Cheap Waco - The Rules of Engagement (DVD) (Dan Gifford) (William Gazecki) Price

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Customer Reviews of Waco - The Rules of Engagement

Disturbing, credible and well-researched
I see this video is being attacked as "conspiracy theory" propaganda. Rubbish. It simply deals with the events. It is also claimed that the film was faked somehow -- making it appear as if things happened that did not. Parts of the film were supposedly debunked on TV. I find all this very, very difficult to believe. The important points of the documentary involve the contrast between the testimony of the FBI before Congress and the actual events at Waco. The FBI made infra-red videotapes of the injection of "tear gas" into the buildings, and foolishly made them available to the press. The documentary "Rules of Engagement" presents a detailed analysis of these tapes, done by the man who developed the technology that allowed the tapes to be made in the first place. Faked? I believe that is out of the question. The analysis of the infra-red tapes shows that there is excellent reason to believe that the FBI lied repeatedly to cover up its activities at Waco. If this documentary is a conspiracy theorist's dream, I am a white rabbit. The only conspiracy that could be involved in the Waco tragedy is the well-known wall of silence that police the world over maintain in order to avoid being held responsible for the excesses they sometimes commit.

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Watch It Critically...But Watch It
This is a shocking and disturbing movie. Watching it, you get the sense that the ATF and FBI missed no opportunity to screw up at Waco, and to lie about it afterwards. Neither did the politicians who investigated it. Did they? I'll have to learn more about it before I decide.

Since I don't really know any details about Waco that were not presented in this movie, it's impossible for me to judge it in terms of its accuracy. It is possible that the filmmakers chose the most damning footage from the Senate hearings, and various Waco "experts." Chuck Schumer, John Conyers, Shiela Jackson, Joseph Biden...they come off sounding like apologists for what (if this movie is correct) is the worst slaughter of American citizens by its government since Wounded Knee. Now, knowing Schumer, and his smarmy, arrogant, ideological self-righteousness, and Conyers' mindless gun-hating knee-jerk liberalism, and Janet Reno's, well, daffiness, this wouldn't necessarily be hard to believe.

But still, it is...I mean, the evidence in this movie seems SO compelling, and so heart-wrenching, that Schumer and company would have to be barbarians not to want to hold the responsible parties accountable. Were Democrats merely trying to insulate the Clinton administration from blame? It seems to stretch plausibilty that even the likes of Schumer would try to excuse mass murder. Who knows. Not I.

Some compelling facts surface in this movie. Remarkably, the ATF refused an invitation from Koresh to inspect his licensed weaponry. Instead, for some reason, they chose to serve him with a search warrant by showing up with truckloads of heavily-armed agents, helicopters, and so forth. It remains unclear who fired first. The Davidians insist the ATF did. The ATF insists the Davidians did. While it's possible the filmmakers were biased, there do seem to be some pretty irrefutable facts suggesting the government lied...and lied wildly. In fact, at one point we hear a negotiator lying to Koresh, over and over, about the presence of gun on one of the helicopters that fired on Davidians. The negotiator insists that there were no guns on the helicopter, and Koresh keeps telling him he saw them firing on him and the others. Finally the negotiator admits that the agents on the helicopter were armed, but there were no MOUNTED guns on the helicopter...like that makes all the difference. Also, infrared film seems to show FBI agents firing into a burning building as they back away, and as Davidians burn to death inside that building...yet they claim they never fired a single shot.

Local law enforcement spoke highly of Koresh. He certainly doesn't seem to be the child-molesting, whacked-out, violent drug dealing crminial that the government made him out to be in order to head off criticism for their attack. He and the rest of the Davidians are odd, yes, but the Davidians that the filmmakers present are not the brainwashed cult members they've been made out to be. Does being odd, and owning a lot of guns warrant having the ATF stomp all over you? Are we not supposed to, uh, celebrate diversity?

The movie implies--or interviews people who imply--that there was a government conspiracy to murder the Davidians. I remain unconvinced. The massacre at Waco seems like a series of mistakes (understandable in tense, dangerous situations, if not excuseable), and cover-ups.

This movie is a must-see. Watch it critically...but watch it.

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Very Disturbing, Things Haven't Changed Much
As with many reviewers, I sat down to watch this movie having been exposed to the mainstream media spin. However, after listening to blatant government lies (i.e. "I repeat, the FBI didn't shoot at anyone"), which were contradicted by FLIR footage, and after hearing about crucial evidence that conveniently vanished; I no longer view our federal government with the same sense of trust that I once did.

As one Delta Commando aptly pointed out, the ATF was so poorly prepared that they didn't even have a medical backup waiting in case anything went wrong (the news people had to call for help!). As a retired NYC police officer, I can tell you that this is the signature of absolute and utter incompetence. The people in charge obviously didn't know what they were doing and I wouldn't be surprised if the Feds actually did start the gun battle. They were probably a bunch of tobacco-chewing good-old-boys and yahoos who thought they could get away with shooting first and asking questions later. Perhaps this is how they do it in Texas; it sure is hell isn't how I did it in Brooklyn.

Finally, there was no need to bring out tanks and gas. Anyone who's studied the history of seige warfare knows that it's often easier simply to wait out your adversary. Most of the large-scale seiges that were won in the middle ages were done in this manner. Let them run out of food and supplies and then allow them to surrender (or starve if they would rather). This option is far less destructive and could have saved lives on both sides.

Oh no, the ATF and the FBI couldn't take this route. They had something to prove to the world. Defying the federal government is a capital offense, and anyone who defends themselves in their own homes after being fired upon should be made an example.

The evidence, in short, is damning. Having lived, and worked, through the 60s; I would have guessed that this type of shoddy cover-up went out of style when nut-jobs like J. Edgar Hoover died. I guess not.

People might think that something like Tiananmen Square would never happen here. The passage of the Patriot Act will probably herald more Wacos.

The Government is not necessarily your friend.