
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 20, 1993                   TAG: 9304200341
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

ATTORNEY GENERAL REGRETS DECISION TO USE TEAR GAS

Attorney General Janet Reno and FBI Director William Sessions acknowledged Monday they miscalculated in their decision to fire tear gas into the armed cult's compound. They said the ill-fated operation had been plotted to force a peaceful end to the 51-day standoff.

"Obviously, if I had thought that the chances were great for mass suicide, I would never have approved the plan," Reno said.

President Clinton said that he had advance notice of the operation and had approved it but that "the tactical decisions" had been made by Reno and the FBI.

Reno took full responsibility. "I made the decision. I'm accountable. The buck stops with me," she said at a news conference at the Justice Department.

In a CNN interview Monday evening, Reno said, "We made the best judgment we could to escalate the pressure" to force cult leader David Koresh to surrender. "Based on what we know now, obviously it was wrong."

Sessions said the agency had felt confident from psychological profiles that Koresh would not lead a mass suicide. "We were not correct in our judgment," he said.

Reno said she gave the go-ahead because of concern for fatigue of federal agents and after receiving reports of severe child abuse within the compound. She said officials took steps to shield babies and youngsters from the initial tear-gas assault.

She expressed regret for the loss of life and called the ordeal "an extremely tragic and horrible situation."

"I approved the plan and I'm responsible for it," she said. "I advised the president but I did not advise him as to the details." Twice the attorney general referred to "mass suicide" at the cult compound.

White House spokesman George Stephanopoulos said Clinton was told Sunday of the plans and the president "raised no objections." He said Clinton did not initiate the action.

Rep. Don Edwards, D-Calif., questioned why the FBI changed its waiting-game strategy and said a House Judiciary subcommittee he heads will look into the matter.

"The escalation has caught me off guard," Edwards said. "And we are going to look at it in great detail."

Reno said a primary consideration was that the FBI's hostage rescue team was growing weary and could not remain there indefinitely. There were no replacements without training another group, she said.

by CNB