Waco - The Rules of Engagement

Rating:
Summary: Waco: The Rules of Engagement
Review: This movie is well researched and produced. I was completely unprepared for the evidence presented. The compelling witness accounts, circumstantial, photografic and physical evidence was hard to rationalize away.

For me the most compelling part of the film was contained in what is refered to as "red flags." The FBI and government panel tried way too hard to characterize the Dividians as zealots bent on killing themselves. Yet, there is no evidence that suggested this. In fact most evidence militates away from this conclution. The "suicide pact" theory was not only flawed but transparent. Also, numerous times, the testimony of FBI agents contradicted much evidence, specfically taped conversations ( which are uncomfortable to listen to at times.) Finally, the testimony of the survivors all but discredits the idea that the members of the group were what the FBI characterized them as. They were lucid, articulate and quite frankly, more credible than the FBI agents who testified. The lesson: Yes, this can and will happen again the USA no matter what party is in power. It is a problem of unchecked power, not right vs left.



Rating:
Summary: Finally, the other side of the story!!
Review: I remember where I was when the Branch Davidian compound burned outside Waco. I remember that other people were present, but what I remember most was the silence. No one said a word while we watched the flames leap higher and higher. The only thing I do remember hearing was "this isn't happening." The sad truth is that it did happen, and a lot of work has gone into covering up the "whole" story. The government's version of events has been told time and time again, but the Branch Davidian's side has been at best marginalized or at worst ridiculed. This documentary will leave you shaking your head, wondering what really happened. Why did the ATF feel the need to stage such an over-the-top spectacle when David Koresh could have been arrested outside the compound? Why were news agencies given advance notice of the raid? What made government officials (who regularly referred to Koresh and his followers as mentally imbalanced) think that the children would be released? Where were all the guns and ammunition the Branch Davidians had stockpiled? Many of my questions were not answered as completely as I wanted, but the even sadder truth we have to face is that we probably will never know the "whole" story. It has been hidden for too long by too many people. This documentary finally gives the Davidian side of the saga the airtime it needs so viewers can try to make up their own minds.