    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [April 20, 1993]
    [Pages 461-464]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference
    April 20, 1993

    Tragedy in Waco

        The President. On February the 28th, four Federal agents were killed
    in the line of duty trying to enforce the law against the Branch
    Davidian compound, which had illegally stockpiled weaponry and
    ammunition and placed innocent children at risk. Because the BATF
    operation had failed to meet its objective, a 51-day standoff ensued.
        The Federal Bureau of Investigation then made every reasonable
    effort to bring this perilous situation to an end without bloodshed and
    further loss of life. The Bureau's efforts were ultimately unavailing
    because the individual with whom they were dealing, David Koresh, was
    dangerous, irrational, and probably insane. He engaged in numerous
    activities which violated both Federal law and common standards of
    decency. He was, moreover, responsible for the deaths and injuries which
    occurred during the action against the compound in February. Given his
    inclination towards violence and in an effort to protect his young
    hostages, no provocative actions were taken for more than 7 weeks by
    Federal agents against the compound.
        This weekend I was briefed by Attorney General Reno on an operation
    prepared by the FBI, designed to increase pressure on Koresh and
    persuade those in the compound to surrender peacefully. The plan
    included a decision to withhold the use of ammunition, even in the face
    of fire, and instead to use tear gas that would not cause permanent harm
    to health but would, it was hoped, force the people in the compound to
    come outside and to surrender.
        I was informed of the plan to end the siege. I discussed it with
    Attorney General Reno. I asked the questions I thought it was
    appropriate for me to ask. I then told her to do what she thought was
    right, and I take full responsibility for the implementation of the
    decision.
        Yesterday's action ended in a horrible human tragedy. Mr. Koresh's
    response to the demands for his surrender by Federal agents was to
    destroy himself and murder the children who were his captives, as well
    as all the other people who were there who did not survive. He killed
    those he controlled, and he bears ultimate responsibility for the
    carnage that ensued.
        Now we must review the past with an eye toward the future. I have
    directed the United States Departments of Justice and Treasury to
    undertake a vigorous and thorough investigation to uncover what happened
    and why and whether anything could have been done differently. I have
    told the Departments to involve independent professional law enforcement
    officials in the investigation. I expect to receive analysis and answers
    in whatever time is required to complete the review. Finally, I have
    directed the Departments to cooperate fully with all congressional
    inquiries so that we can continue to be fully accountable to the
    American people.
        I want to express my appreciation to the Attorney General, to the
    Justice Department, and to the Federal agents on the frontlines who did
    the best job they could under deeply difficult circumstances.
        Again I want to say, as I did yesterday, I am very sorry for the
    loss of life which occurred at the beginning and at the end of this
    tragedy in Waco. I hope very much that others who will be tempted to
    join cults and to become involved with people like David Koresh will be
    deterred by the horrible scenes they have seen over the last 7 weeks.
    And I hope very much

