-Caveat Lector-
Published in Washington, D.C. 5am -- August 27, 1999
www.washtimes.com
White House blamed for secret unit at Waco
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By Rowan Scarborough
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
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he three Delta Force commandoes at the Branch Davidian compound in April
1993 were part of an elite unit the military secretly founded in 1977 to
combat world terrorism.
While their use as on-scene observers was legal, a military expert is
faulting the Clinton administration for putting the soldiers in a domestic
law enforcement setting where innocent people died in a horrible blaze.
Said Al Santoli, a House national security aide, "Delta Force is our
most sophisticated task force against terrorists and to think that Delta
would be used is an abuse of their power and an abuse of their mandate. What
happened in Waco was strictly a law enforcement matter."
"Delta Force is not hostage negotiating. They are action guys against
terrorists," said Mr. Santoli, an aide to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California
Republican. "They are experts who deal with the most violent and
sophisticated international terrorist forces."
A Pentagon spokesman said Thursday the three special forces soldiers
were at Waco strictly as observers in hopes of learning something new on
hostage rescue.
For years, the Pentagon refused to acknowledge Delta Force's
existence, even as such public failures as Desert One and Somalia came to
light. Now, the military admits there is such a 400-man unit trained in a
fenced area of Fort Bragg, N.C., home to the Joint Special Operations
Command. But its work still remains top secret.
Delta Force was the brainchild of two hardened Vietnam warriors, Col.
Charles Beckwith and Maj. Richard Meadows. They recognized that the growing
threat of global terrorism heightened the prospect that Americans would be
taken hostage overseas. A special unit was needed, they argued, to rescue
them.
Unfortunately, Delta Force's first notoriety stemmed from failure.
Some of its members participated in the botched Desert One operation in 1979
to free 66 American hostages from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
Bad publicity struck again in 1993 when the ill-conceived manhunt for
Somalia warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid ended in the ambush of a U.S. special
forces unit and the death of 18 soldiers.
Many successes remain secret. In any conflict involving American
troops, Delta Force is on the scene prepared for a hostage situation. They
also perform reconnaissance deep inside enemy lines and join with other
commando units, such as Navy Seals, on special missions.
Delta Force members were believed to have penetrated Iraqi territory
during the 1991 Persian Gulf war in a hunt for ballistic missile launchers.
"They have also advised and worked with people like the Israelis who
have been successful to varying degrees," Mr. Santoli said. "The reason they
keep their identities secret is to protect Americans from the world's most
dangerous terrorists."
The issue of Delta Force aiding the FBI at Waco is not new. Attorney
General Janet Reno testified before congressional committees that she sought
the unit's advice before approving the April 1993 assault. A joint
congressional committee investigated the commandoes' role in both open and
closed hearings.
But their presence does take on new importance this week with the
FBI's admission that it did, despite previous denials, use incendiary
devices on the same day the compound erupted in flames.
A 1878 law called Posse Comitatus forbids the military from enforcing
civilian laws.
But legal experts said Thursday the law does not ban the armed forces
from advising law enforcement officials or observing hostage situations.
"There's a lot of things they can do 'in support of,' " said a former
Army lawyer. "But what they do not have the authority to do is go out and
actually enforce."
http://www.washtimes.com/investiga/investiga1.html
Bard
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