There's no other way to say it, so I'm just gonna say it.
Waco: The Rules of Engagement is one of the finest, most important, genuinely disturbing and thought provoking documentaries to emerge in the 1990s.
It's always tricky to assess the validity of a film such as this one, since film is so malleable. The general public is inclined to believe whatever is put in front of them, so any of the points made within this film are up for debate.
However, for me, that's hardly the point. If this film does nothing more than spark debate over the issues it raises, such as the government regulation of our lives, our rights to protect ourselves and the belief that institutions have been created to protect us, the filmmakers will have accomplished something tremendous.
As a testament to what film can do, Waco: The Rules of Engagement examines the fifty-one day siege in Waco, Texas between the Branch Davidians, led by so-called "cult leader" David Koresh, and the FBI, ATF, and U.S. government.
It provides interviews (on both sides of the issue) from Brach Davidian survivors, government agents, politicians, and technical experts, as well as footage from the congressional hearings which would play out as pure farce were it not for the harrowing fact that young children were among the dead in the ashes at Waco, first hit with cyanide before their bodies were torched in flame.
Show of Force
We can only trust our eyes and ears, though in this age where tapes are doctored, distorted and shuffled around, even these are questionable.
Certainly, there is no denying that there was an armed force outside the sect. There were tanks, helicopters, SWAT teams with guns trained to kill. We also know that David Koresh and the Davidians had arms to match. The question of "who fired first" during the first day of violence may never be answered, since the tape has gone missing. The Davidians claim that shots were clearly fired through their door, with the trajectory of the bullets pointing inward.
Again, we cannot confirm this information because the door, along with the videotape, went missing.
Some of the facts (which were in the hands of our government) simply disappeared. Though the American public has the right to know what happened at Waco, the information is simply not forthcoming. This, to me, does not inspire trust in a government which has been created by the people, for the people.