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    that the difficult situations which Federal agents confronted there and
    which they will be doubtless required to confront in other contexts in
    the future will be somewhat better handled and better understood because
    of what has been learned now.
        Q. Mr. President, can you, first of all, tell us why after 51 days
    you decided----
        Q. Mr. President, can you describe for us what it is that Janet Reno
    outlined to you in your 15-minute phone conversation with----
        The President. I can't hear you both. If one will go first and then
    the other.
        Q. Sorry. Can you describe what Janet Reno----
        Q. Mr. President----
        The President. I'll answer both your questions, but I can't do it at
    once.
        Q. Can you describe what she told you on Sunday about the nature of
    the operation and how much detail you knew about it?
        The President. Yes. I was told by the Attorney General that the FBI
    strongly felt that the time had come to take another step in trying to
    dislodge the people in the compound. And she described generally what
    the operation would be, that they wanted to go in and use tear gas which
    had been tested not to cause permanent damage to adults or to children
    but which would make it very difficult for people to stay inside the
    building. And it was hoped that the tear gas would permit them to come
    outside.
        I was further told that under no circumstances would our people fire
    any shots at them, even if fired upon. They were going to shoot the tear
    gas from armored vehicles which would protect them, and there would be
    no exchange of fire. In fact, as you know, an awful lot of shots were
    fired by the cult members at the Federal officials. There were no shots
    coming back from the Government side.
        I asked a number of questions. The first question I asked is, why
    now? We have waited 7 weeks; why now? The reasons I was given were the
    following:
        Number one, that there was a limit to how long the Federal
    authorities could maintain with their limited resources the quality and
    intensity of coverage by experts there. They might be needed in other
    parts of the country.
        Number two, that the people who had reviewed this had never seen a
    case quite like this one before, and they were convinced that no
    progress had been made recently and no progress was going to be made
    through the normal means of getting Koresh and the other cult members to
    come out.
        Number three, that the danger of their doing something to themselves
    or to others was likely to increase, not decrease, with the passage of
    time.
        And number four, that they had reason to believe that the children
    who were still inside the compound were being abused significantly, as
    well as being forced to live in unsanitary and unsafe conditions.
        So for those reasons, they wanted to move at that time.
        The second question I asked the Attorney General is whether they had
    given consideration to all of the things that could go wrong and
    evaluated them against what might happen that was good. She said that
    the FBI personnel on the scene and those working with them were
    convinced that the chances of bad things happening would only increase
    with the passage of time.
        The third question I asked was, has the military been consulted? As
    soon as the initial tragedy came to light in Waco, that's the first
    thing I asked to be done, because it was obvious that this was not a
    typical law enforcement situation. Military people were then brought in,
    helped to analyze the situation and some of the problems that were
    presented by it. And so I asked if the military had been consulted. The
    Attorney General said that they had and that they were in basic
    agreement, that there was only one minor tactical difference of opinion
    between the FBI and the military, something that both sides thought was
    not of overwhelming significance.
        Having asked those questions and gotten those answers, I said that
    if she thought it was the right thing to do, that she should proceed and
    that I would support it. And I stand by that today.
        Q. Mr. President----
        The President. Wait.
        Go ahead.
        Q. Can you address the widespread perception, reported widely--
    television, radio, and newspapers--that you were trying somehow to
    distance yourself from this disaster?
        The President. No, I'm bewildered by it. The only reason I made no
    public statement yesterday, let me say, the only reason I made no public
    statement yesterday is that I had nothing to add to what was being said,
    and I literally

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    did not know until rather late in the day whether anybody was still
    alive other than those who had been actually seen and taken to the
    hospital or taken into custody. It was purely and simply a question of
    waiting for events to unfold.
        I can't account for why people speculated one way or the other, but
    I talked to the Attorney General on the day before the action took
    place. I talked to her yesterday. I called her again late last night
    after she appeared on the Larry King show, and I talked to her again
    this morning. It is not possible for a President to distance himself
    from things that happen when the Federal Government is in control.
        I will say this, however. I was, frankly, ``surprised'' would be a
    mild word, to say that anyone that would suggest that the Attorney
    General should resign because some religious fanatics murdered
    themselves.
        I regret what happened, but it is not possible in this life to
    control the behavior of others in every circumstance. These people
    killed four Federal officials in the line of duty. They were heavily
    armed. They fired on Federal officials yesterday repeatedly, and they
    were never fired back on. We did everything we could to avoid the loss
    of life. They made the decision to immolate themselves. And I regret it
    terribly, and I feel awful about the children.
        But in the end, the last comment I had from Janet Reno is when--and
    I talked to her on Sunday--I said, ``Now, I want you to tell me once
    more why you believe, not why they believe, why you believe we should
    move now rather than wait some more.'' And she said, ``It's because of
    the children. They have evidence that those children are still being
    abused and that they're in increasingly unsafe conditions, and that they
    don't think it will get any easier with the passage of time. I have to
    take their word for that. So that is where I think things stand.''
        Q. Can we assume then that you don't think this was mishandled in
    view of the outcome, that you didn't run out of patience? And if you had
    it to do over again, would you really decide that way?
        The President. No--well, I think what you can assume is just exactly
    what I announced today. The FBI has done a lot of things right for this
    country over a long period of time. This is the same FBI that found the
    people that bombed the World Trade Center in lickety-split, record time.
    We want an inquiry to analyze the steps along the way. Is there
    something else we should have known? Is there some other question they
    should have asked? Is there some other question I should have asked? Can
    I say for sure that we could have done nothing else to make the outcome
    different? I don't know that. That's why I want the inquiry and that's
    why I would like to make sure that we have some independent law
    enforcement people, not political people but totally nonpolitical,
    outside experts who can bring to bear the best evidence we have.
        There is, unfortunately, a rise in this sort of fanaticism all
    across the world. And we may have to confront it again. And I want to
    know whether there is anything we can do, particularly when there are
    children involved. But I do think it is important to recognize that the
    wrongdoers in this case were the people who killed others and then
    killed themselves.
        Q. Mr. President, were there any other options presented to you for
    resolving this situation at any point from February 28th until
    yesterday?
        The President. Well, yes, I got regular reports all along the way.
    There were lots of other options pursued. If you go back--you all
    covered it very well. You did a very good job of it. I mean, the FBI and
    the other authorities there pursued any number of other options all
    along the way, and a lot of them early on seemed to be working. Some of
    the children got out. Some of the other people left. At one point, there
    seemed to be some lines of communication opening up between Koresh and
    the authorities. And then he would say things and not do them, and
    things just began to spin downward.
        In terms of what happened yesterday, the conversation I had with the
    Attorney General did not involve other options except whether we should
    take more time with the present strategy we were pursuing because they
    said they wanted to do this, because they thought this was the best way
    to get people out of the compound quickly before they could kill
    themselves. That's what they thought.
        Q. Did the government know that the children did not have gas masks?
        Q. [Inaudible]--congressional hearings once the situation--are you
    in agreement with that?
        The President. That's up to the Congress. They can do whatever they
    want. But I think it's very important that the Treasury and Justice
    Departments launch this investigation and bring

