 
sheriff writes. ``It is an act of war at its worst.''
  Mr. Speaker, I again urge my colleagues to join me in seeking 
hearings on this tragic epic in American history. We must get to the 
bottom of why the Federal Government waived the Posse Comitatus Act and 
involved the military in this domestic law enforcement action. This is 
a decision that could only have been made at the very top levels of 
government and we must find out who exactly made that decision at that 
top level.
  Outstanding Americans such as Sheriff Nourse are demanding answers to 
these questions. We must join him. Let us not make this same tragic 
mistake, as Federal law enforcement, by spinning instead of conducting 
real bona fide investigations.

            The Shining Star: Spin Is Not an Investigation!

                       (By Sheriff George Nourse)

       Janet Reno's Whacky War on Waco is back in the news. And 
     Washington D.C. is gearing up to give it a second coat of 
     whitewash.
       Democrat Henry Waxman is leading the defense, saying the 
     Republicans just overlooked the evidence that the F.B.I. shot 
     incendiary devices into the Davidians' compound. It was not a 
     cover-up? This, of course, conflicts with Janet Reno's 
     statement that the F.B.I. assured her no incendiary devices 
     were used.
       Washington doesn't investigate. It spins! The spin in Waco 
     was to demonize the people who were killed. (Demonizing 
     people was the tactic used to justify the killing of innocent 
     people as witches in our early history.) The feds killed more 
     people at Waco than all the school violence and wacko 
     shootings added together over the last six years. Seventeen 
     of the 24 Waco children were under the age of ten. Think 
     about it! The terror! The screaming and confusion those 
     people went through before they died. Compare how the 
     national news media beat us over the head with all the lurid 
     details of Columbine, and the absence of such details at 
     Waco. The media bought Washington's spin, plain and simple.
       My hat is off to the chief of the Texas Rangers. After 6 
     years the truth about the Waco War may come out. But don't 
     bet on it; the Washington spin machine is hard at work.
       The investigation by the Texas Rangers is not spin! A dozen 
     spent rifle cartridges preferred by sharpshooters, as well as 
     the F.B.I. and A.T.F., were found in a house near the 
     Davidians' compound that was occupied by federal agents 
     during the stand-off. Both agencies denied firing a single 
     round during the stand-off that followed the initial attack.
       The reason I call it the ``Waco War'' is because the 
     mentality used by the A.T.F. and F.B.I. was identical to the 
     mentality used in fighting a war. They certainly were not 
     there to solve a social problem in the sense local law 
     enforcement applies. The question that really bothers me is, 
     How did the federal government take over such an operation? 
     And, Why the total absence of local law enforcement on the 
     scene? What was the local sheriff doing while all of this was 
     going on?
       I have never been told this part of the story, and it 
     deeply worries me. I know what my position would be here in 
     Canyon County. And I'm more than a little concerned as to 
     what that might lead to.
       Think about it! Law enforcement officers shooting fully 
     automatic weapons at a building, knowing there are 24 small 
     children inside. This is not law enforcement! It is an act of 
     war at its worst.
       Reflect on what happened in the local law enforcement 
     agency involved with Rodney King: officers caught on video 
     hitting King with night sticks. King was high on P.C.P., and 
     led officers on a high-speed chase that threatened the lives 
     of anyone in his path. King wasn't killed. In fact, he wasn't 
     even hospitalized.
       Result? King got $1,000,000; two police officers went to 
     prison; and the police chief got fired. Compare this to Waco, 
     and you come up with a huge credibility gap.
       If the American people are counting on Detective Janet Reno 
     for answers on Waco, they should know by now she can't detect 
     a giraffe in a band of sheep! It's all a spin!

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