WAS THE NATIONAL MEDIA ASLEEP OR JUST PLAIN LAZY IN WACO?

"Where's the outrage? If those were black people at Waco, Janet Reno would have been fired six years ago. But because those were white religious freaks and gun nuts, nobody cares.” The man who spoke those words was a handsome Southerner I've known for many years but he is not a racist. He was addressing a situation as viewed by a different segment of the population and frequently these views are based on inaccurate information. I had to inform my friend that the victims included African-Americans and Hispanics.

The recent revelation that Delta force experts were involved in the decision to use incendiary weapons at Waco is creating less of a furor in the mainstream press than perhaps it should. ``Isn't it against the constitution to use military force against American citizens? '' my friend asked. ``Weren't these Americans?''

But according to government spokespersons, the military involvement was necessary because of allegations that David Koresh, the doomed leader of the Branch Davidian cult, was operating a methamphetamine drug lab at the compound in Waco. However, no evidence of a drug lab was ever found in the ruins of the fire that ended the lives of 80 Branch Davidians including 33 women, children and babies.

Kevin Whitecliff, a Davidian survivor of Waco, testified at his trial:
``I thought I was going to die that day. I thought I was going to get blown away. And I couldn't believe this was our country doing this to its citizens. I couldn't believe it. In fact, I didn't see [who it was] until after the retreat. When I read what was on the backs of their clothes, I couldn't believe it, Judge. I could not believe that was a law enforcement agency that did that. I thought we got attacked by some kind of renegades or some kind of an anti-Christian group."

Governmental foul-ups like Waco and Ruby Ridge are what white racist militia groups use to recruit new members to their cause. So says Rep. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas who is calling for an independent investigation.

"History tells us that paramilitary, violent groups use this type of federal heavy-handedness and bungling to rouse their troops and take further violent action against authority," Hutchinson said. "That's illustrated by the Oklahoma City bombing and the motivations of Timothy McVeigh."

I'm trying to remember what my own impressions of the Waco incident were back in 1993. I know I had a vague impression that government agents were involved in some sort of a siege outside some religious compound. It was alleged that the cult was actually running a drug lab and rumors were flying that children were being sexually molested. Similarities to the Jim Jones mass suicide in Guyana were made and comparisons to it were floated in the media.

I really wasn't paying too much attention to details but when the fiery conflagration occurred it appeared to be the result of a horrific accident rather than a sinister government plot. The newly appointed Attorney General Janet Reno seemed to be courageous when she accepted the blame for what went wrong. Within a few weeks, Waco was forgotten, at least it was by me.

Unfortunately, it festered in the minds of many people who felt threatened by the growing governmental interference in their civil liberties. On the second anniversary of the deaths at Waco, Timothy McVeigh took his revenge in Oklahoma City.

I'm not going to pretend that I was overly concerned with what occurred at Waco in 1993. I am, however, ashamed that I could so easily dismiss the deaths of fellow Americans by their government simply because they belonged to a fringe element of society that I considered irrelevant. I am thoroughly ashamed that the deaths of innocent children could not rouse me from an apathy perhaps induced by a complacent media.

Why was I led to believe that children were being sexually molested at the compound? Why didn't I hear anymore about this allegation after the siege ended? Why was I under the impression that this was a matter that involved drugs, guns and religious wackos and that a strong armed response was therefore reasonable? Why did the ATF and FBI have to assault the compound when the Davidians were already self-imprisoned? Was the media complicit in spreading a false cover story? Am I watching the `` X-files'' too much?

These questions have been bugging me ever since the government admitted that incendiary weapons were indeed used at Waco. The admission only came about because these same weapons were uncovered in photos by an independent filmmaker. It is also becoming clearer that Waco may have been more of a military maneuver than a police action.

When the Louima and Diallo incidents occurred here in New York, the nation was rightly horrified at the abuse of power and the incompetence of some members of the NYPD. The media jumped on the bandwagon and this attention ensured that justice would be served. But if the same assault on civil liberties occurs to those with politically incorrect views, somehow its importance does not rate the same attention.

I believe that it the responsibility of the press to always seek the truth, whether it is unpleasant or not. What happened at Waco may not have been a sinister government plot but it clearly was a monumental exercise in incompetence and an overzealous use of power.

While Janet Reno may have demonstrated courage in accepting blame, she also should have been faulted for using extremely poor judgment. FBI Director Sessions denied his agency had any evidence of abuse so where did these charges originate? Ordering a deadly assault on a compound with women and children based on dubious information demonstrated her inexperience and incompetence yet six and a half years later she is still on the job.

Hindsight is always 20/20 and it's easy now to judge what should or should not have been done at Waco. What disturbs me most about this incident is that I feel the public was manipulated into believing a scenario that did not exist. Good investigative journalism should be employed whenever inconsistencies in a story are present, no matter what the outcome.

This means being sensitive when excessive force and injustice is used against those with whom we disagree. If we can't recognize when their civil liberty is in jeopardy, ours may already be lost.