What is the Legacy of McVeigh and the Aftermath of Oklahoma City?

by Karen Hatter | April 20, 2010 at 08:03 am

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Sharing reminiscences of the tragedy and aftermath of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, making note of the rage and hatred focused on the Obama administration and Washington D.C., from Tea Partiers and those who have decided the federal government is an enemy of the people, Editor at Large of The Hill Al Eisele wonders aloud if there will be more Oklahoma Cities in store for America.

You think about how a 27-year-old anti-government fanatic named Timothy McVeigh loaded a truck with 4,800 pounds of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil and detonated it in directly in front of the nine-story Alfred P. Murragh Federal Building at 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995. The explosion, which was felt 40 miles away, created a 30-foot crater and blew away the front of the building, collapsing its floors and trapping victims inside.

And if you tour the Memorial's museum, located in a former newspaper building facing the Murragh Building, which also was badly damaged, as were some 300 other surrounding buildings, you will be even more moved. It's a stunning museum, but the most stunning thing is sitting in a darkened room and listening to an audio of a routine hearing underway at the nearby Oklahoma Water Resources Board, and then hearing the actual explosion and confusion that followed.

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Rory Cripps

at 09:19 on April 20th, 2010

Karen: I really have my doubts that McVeigh acting in concert with Terry Nichols pulled this thing off without a lot of help from other groups hostile to the U.S. government. And by groups, I'm not necessarily referring to right-wing extremist groups.

Karen Hatter

at 09:29 on April 20th, 2010

Rory, I don't know about a lot of help, as in precisely how many but, I don't think it was just him, Nichols and the other guy that bailed out either.

I wonder about the logistics of thousands of pounds of material bought, transported and used for the bomb.

Sort of seems like a more than a three man job, possibly requiring connections.

And sadly, Rory, most likely, it would have been similarly leaning Right Wingers, if he/they had help.

Birds of a feather ....!

Rory Cripps

at 09:40 on April 20th, 2010

I more inclined to believe that McVeigh was acting in concert with middle eastern terrorists.

"You're talking about at least ten people that put Tim McVeigh with Hussain Al-Hussaini before the Oklahoma City bombing. Two people who identify Hussain Al-Hussaini (with McVeigh) in a bar on April 15. Three people who identify Hussaini Al-Hussaini running from the federal building early in the morning of April 19 at 5:30 A.M. as he is practicing timing himself. You have two witnesses that put Tim McVeigh with Hussain Al-Hussaini in the Ryder truck. You have one witness inside the Murrah Building who sees Hussain Al-Hussaini getting out of the truck ... .and he is seen driving away from the building," Johnson declared on the Fox News Channel, "My concern is that this angle was never pursued, and to this day, the FBI has refused to exonerate this man. They have refused to go out and check out his alibis."

Karen Hatter

at 11:41 on April 20th, 2010

Rory, I see this is being promoted by the Right Wing, via WorldNetDaily, the woman who first gave birth to the mythical 'death panels' during the Clinton presidency back in the 1990s, Phyllis Schafly and the unofficial Republican, conservative, Right Wing channel, FOXNews.

The Right Wing, Republicans and conservatives would be motivated to try anything to deflect scrutiny of McVeigh's affinity with the militia movement and his status as revered 'lone wolf warrior' among some within the White supremacist movement, though McVeigh was not known to be a member of either movement, with both entities more likely to be compatriots to aid McVeigh, sharing anti government philosophy.

The supposed Hussaini connection seems some bizarre offshoot of an alleged plot that had the same individual involved in an Iraqi plot devised to kill former President George H.W. Bush around the same time.

Rory Cripps

at 14:20 on April 20th, 2010

Karen: No one is making up stories about what witnesses claim to have seen. It's all documented and has been since day one. The left wing in this country is no different from the right wing when it comes to conveniently dismissing factual evidence if it suits their ideological purposes.

The FBI at the time of the OKC bombing was in a terrible state. The agency couldn't even connect the dots due to it's antiquated computer system. And if you know anything about the FBI, the agency went through a number of directors that were complete incompetents. The OKC bombing was so horrific, that the Federal Government needed to conveniently pin the whole thing on someone--anyone--so that it looked like it was doing its job. Anyone that puts their faith in the U.S. government to give the whole truth and nothing but the truth is naive at best. It doesn't matter whether it's under a Democratic or a Republican administration. The American public is sold a bill of goods in many cases.

YankeeJim

at 13:29 on April 20th, 2010

McVeigh-Nichols was probably a gang of thugs wrapping themselves in a militia-type veil. They probably had a lose following that disappeared when the cover was blown. I don't want to be hysterical about it, though I can't point to places that have all of the signs of nothing good.

For instance, in a rural setting north of Cincinnati Ohio, there is a guy with a Confederate flag painted on his barn roof and with crosses standing tall in the field. The area has historically hosted the KKK. All of the symbols point to their being there and being active.

Travel from Ohio through West Virginia and into rural Virginia and in small towns throughout the region, one may see the symbols and signs of hate if you are looking for them.

The Supreme Court would rule that is the right of free speech.

I would judge, that is a target for correction.