When Timothy McVeigh went mad and bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, and became the most notorious domestic terrorist in our Nation’s history, he had a motive. His act was in retaliation for what he believed to be the oppression of freemen at the two botched incursions by the Federal government during the standoff at Ruby Ridge and siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco Texas. McVeigh targeted the federal agents of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and two other federal agencies housed within that building when he committed his crime. Ironically, as vile a crime against America as this was, few American’s would argue that those Government standoffs were indeed botched and good examples of Federal law enforcement gone bad. Giving no justification for such horrific crimes against fellow American’s, for which McVeigh forfeited his life appropriately through his criminal prosecution and subsequent execution, there can be no better understanding of what actually happened at Ruby Ridge, and Waco, then through the eyes of an FBI agent who was involved in both standoffs. In his book, “Stalling for Time, My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator”, written after his retirement from the FBI, Gary Noesner, gives us a crystal clear portrait of the FBI position on the use of both tactical response and negotiations during a crisis standoff. The indictment of the FBI’s position on the use of force, outweighing the use of alternative peaceful negotiations is abundantly clear. Yet when properly applied, the negotiation tactics have proven over and over again, that life can be spared, and violence reduced.
At the top of the heap, perhaps an Oxymoron’s in its use (my words, not Neosner’s), is the very phrase, “FBI Negotiator”. Chief among the stated policies of the US Government, is simply, that “We do not negotiate with terrorists”. Why then have a negotiator in the first place? The answer? Because we actually do negotiate and must negotiate if we are to save lives, not just the lives of hostages and innocents caught up in the chaos but also those of law enforcement who must engage in the tactical actions if force is used. The US Stated policy isn’t actually a policy. It’s merely a sound bite taken from a brazen speech, post 9/11. And a terrible impediment to much ground that was gained in the aftermath of the incompetence displayed in 90’s. Of course we negotiate with bad guys. Everything is a negotiation. Even in the grimmest of situations, even when all hope is lost, final words, attitudes, and information derived from speaking with, and barging for, concessions, can lead to a tactical edge if and when the shooting starts. But the biggest gain, of all negotiations, is time. Whether that time leads to a peaceful settlement or not, stalling for time is everybody's friend and it should be job #1. The patience to stall for time, in the midst of a crisis, however, is perhaps the hardest thing to do. The negotiator, thus, finds themselves, not only negotiating with the perpetrators, but also with the tactical force, with the itchy trigger finger, chomping at the bit to break down the door.
Knowing this, why then, did things go so poorly at Ruby Ridge and Waco? Noesner grapples with this question throughout his book. Himself, suggesting and agreeing to the use of deadly force against an estranged husband who had taken both wife and child hostage, for which he knew, as an experienced negotiator, that hope was gone...and in fact would set the husband up for a sniper’s bullet through his final negotiated words… Noesner carries that burden with him though he knows he saved the life of an ever grateful wife and her child that day.
As it turns out, and the reason I read this book, is because it was one of the references for the NetFlix series, WACO, about David Koresh and the tragedy that befell his compound after the long and frustrating siege. All of us who can remember, lived through the reporting on the siege. I wanted to understand how truthful the series was in reenacting to the standoff. I rate the show as highly accurate, given other material I have read, and of course now this book. It should be noted that this standoff was indeed a tragedy given the loss of innocent life. All blame can be placed on David Koresh, and of course, it is not in dispute that the branch Davidians set the final conflagration that took most of the lives of all inside the compound, but what is also clear, there was no compelling reason to breach the compound. And the reasons given for final approval, that came from the top, were heavenly biased and misleading. Truth was not spoken to power on that day.in Washington. Bad decisions were made.
But this book is not just about Waco. Noesner provides incite into a number of high profile standoffs, not just in the United States, but around the world, in which he was involved. From domestic incidents, to prison riots, to the hijacking of aircraft by Muslin extremists, including the bombing of the 747 that broke up over Lockerbie Scotland. Also included are random kidnappings for ransom and finally, his involvement in capture of the Washington Sniper. In which case, believe it or not, negotiations were being attempted through the use of notes left behind by the snipers (John Mohamed and Lee Boy Malvo) and controlled through use of the media to provide indications back to them. True to form, the powers that be, choose not to take some of Noesner’s hard learned advice.
This is a short but powerful read.. Noesner is firm, credible, and clear. Perhaps based on his decades of experience in negotiations, where clarity with very little ambiguity is paramount. This book is a must read if anyone questions the tactical response using what may be observed as an excessive use of force. With so many shows on TV depicting these crucial scenes where ego, competence, fear, and adrenaline come together...it’s nice to see ground truth. Law enforcement activity is most successfully executed when boredom takes precedence over action. Negotiations, much like stakeouts, are long periods of time being away from home, uncomfortable, while drinking a lot of coffee and eating cheeseburgers. Stalling for time saves lives.
