WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Janet Reno said Wednesday she ordered the ill-fated end to the Branch Davidian standoff after being convinced that tear gas would force a surrender, that David Koresh would never give up voluntarily and that a mass suicide was unlikely.
And officials with law enforcement agencies involved in the operation joined Reno in defending their actions before Congress, even while acknowledging the outcome was a 'horrible nightmare.'
Reno told the House Judiciary Committee her approval of the plan to inject tear gas into the Waco, Texas, compound with the use of a tank was 'the toughest decision I ever made.'
During more than 3 hours of often intense probing, Reno detailed anguished weeks of efforts to find a way to save those under Koresh's control, especially two dozen children.
Koresh and an estimated 85 of his followers apparently perished in the fire that destroyed the compound April 19, several hours after the government moved to end the 51-day standoff. Reno said preliminary reports indicate the fire was set by members of the cult.
'Experts had concluded that the chances ofa mass suicide were not likely, but if they were they could happen at any time,' said Reno.
But an accusatory Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., told Reno her decision caused the deaths of innocent people.
'The root cause of this problem was that it was considered a military operation and it wasn't,' said Conyers. 'This is a profound disgrace to law enforcement in the United States of America, and you did the right thing in offering to resign.'
'I'd like you to know that there is at least one member in the Congress that isn't going to rationalize the deaths of two dozen children that weren't cultists, they weren't nuts, they weren't criminals,' he said. 'They were innocently trapped in there.'
Reno, visibly shaken by the assault, told Conyers: 'I haven't tried to rationalize the death of children, congressman, I feel more strongly about it than you will ever know.'
'But I have neither tried to rationalize the death of four ATF agents, and I will not walk away from a compound where ATF agents have been killed by people who knew they were agents and leave them unsurrounded,' she said, her voice rising.
The siege began Feb. 28 when four agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were killed trying to serve a search warrant for illegal firearms.
FBI Director William Sessions defended the decision to end the standoff April 19.
'We don't let criminals make up our timetables,' he told the committee.
But Sessions said it was 'unthinkable' to believe anyone was pleased with the outcome.
'There could have been no more horrible nightmare than that which was unfolding before our eyes,' said Sessions. 'It was a devastating end, crushing the hopes of the hostage rescue team whose motto is 'to save lives.''
Some members of the committee questioned whether the 'psychological warfare' tactics used during the standoff to divide the Davidians, including the use of loud music and floodlights, actually brought them closer together.
'How do you intensify absolute devotion?' answered Jeff Jamar, the FBI special agent who headed the Waco operation after the ATF raid.
Jamar said what they faced was 'beyond anything we could imagine.'
'People...handed over their lives' to Koresh, said Jamar. 'We didn't drive them to him.'
Asked why religious leaders were not brought in to talk to Koresh, Jamar answered: 'How do you convince someone that they are not the messiah?'
ATF Director Stephen Higgins said the raid took place because Koresh and his followers were continuing to build a large weapons arsenal, presenting a 'threat to the community and to the safety of the people in the compound.'
Higgins acknowledged that some in the ATF knew that Koresh had information about the raid beforehand, and said they would be 'judged on their actions that day.'
Reno refused to discuss what information officials may have learned from inside the compound with the use of listening devices in the days before April 19.
Conyers' sharp questioning of Reno was in contrast to most members of the committee, who applauded her for the job she has done since becoming the nation's first female attorney general March 12.
Reno, however, cried softly when describing the night of the fire.
After appearing on a series of late night television programs, where she took responsibility for the government's actions, Reno said she received telephone calls from her sister and from President Clinton, both telling her: 'That a girl.'
Reno said the first time anyone suggested the tear gas option was April 5, when Sessions presented her with the plan.
'The question I kept asking over and over again was why now, why not wait?' said Reno.
Koresh had promised to surrender after finishing religious writings. Eventually, however, Reno said she became convinced Koresh would never surrender and that the specialists guarding the compound were becoming exhausted.
'We went back over the lies that he had told the FBI,' said Reno. '(We) felt like he had manipulated them and lied to them every step of the way.'
Reno said she approved of the tear gas plan only after being assured it would cause no permanent harm to the children. Even though the Davidians had gas masks, it was expected to force some members of the cult out of the compound immediately.
'One of the things we didn't count on was that wind,' said Reno, describing strong winds that may have dispersed the tear gas and caused it to lose effectiveness. The winds also helped the fire spread quickly.
