Oklahoma+City+Bombing

=Oklahoma CityBombing=

**toc Introduction**
On April 19th, 1995, the most devastating terroristic act to ever occur on American soil before 9-11 took place in Oklahoma City,Oklahoma. A bomb was detonated just outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building at 9:02 A.M. The blast could be heard 50 miles away and caused catastrophic damage to the immediate area. Surprisingly, the bomber would be caught within two hours do to a dumb mistake on their part that wasn’t related to the bombing. The initial consensus was that the bombing was related to the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center in New York. Not many could believe such an inhumane event could occur so deep in America’s Heartland.

Motivation
The bomber, Timothy McVeigh was a decorated war hero who felt angry towards the federal government. In March through April of 1993, federal agents held a 51 day standoff with David Koresh and his followers, Davidians in Waco,Texas at Koresh's compound. The event became known as the Waco Siege which McVeigh felt the FBI had abused its power and oppressed the Davidian people at the compound. The standoff ended with a fire that killed everyone in the compound who hadn’t evacuated beforehand. This was the first instance of hatred McVeigh began to have towards the U.S. government. Soon McVeigh would infatuate himself with The Turner Diaries. About a year and a half following the Waco incident, a new ban was placed on automatic weapons along with certain bayonet attachments such as suppressors and pistol grips on shotguns. McVeigh was an avid gun enthusiast who frequented gun shows, and along with fellow marksman, were none too pleased to learn of these new restrictions. McVeigh, who felt this was a violation of his second amendment rights, hatched a plan to stockpile weapons for resale as a protest of the ban.

The Bomb
Fed up with federal government, McVeigh decided it was his turn to strike at it. He contacted his army roommate, Terry Nichols, to help build a bomb to use against the FBI. Nichols accepted the proposal and the two began gathering materials to create explosives. The bombers stayed with friends Michel and Lori Fortier. Though vague, McVeigh informed his co-conspirators of his goal, they all reluctantly agreed to participate in one way or another. McVeigh and Nichols got to work stealing blasting caps from a nearby Kansas quarry. At this point, the Fortiers decided they wouldn’t participate any longer, but still agreed to put up their friends. With blasting caps in hand, the pair decided it was time to get the actual explosives. Over the course of several weeks, McVeigh and Nichols spent around $500 on ammonium nitrate and $2,780 on nitromethane. Using a book McVeigh found on building bombs, he concocted a powerful bomb that would be cased in 16-55 gallon drums that would be put into a Ryder rental truck. The terrorists were ready to put their plan into action.

The Target
McVeigh wanted to strike at a federal building which housed a DEA office, FBI office or an ATF office, but no civilian departments. He had four choices for targets, but allegedly decided against one for holding a floral shop and another that held a credit union. McVeigh didn't want to harm any civilians, only federal workers.The Alfred P. Murrah building had many federal offices, had a location that wouldn’t harm civilian buildings and held the office of the FBI agent who given the order to assault the Waco compound. Unknown to him, the building chosen held a daycare center. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols made their plan for what would put them among the top of the FBI’s most wanted.

The Bombing
Originally planned for 11A.M., McVeigh moved the bombing up two hours to 9:00 out of impatience. He parked the truck outside the federal building, set the fuse for the blasting caps and began to jog away from the bomb to a nearby getaway car. As he was getting away, several witnesses noted seeing a suspicious man fleeing the seen. When the bomb went off, 1/3 of the Murrah building was destroyed killing 163 people. A woman walking nearby was killed along with two victims at nearby businesses, additionally, one rescue worker died.

Arrests
90 minutes after the bombing, McVeigh was pulled over because his car having no license plate. The trooper immediately recognized him as the suspect seen fleeing the blast site and promptly arrested him. Nichols was sent back to his home in Michigan the night before to create distance. Phone taps were placed on McVeigh’s father’s home and the conversations Timothy and his father had were used to find Nichols, who then gave himself up.

Trials
McVeigh was put on trial for the bombing on April 24, 1997 and found guilty of 11 murder counts for which he was given the death penalty. Finally, on June 2, 2001 Timothy was executed. McVeigh’s associates were also punished. Nichols was sentenced to life without parole for building a WMD and 161 first degree murder charges. Michael Fortier bargained for his wife’s freedom for a fine and a 12 year prison sentence.

Analysis
On April 19, 1995 a bitter American committed one of the worst acts of terrorism in United States history. Timothy McVeigh, 26 detonated a bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but why? Over 150 innocent lives were lost because two men were angry with the federal government, but they represented the frustration of thousands of Americans across the country who only wanted their freedoms.

Many cultural factors influenced McVeigh’s decision to go through with the bombing, but let’s start with him personally. McVeigh served in the U.S. Army, but was disgruntled with how easily they taught bloodshed. He has spoken about how they teach and he did the killing, just or unjust. Upon returning to the States, McVeigh surrounded himself with Second Amendment culture. He frequented gun shows and was and an avid firearms enthusiast. Throughout the 1990s, several laws were passed that tightened up gun control. McVeigh was furious with the fact his rights were being tread on such as the ban on all assault weapons. To complement his affinity towards the Second Amendment, McVeigh was also a member of the Militia Movement. The movement is comprised of hundreds of sects across the nation, which promotes the constitutional rights of citizens, especially the right to bear arms.

