WACO, Texas -- In a few days it will be a full seven years since a startled nation watched in horror as a boiling fire consumed the Branch Davidian compound that held scores of men, women and children a few miles east of here.

The April 19, 1993, fire appeared to start in an upwind corner of the compound where a government tank had battered a hole in the building while injecting massive quantities of disabling military CS tear gas into the structure.The Mount Carmel building was on the point of collapse due to a prolonged tank and gas assault on leader David Koresh and his followers.

Clearly, the government was through tormenting the Davidians with psychological warfare tactics. There would be no more negotiations. The 51-day siege of the religious sect was over.

Every viewer of the live satellite feeds beamed from the scene knew that the decision had been made to launch a final assault.

Now, as the nation approaches the seventh anniversary of the fire, it is clear that the government failed to achieve the finality it wanted.

An example of this failure was how the event inflamed thousands of Americans already distrustful of the government.

One particularly dangerous anti-government malcontent exploded a truck bomb outside a federal office building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, the second anniversary of the final assault. The explosion killed 168 people.

The government attempted to put the Mount Carmel incident to rest by producing a three-volume, 1,000-page report filled with self-praise and no blame. The Justice Department investigation of itself and the FBI was an obvious whitewash despite Attorney General Janet Reno's response to criticism of the report.

If nothing else, the recovery of 76 charred bodies, including 21 children, was a clear indication that a great deal went wrong.

The whitewash meant the government blew another chance to close the books on Waco.

Then it was discovered that the FBI lied about its actions during the final tragic assault on the Branch Davidian compound.

For six years, FBI and Justice Department officials steadfastly argued that agents did not fire pyrotechnic devices during the final assault, but a videotape was discovered with a soundtrack that contains discussions among FBI Hostage Rescue Team members in which permission was granted to fire incendiary tear gas cartridges.

Congress and the American people had been misled, and, once again, any hope of putting closure to the tragedy was dashed.

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Now, a new investigation by a special counsel has run up a tab exceeding $11 million.

Some of the surviving Branch Davidians are preparing to go to trial to settle their lawsuit against the government over what happened.

The April 19 anniversary date will be remembered for years to come.

Rowland Nethaway is senior editor of the Waco Tribune-Herald. E-mail: RNethaway@wacotrib.com.

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