Summary: The U.S. military provided assistance, including counterdrug program support, to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) during its investigation of the Branch Davidian sect in Waco, Texas. That investigation led to a 51-day standoff at the Branch Davidian compound, which ultimately burned to the ground in April 1993. GAO found that ATF's requests for military counterdrug programs met the requirements of the relevant statutes for authorizing such support. In these written requests, ATF cited its suspicions of drug activity. In both cases, the military reasonably exercised its discretion in providing that support as authorized under the relevant statutes. In planning how it would serve warrants at the compound, ATF planned for the possibility of encountering a methamphetamine laboratory or other hazardous drug materials. As required by agency policy, ATF agents in the operation were made aware of the suspected laboratory and of the appropriate precautions. Moreover, Drug Enforcement Agency agents were at the command post to handle any drug-related materials.
