Why Did the Branch Davidian Group Consider the U.S. Government as Tyrannical?

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aware of the real truth and about what kind of government they really have. Also, the Chechen rebels used the hostages captured in the SNO to negotiate with the government on the basis that if the government meets their demands, they will free the hostages, pressuring the government to meet their demands.

But how can the government or even the society ensure that terrorism remains as an ineffective tool for political change? The most important factor is to not give in to any demands at all cost in the event where they choose to use terror as a leverage for negotiation and to get what they want and that the government will go full force in punishing those involved in a terror attack. This is to teach them that terrorism is not and never will be a way to let them get what they and that violence does not pay. And it is important that the society supports and cooperate strongly with the government in its counter-terrorism efforts to ensure its success as it takes two hands to clap.

How effective were these acts of terror in achieving political change and reform?

It was believed that the Oklahoma City Bombing was to a certain extent, effective in achieving political change and reform as it had a positive impact on government policy. What resulted from the bombing included firstly, the peaceful resolution of the Montana Freemen standoff in 1996, where the FBI withdrew to a safe distance in order to avoid violence as the FBI was then extremely cautious in trying to prevent a recurrence of prior violent and tragic events which included the Waco siege, according to CNN News (1996). And it also included the April 2000 statements by Bill Clinton regretting his decision to storm the Branch Davidian compound, according Lou Michael and Dan Herbeck (2001). All these show that the government have come to realize what has been done during the Waco siege and what have been done wrong, causing them to learn from their mistakes, changing the way things are done and not allow history to repeat itself.

However, according to Stuart D. Goldman (2006), the terrorist attack on Beslan resulted in an unfavourable political change for the Chechnyans as Aslan Maskhadov, who was elected President of Chechnya in 1997, was seen as the only possible interlocutor if Moscow sought a political resolution to the conflict. But in wake of the Beslan Massacre, the Russian government labelled Maskhadov, like all Chechen rebels, as a terrorist and refused to negotiate with him. And on March 8, 2005, Maskhadov was killed by Russian authorities, which apparently extinguished the little hope remained for a political settlement and the independence and freedom that the Chechen rebels have been fighting for.

But on the contary, according to Tanya Lokshina and Sergei Lukashevsky (2005), on September 13, 2004, President Putin had a meeting to elaborate upon his project of Beslan-motivated political reforms, and his political opponents and human rights defenders immediately came forth with bitter critique of his proposal. And according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (2004), the Beslan Massacre also showed us how dysfunctional Putin’s regime is and what was seen during the Beslan Massacre, was essentially an absence of government. Thus, we can see how the Beslan Massacre has motivated political reforms and have directly or indirectly crippled the trust people have on the government and have stirred to a certain extent, an uprising of people, including politicians against the government.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is unlikely that we will ever see the end to terrorism. Terrorists are not born, but created as issues of today develop into the conflicts of tomorrow. If you think you are safe and free from these acts of terror, think again. There may be anti-government groups just like in the 2 cases as mentioned above which we are unaware of, planning an attack on our society right about now. But with a hope to see the end to terrorism, we should not give up fighting this war and efforts against terrorism should not be cut short for any reason, for any financial issue, for any drought of men.

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