                           THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Office of the Press Secretary
_____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                  April 22, 1993


                            PRESS BRIEFING
                           BY DEE DEE MYERS

                          The Briefing Room


9:45 A.M. EDT

          
          Q      One of them has to do with Waco.  Why did we use a 
chemical that's banned by the International Prevention of Use of 
Warfare on a compound with a bunch of children in it?
          
          MS. MYERS:  I don't know that it's banned.  That's the 
first I've heard of that.  
          
          Q      It was banned in January.
          
          MS. MYERS:  But it was -- it is safe and nonlethal for 
both adults and children, which is one of the reasons that it was 
chosen.  But I would refer you to the FBI for specifics about 
chemical compounds.
          
          Q      Why would the U.S. sign a treaty, then, agreeing to 
ban its use in warfare if it's safe?
          
          MS. MYERS:  All I can tell you at this point is that it 
was chosen because it was nonlethal for both children and adults.  I 
don't know about the treaty, but I will take that question and get 
back to you.
          
          Q      Were three of the persons' bodies with new bullet 
wounds?  
          
          MS. MYERS:  They're still analyzing the results, but 
that was their preliminary finding yesterday, that three of the 
bodies did have bullet wounds, indicating that they had -- and the 
way one of them was found led the authorities to believe that the 
person was trying to escape the compound and may have been on fire at 
the time.  I think further evidence that there were people in there 
trying to keep other people from leaving voluntarily.
          
          Q      Some of the partisans of the people in the compound 
are now saying that the fire was caused by a rupture of a propane 
tank.
          
          MS. MYERS:  This is the, I think now, the third 
formulation.  The FBI, who was there on the ground, saw individuals 
engaging what they believe were fire-setting activities; and the fact 
that the fire erupted in several different parts of the compound 
roughly simultaneously I think dispute that.  I think there is ample 
evidence to conclude that the fire was set from within.
          
          Q      Has the President received any new information on 
this?
          
          MS. MYERS:  He's continuing to receive reports about it, 
and I don't know how much specific information he has, other than --I 
don't know if anybody has gone through the details with him, but I 
think everybody there believes, the authorities on site believe that 
there is no question about the fact that that fire was set from 
within deliberately.
          
          Q      Can you provide any more specifics on this person 
who was found that you say leads to more evidence --
          
          MS. MYERS:  There were several news accounts about it.  
I don't have anything beyond that.  And I, again, would refer you to 
the FBI or the Justice Department to see where they are in that 
investigation.
          
          Q      Did the President review the Attorney General's 
testimony that she's supposed to deliver this morning?
          
          MS. MYERS:  I don't believe so.

          THE PRESS:  Thank you. 
          

                                 END10:14 A.M. EDT


---------------------------------------------------------------------


                           THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Office of the Press Secretary

____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                  April 22, 1993


                            PRESS BRIEFING
                       BY GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS


                          The Briefing Room

          
1:43 P.M. EDT

[ All but Waco stuff deleted ] 
[ Pay special attention to part marked "*****"]

[...]          
          
          Q      George, why would the President have authorized a 
plan to use an irritant CS gas against women and children that he had 
favored banning in wartime?  What's the rationale for that?
          
          MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Under the chemical weapons treaty 
that you cited there is a specific exemption for law enforcement 
activities.  I mean, this is, in fact, that this kind of use of this 
gas is contemplated under the very treaty that bans it for wartime.  
This is a specific prohibition.
          
          Q         law enforcement if it was for some reason 
unacceptable in war?  What's the rationale for having it in one and 
not the other?
          
          MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  It's just that there are certain 
kinds of gases that are appropriate for law enforcement.  This was 
just a general treaty that bans it for international incidents, but 
it is fully permitted under the treaty.
          
          Q      Has any the evidence come out from the 
investigation in Waco that some of the people may have died from 
other causes unrelated to the fire?
          
          MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think we've all seen some 
evidence that many people inside the compound may have been shot on 
their way out, or at least some evidence pointing in that direction.  
I can't get into the details of the investigation or what is coming 
out.  I think that that is something you should -- it would be better 
to go to Justice.  But obviously, we've read those same reports.
          
          Q      Do you mean to say many people had been shot?
          
          MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think there was three, at least 
three and they're looking for more.
          
          Q      Can I get back to this, please?  Does the President 
favor that exemption?
          
          MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The exemption is part of the treaty 
and we have no plans to change the treaty at this time.
          
          Q      George, was the President aware of that limitation 
at the time the Attorney General spoke to him about using it?  Or did 
she discuss using that chemical at Waco?
          
          MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  She discussed using tear gas.  The 
President did say that she discussed that.  And I would just point 
out that this gas is safe and is relatively harmless.  There is an 
exemption within the treaty for the use of this kind of gas.

[*******]
          
          Q      How is it that a civilian agency like the FBI could 
be allowed to have the authority to use a chemical that the military 
themselves would not use?  And is the President aware that this is 
not tear gas, but is an irritant that completely incapacitates the 
individual, whether it be children or women or men, and they wouldn't 
know which door to go out of because they would have their eyes 
completely shut and be in trauma at the time it was being used?  Is 
the President aware that this would be the effect of that gas?
          
          MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President was told that the gas 
would be used.  I don't know if he was told the specific type, but he 
was assured by the relevant law enforcement agencies that this was 
safe and that it would have its intended effect.  I am not an expert 
on the gas, but I think I would refer you to the FBI and the Defense 
Department for specific questions.
          
          Q      Why would an agency of the government that works 
with civilians of our country and not against an enemy of our country 
be allowed to use a gas that the military will not use?  A chemical, 
I should say, not a gas.
          
          MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  There are general global 
international prohibitions on the use of chemicals in warfare, though 
all of those treaties contain exemptions for law enforcement.  They 
are not intended to reach towards law enforcement.  That is not a 
judgment of any kind on the safety of the gases used; it is a 
judgment on the use of chemicals in warfare.  That's what the treaty 
is designed to prohibit.

[ ... ]
          
          Q      Can I take you back to Waco for a second?  Tuesday 
in the Rose Garden the President said there was only one minor 
tactical difference between the military's recommendations to the FBI 
in the plan.  He said both the military and the FBI regarded this as 
minor.  Can you tell us what that difference was and did it relate to 
the tear gas?
          
          MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'd have to take the question.  I'm 
just not sure.
          
          Q      I just wanted to be clear on that.  How much about 
that did the President know in advance of the event?  Just to be 
clear, I mean, was he told that they would use some type of gas, was 
assured it was safe, or did they not get that much into that detail?
          
          MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know they got into that 
much detail.  I think the President answered that question on 
Tuesday.  He said he was told they would use tear gas, and think that 
that was generally the nature of the discussion.  If there's more, 
we'll let you know.  But I don't know that there was any great detail 
on that.
          
          Q      Was he given assurances at that time that it would 
not be lethal or not be harmful to these people?
          
          MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, I would assume -- I certainly 
would assume, yes.  I mean, the intention, as the Attorney General 
has stated, was to try and increase the pressure so everybody could 
leave.  So clearly that was all contemplated.

[...]          

            ==============================================
                          Another file from
                           The Soapbox BBS
                    "Your Infotainment Specialist"
               An all text BBS specializing in e-zines
                     and other unique text files.
                (919) 387-1152 - Up to 16.8 kbs - 8N1
             Fidonet 1:151/142 - FREQ FILES for file list
            ===============================================