McVeigh’s first major frustration came with the Ruby Ridge Massacre. Randy Weaver, a Militia member, was repeatedly harassed by FBI agents which ended in the slaying of his wife and son. Weaver was believed to be holding a stockpile of illegal weapons and had failed to show up for his court hearing regarding the charge. The validity of the weapons charge is still disputed today. When ATF agents came to the Weaver home, a standoff ensued and ended in the deaths of Vicki and Samuel Weaver, Randy's eife and son. McVeigh was appalled at how the situation was handled and cited the incident as an example of the federal government abusing its power.

McVeigh found additional motivation for the bombing with the siege in Waco Texas. Branch Davidian Leader, David Koresh was the secular leader of a group of Branch Davidians at their compound in Waco who came under scrutiny for alleged sexual misconduct and the possession of illegal weapons. ATF attempted an assault on February 28, 1993 which, because Koresh had been previously tipped off, resulted in a bloody shootout. At the end of the 51 day siege, a fire erupted killing all 74 of the building’s remaining occupants. During the siege, McVeigh visited Waco Texas as well as after the siege ended. He was disgusted by how maliciously the government handled the incident and its conviction against David Kores

McVeigh found his final piece of motivation from //__The Turner Diaries__//, a fictional novel about the final war between a group of whites against every other culture in the world which they prove victorious in. McVeigh has never been proven to be a white supremacist; however he found inspiration from some events in the story, one of which was the bombing of the J. Edgar Hoover building in Washington D.C. In an interview about the book, McVeigh admitted that if he had been more brazen, he would have targeted the same building.

With all his built up anger, McVeigh finally decided to detonate his bomb. With the worst act of terrorism in American history prior to September 11th, many new regulations were bound to come about. These included regulations regarding federal building construction, the sale of ammonium nitrate and federal policy that dictates how standoffs should be handled.

Prior to the bombing, the fertilizer, ammonium nitrate that McVeigh had used in his bomb was unmonitored and unrestricted. Following the Oklahoma City Bombing however, distributors were required to take ID’s and keep records of all buyers. Today, that practice is only enforced in two states.

The biggest change caused by the bombing would be through the construction of federal buildings. All of these offices are now required to have an impenetrable wall around them with the building itself a specific distance from traffic. Security has also been added with CCTV, additional guards and more blast protected building codes.

The government has also stepped up in its fight against terrorism. More federal agents are now devoted to investigating groups who could pose a threat. Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 has also been established to increase the chance of the death penalty being given to terroristic conspirators. Standoffs between federal agents and citizens are now being given more care to bring about a peaceful solution

The bombing was not a direct result of anything specific to the 90s, more so a continual increase of government regulation that could be seen as far back as the 60s. Certainly the events at Ruby Ridge and Waco Texas played significant roles, but why did those tragic events happen? The abuse of federal power caused these shootouts to occur when no harm had come to anyone in the first place. Former president, Bill Clinton admits the siege at Waco was handled poorly, so hopefully we never see another bombing or other act of revenge in the future.

=Related Links= Atomic Bomb Vietnam War Context War on Drugs Evidence Ignored- 911 Violence in the Media Kennedy Assassiantion

Works Cited
ANTITERRORISM AND EFFECTIVE DEATH PENALTY ACT OF 1996: A SUMMARY, §§ 1-8-A-C (1996). Print. Berlet, Chip. "Militia Nation." //PublicEye.org - The Website of Political Research Associates//. Progressive Magazine, 2010. Web. 26 May 2011. . Condon, Patrick. "Bomb Ingredient Restricted in 2 States - The Boston Globe." //Boston.com - Boston, MA News, Breaking News, Sports, Video//. Boston Globe, 12 June 2004. Web. 24 May 2011. . Hill, John. "John Hill - Changing Place/Changing Times." //Welcome to the World of Archidose!// Fall 2004. Web. 25 May 2011. . Johnston, David. "Atleast 31 Are Dead, Scores Are Missing After Car Bomb Attack In Oklahoma City Wrecks 9-story Federal Office Building." //New York Times// [New York] 20 Apr. 1995: 1+. Print. Lewis, Carol W. "The Terror That Failed: Public Opinion in the Aftermath of the Bombing in Oklahoma City." //Access My Library// 01 May 2001: 1. //Access My Library//. Web. 16 May 2011. . Linder, Douglas. "The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Trial of Timothy J. McVeigh." //UMKC// //School// //of Law//. 2006. Web. 15 May 2011. . Michel, Lou, and Dan Herbeck. American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing. First Edition ed. New York: HarperCollins World, 2001. Print. Pierce, William. "Turner Diaries -- Extremism in America." //ADL: Fighting Anti-Semitism, Bigotry and Extremism//. Web. 24 May 2011. . <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Oklahoma City Bombing - The 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing of the Murrah Federal Building." //20th Century History//. About.com. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://history1900s.about.com/cs/crimedisaster/p/okcitybombing.htm >.