Via Reborn
April 19 was the 28th anniversary of one of the most shameful episodes in modern American history: the massacre of 76 innocent men, women, and children by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) in a military-style assault on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas.
The assault followed a botched raid on the Davidian compound (staged at a time that it would distract attention from an ATF sexual harassment scandal) and a two-month standoff between the Davidians and the agency. The ATF used CS tear gas against the Dravidians, even though the gas was banned by an international treaty the US agreed to just months before the assault. So, if the assault had occurred on foreign soil as part of a military operation, it would have been a war crime.
More @ LRC
I wonder about definitions.
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According to some sources, LawEnforcementOfficials refer to everybody else as 'civilian'.
By their definition, they are a military/para-military.
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Based on their words and acts, using military equipment and military poisoned gas against the Branch Davidian church folks sounds perilously close to a military engaged in An Act Of War... and a war-crime.
Fully agree.
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