Waco: The Rules of Engagement

I'm neither a Lawyer or a Law Enforcement Officer but as a fellow Filmmaker I must recommend this Documentary for many reasons. First off, a government controlled press kept America briefed during the so-called seige. The FBI & ATF spun the Korish Story into making us believe he was out of control and a cop killer. My take is that Korish had started to believe too much of his own preachings and lost control of his flock and p***ed off City Officials in WACO, Texas... leading to possible gun possession charges but to come down on the guy like they did is a dark day I'll never forget. This Doc from lots of footage from a WACO TV Station shows our Government in a post Ruby Ridge environment again making up its own "Rules" to "Engage" the so-called enemy, in this case mainly Women & Children. The fire that develops and finalizes the case for Janet Reno is as disgusting as the reality of the hundreds of chard remains of innocent christians that couldn't find their way. For any of us Americans that think that Law Enforcement is set up to work within the laws better think twice after WACO and hopefully this will be a lesson for all to learn from so it won't ever happen again.

An interesting and highly controversial documentary feature that earned an Oscar-nomination and still creates heated discussions within some circles. It is February 1993 in Waco, Texas and the Branch Davidians (an outlandish religious cult led by the infamous David Koresh) are in an isolated compound (a military-styled community for the most part) where they supposedly practice their beliefs and live in relative peace and harmony away from the outside world. However, this group is not just a religious sect. After all what other religious organization has automatic weapons and possibly other harmful entities within their places of worship? The Davidians' motives are unclear and the U.S. ATF (which is an acronym for Alcohol, Tobacco and Firemans) is called in to investigate and disarm. Of course disaster strikes and four agents are killed. Now there is a standoff in Waco and more tragedy some 51 days later in April when dozens of Davidians are killed in an inferno of flames after their compound ignites in fire. By 1995 and 1996 there is a massive government investigation as to what really happened in Texas. It is an investigation that will put Democrats against Republicans, Davidians against the public and to a great extent the living against those who died. "Waco: The Rules of Engagement" is a heated commentary that pulls no punches and ends up being an angry indictment on the ATF, the FBI and the U.S. Government in general. Religious freedoms, the Bill of Rights (which is like a statistic---it can be used to prove most anything within reason) and public safety become the most talked about topics here. The film wants its audience to feel sympathy and sadness for those who lost their lives in Waco (they had my sympathy long before the production). However, the film-makers would rather put the Davidians in positive light rather than a negative one. The facts, regardless of this fine film, are that the Branch Davidians had an arsenal of weapons illegally within their compound. Although the film never does explore this, it is very likely that there were also narcotics and illegal chemical labs for the creation and distribution of various drugs. Waco, home of Baylor University, has always been a major Texas drug trafficking zone. Thus the ATF had all the reason in the world to be there. Koresh was a religious fanatic who took the Book of Revelations literally, believing strange things about the "Seven Seals" and claiming he was a prophet sent from God. In reality, the Davidians had plenty of opportunity to leave the compound during the 51-day siege. Many of the elderly and very young children did indeed come out early and were brought to safety. Koresh's relationships with many women, some as young as 13 and 14, fails to make him a sympathetic person in my eyes. In many ways, he was a glorified rapist who made some people follow his distorted views. As the film advances, research is shown to prove the fact that the authorities did indeed start the fire at the compound. Even if they did, so what? The ATF had lost men and had nearly spent two months at a standoff with a group that did not understand negotiation or due process. In short Koresh was stalling and the ATF did use their last bullet in the end, so to speak. Also the unknown of the Branch Davidians led the ATF to use weapons when some from the group did decide to finally come out, believing that many could have automatic weapons or hand grenades. The whole thing was a mess from all perspectives, but I felt like the Clinton Administration (Janet Reno in particular) did all that could be done over the course of two dark months over Waco. I respect the film for its views and I do think this is a fine documentary, but sometimes fancy editing and the choices film-makers make can leave them biased. "Waco: The Rules of Engagement" suffers from biases and in the end that keeps it from being an excellent documentary, but that does not mean it is still not very close to the bull's eye. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

When I began watching I thought I was watching some pro-Koresh amateur documentary. However, I had never seen 3/4 of the footage they used. They interviewed people saying that the FBI/ATF instigated all these things, which sounded so far fetched, but then followed in up with FBI video and testimony. I was amazed. The documentary followed up with the senate investigation after the fire, and after seeing the interview and video footage you will be shocked at how the Senate and Attorney General turn their backs on Davidians basically to cover up the aggression by the FBI/ATF. If you start watching this you must finish it. Otherwise you will think it is propaganda of something like that.

If you want to see real evidence of what a misguided and unchecked government can do to "un-popular" people, this movie provides it. Read what some people are saying about the "Patriot Act" passed after 9/11 and then watch this movie. Is it worth it? Do we really want to give away our freedoms to these people? Regardless of what you saw on TV, you are not fully informed until you watch this movie. I apologize for quoting another reviewer, but it needs repeating: Roger Ebert of Siskel & Ebert said, "What's interesting is if you're looking for people who are unbalanced zealots... you don't find them among the Branch Davidians, you find them among the FBI and the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; those are the people in this movie who deserve to be feared, I think." I think every person responsible for 9/11 needs to be brought to justice, but I think the government has not shown a history of honoring it's duty to protect people's rights, and this movie proves it in dramatic fashion.

Just seen this great, and disturbing, documentary about the ATF and FBI essentially murdering dozens of people during the Waco siege.

However, does anyone know why the public access footage of the Bradley tanks shooting fire into the compound and starting the fire (which everyone up to and including Janet Reno denied) when even I have a copy of on more than one Bill Hicks video?