Film Says False FBI Reports Mar Danforth's Waco Study
NewsMax.com
Saturday, April 28, 2001
Former Sen. John Danforth’s report on the Branch Davidian tragedy relied on flawed data involving false reports from the FBI as to the types of weapons carried by its agents and the type of ammunition used in those weapons, an Emmy-winning filmmaker charges.
The weapons and ammunition used in a March 2000 "re-creation" in Fort Hood, Texas, were not the same type used by FBI agents in the April 1993 attack on the Davidian compound near Waco, documentary maker and investigative journalist Michael McNulty told NewsMax.com this week.
"Apparently, no one had responsibility under Danforth's plan to independently verify the weapons and ammo types to be tested at Fort Hood were the same as those used at Mount Carmel on April the 19th."
An M-16 A-2 with an optimum 20-inch barrel was tested at Fort Hood, "as compared to the weapons actually used by the FBI” at Waco – CAR 16s or M-4 Carbines with short, 14.5-inch barrels, McNulty said. In addition, the correct type of ammunition was not tested at Fort Hood, and these two items had a tremendous impact on the outcome of the Danforth "re-creation" results, he said.
Danforth’s response to this stunning revelation? "They said they relied on the FBI and in the final analysis Vector corporation,” the "so-called independent experts, ostensibly F.L.I.R. [Forward-Looking Infrared] experts, not weapons experts,” hired to help conduct the Fort Hood "re-creation."
Though Danforth has angrily condemned a report by the libertarian Cato Institute that accused him of bungling his Waco inquiry, he has been publicly silent about McNulty’s new documentary short, "The F.L.I.R. Project.” But now he has broken his silence about that, at least privately.
Danforth’s chief of staff, Tom Schweich, called Tuesday to give an "off-the-record” review of "The F.L.I.R. Project," McNulty told NewsMax.com.
"He said, ‘Mike, we know you don’t trust the FBI, but we do,” recalled McNulty, whose years of investigations have given him cause for skepticism.
Unlike the government investigations, the makers of "The F.L.I.R. Project” used actual gun muzzle flash data and extensive field testing to arrive at their conclusions. "The Danforth 're-creation' relied heavily on theoretic extrapolation, not actual field tests of the theories offered," McNulty said.
"Watching Danforth is like watching a bad street magician doing card tricks. All of a sudden the eight is an ace; then you look a little closer and you see the eight on the ground, under the table," McNulty said wryly.
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Correction
An April 18 article said McNulty directed two earlier Waco documentaries. Bill Gazeckie directed "Waco: Rules of Engagement,” and Jason Van Fleet directed "Waco: A New Revelation.” McNulty produced the two movies.
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