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    in some outside experts. And as I said in my statement, if any
    congressional committees want to look into it, we will fully cooperate.
    There is nothing to hide here. This was probably the most well-covered
    operation of its kind in the history of the country.
        Go ahead, Sarah [Sarah McClendon, McClendon News Service].
        Q. There are two questions I want to ask you. The first is, I think
    that they knew very well that the children did not have gas masks while
    the adults did, so the children had no chance because this gas was
    very--she said it was not lethal, but it was very dangerous to the
    children, and they could not have survived without gas masks. And on
    February 28th--let's go back--didn't those people have a right to
    practice their religion?
        The President. They were not just practicing their religion. The
    Treasury Department believed that they had violated Federal laws, any
    number of them.
        Q. What Federal laws?
        The President. Let me go back and answer that. I can't answer the
    question about the gas masks, except to tell you that the whole purpose
    of using the tear gas was that it had been tested; they were convinced
    that it wouldn't kill either a child or an adult, but it would force
    anybody that breathed it to run outside. And one of the things that I've
    heard--I don't want to get into the details of this because I don't
    know--but one of the things that they were speculating about today was
    that the wind was blowing so fast that the windows might have been
    opened and some of the gas might have escaped, and that may be why it
    didn't have the desired effect.
        They also knew, Sarah, that there was an underground compound, a bus
    buried underground, where the children could be sent. I think they were
    hoping very much that if the children were not released immediately
    outside, that the humane thing would be done and that the children would
    be sent someplace where they could be protected.
        In terms of the gas masks themselves, I learned yesterday--I did not
    ask this fact question before--that the gas was supposed to stay active
    in the compound longer than the gas masks themselves were to work. So
    that it was thought that even if they all had gas masks, that eventually
    the gas would force them out in a nonviolent, nonshooting circumstance.
        Press Secretary Myers. Last question.
        Q. Mr. President, why are you still saying that----
        Q. Could you tell us whether or not you ever asked Janet Reno about
    the possibility of a mass suicide? And when you learned about the actual
    fire and explosion what went through your mind during those horrendous
    moments?
        The President. What I asked Janet Reno is if they had considered all
    the worst things that could happen. And of course, the whole issue of
    suicide had been raised in the public--he had--that had been debated
    anyway. And she said that the people who were most knowledgeable about
    these kinds of issues concluded that there was no greater risk of that
    now than there would be tomorrow or the next day or the day after that
    or at anytime in the future. That was the judgment they made. Whether
    they were right or wrong, of course, we will never know.
        What happened when I saw the fire, when I saw the building burning?
    I was sick. I felt terrible. And my immediate concern was whether the
    children had gotten out and whether they were escaping or whether they
    were inside trying to burn themselves up. That's the first thing I
    wanted to know.
        Thank you.
        Q. Mr. President, why are you still saying it was a Janet Reno
    decision? Isn't it, in the end, your decision?
        The President. Well, what I'm saying is that I didn't have a 4- or
    5-hour detailed briefing from the FBI. I didn't go over every strategic
    part of it. It is a decision for which I take responsibility. I'm the
    President of the United States, and I signed off on the general decision
    and giving her the authority to make the last call. When I talked to her
    on Sunday, some time had elapsed. She might have made a decision to
    change her mind. I said, ``If you decide to go forward with this
    tomorrow, I will support you.'' And I do support her.
        She is not ultimately responsible to the American people; I am. But
    I think she has conducted her duties in an appropriate fashion, and she
    has dealt with this situation, I think, as well as she could have.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President's 12th news conference began at 1:36 p.m. in the
    Rose Garden at the White House.