Why did the US Federal government commit genocide against the Branch Davidians?
What genocide? gen-o-cide: systematic measures for the extermination of a national, cultural, religious, or radical group (from Greek, genos race, + -cide). Coined by Raphael Lemkin and first used in print in Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, 1944. Applying the term genocide to the events that occurred at the Branch Dravidian compound is misleading at best and, at worst, demeaning to the memories of the millions of persons who have perished in genocides. The great tragedy was the misreading of the situation by the various police forces involved and their subsequent actions based on these errors. This is not surprising, since police forces are trained, for the most part, to handle situations very different from those at the Branch Dravidian compound. Police are trained in the belief that a large-scale and sudden assault on a defended position will work to their advantage. You could describe this as the Okay, Rocky, weve got you surrounded. Come out with your hands up or were coming in after
