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 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.

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!

Published in the Nov. 8, 1999 issue of The Washington Weekly Copyright 1999 The Washington Weekly (http://www.federal.com) Reposting permitted with this message intact