Section A·Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, August 26, 1999
Nation
FBI used flammable tear gas in Waco standoff
Federal agency revokes denial about 1993 event
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON—Taking back previous disavowals, the FBI now admits that federal agents fired one or more incendiary tear gas canisters during the 1993 standoff with Branch Davidian cult members in Texas, a federal law enforcement official says.
The agency, however, still maintains it did not start the fire that consumed the Davidians' compound
with leader David Koresh and more than 80 followers inside. The April 19, 1993, inferno ended a 51-day siege by federal agents trying to serve a warrant for Koresh's arrest on firearms and explosive charges.
"The bottom line here continues to be that the Davidians set that fire and that law enforcement did not set that fire," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday.
Incendiary devices — believed to be two military tear gas canisters — were fired not at buildings in the Branch Davidian compound, but at a bunker nearby, the official said, adding that they bounced off the bunker's concrete roof and did not enter any structures.
The canisters were fired early in the morning, around 6 a.m., the official added. The fire that destroyed the compound started around noon after federal agents used a tank to punch holes in the compound before pumping in tear gas.
Other tear gas canisters used by federal agents throughout the day were not flammable or potentially explosive, the official said.
Until now, the FBI had maintained it used only nonflammable canisters to get tear gas into the compound because of fears that pyrotechnic grenades might spark a fire in the wooden structure.
However, the FBI reconsidered those assertions this week after Danny Coulson, a former deputy
we're asking of the reports, and we're trying to get to the bottom of it as quickly as we can."
"We're aware of the
Myron Marlin
Justice Department representative
director of the agency, told The Dallas Morning News that potentially flammable tear gas grenades were fired into an underground structure that led to tunnels opening into the compound.
But Coulson, who also was founding commander of the FBI's hostage rescue team, told the newspaper the incendian canisters were fired hours before the blaze began and played no role in starting it.
"We're aware of the reports and we're trying to get to the bottom of it as quickly as we can," Justice Department representative Myron Marlin said Tuesday.
Justice Department officials, including Attorney General Janet Reno, in the past have forcefully denied allegations that flammable devices were used by the FBI during the final standoff at Waco.
Martin called such allegations nonsense when they were raised by a documentary filmmaker in July.
"We know of no evidence to support that any incendiary device was fired into the compound on April 19, 1993." Marlin said.
The issue of whether the FBI used pyrotechnic devices has been a major focus of an ongoing inquiry by the Texas Rangers and a key allegation in a pending wrongful-death lawsuit against the government by surviving Davidians and families of those who died.
The federal government consistently has disputed accusations that the FBI started the fire. Independent investigators concluded the fire began simultaneously in three separate places.
FBI bugs recorded Davidians discussing spreading fuel and planning a fire hours before the compound burned.
Greenspan hikes interest rates in effort to deter rising inflation
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — By nudging up interest rates for the second time this summer, the Federal Reserve signaled that it may stay on the sidelines if there are no new signs of inflation or an overheated economy.
But some economists wonder: Is the Fed through with just two?
The answer lies with what new economic data tells central bankers about the pace of economic growth, which has been brisk, and the prospects for inflation down the road, economists said.
On Tuesday, the Fed boosted two rates by a quarter point, saying its actions should markedly diminish the risk of rising inflation.
Investors hoped that language means the Fed will stop with just two rate hikes. Some analysts said it reduces the odds of another increase this fall. But others think a third rate hike could be in the offing this year, possibly as early as the Fed's next meeting on Oct. 5, if signs of inflation crop up.
"The Fed could easily pull the trigger
again," said Paul Kasriel, chief economist for Northern Trust Co.
Allen Sinai, chief economist at Primark Global Economics, also thinks there could be a third rate hike, possibly in November.
"We think the economy will continue to do quite well and higher inflation on average will appear and push the Fed into one more dose of tightening this year, but it is a close call," said Sinai.
With the nation's unemployment rate down to its lowest level in three decades, employers foraging for workers are wooing them with higher wages and benefits. While that's good news for workers, it's worrisome to the Fed because those increased costs could drive up prices.
Greenspan: Raises interest rates again this summer
Meanwhile, the economy is expected to grow 4 percent this year, a robust pace.
Some analysts suggested that central bankers will wait to see whether the economy slows on its own. David Jones, chief economist at Aubrey G. Lanton & Co. said he thought they will move to the sidelines and evaluate whether their actions are sufficient to cool off growth.
On Tuesday, the Fed increased its target for the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge on overnight loans, by a quarter point to 5.25 percent. The rate had been boosted — by the same amount — for the first time in two years on June 30.
That triggered a quick quarter-point increase to 8.25 percent by commercial banks in their prime lending rate, the benchmark rate for millions of consumer and business loans.
At the same time, the Fed raised its largely symbolic discount rate, the interest it charges on direct loans to banks, by a quarter point to 4.75 percent.
Fed critics said they were unhappy that the central bank raised interest rates at all.
ics said they were unhappy that the central bank raised interest rates at all. "The Federal Reserve continues to allow their inordinate fear of inflation to put America's strong economy in jeopardy," said Sen. Tomas Karkin, D-Iowa.
Declassified documents might be re-examined
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON— To shine light on America's secret past, government record keepers have worked the past three years to declasify 600 million pages of documents.
Now, because Washington fears that nuclear weapons information has slipped inadvertently from the government's attic, the declassifiers might have to do it again.
Legislation headed for approval in Congress would require all these documents to be re-examined to make sure they don't contain details about the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Present efforts to lift the veil of government secrecy are driven by an executive order President Clinton signed in 1995. The order instructs federal agencies to open by next April classified records that contain historical material and are more than 25 years old.
In the past three years, more than 600 million pages have been declassified.
Subjects range from the Cold War to Vietnam, POWs to UFOs. Researchers are rewriting history with new information
about the U.S.-Soviet arms race, the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, a 1973 coup in Chile and covert action around the globe.
Declassification was moving at a fast clip until last year when some lawmakers worried that nuclear secrets still classified under the Atomic Energy Act weren't being properly protected. Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.; Richard Shelby, R-Ala., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee; and Bob Smith, I.N.H., wrote to National Security Advisor Sandy Berger saying that in a frenzied attempt to meet the April 2000 deadline, documents containing sensitive nuclear weapons information may have been released or were in danger of being released.
The prospect prompted Congress to pass a law last year that required declassifiers to come up with a plan to scan documents, page-by-page, looking for nuclear material because the records were highly unlikely
— uness the records were highly unlike,
to contain such information.
This year, after a government scientist suspected of passing on nuclear secrets to China was fired for alleged security violations, lawmakers took tougher scrutiny.
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