People think it can't happen here.

So, for six years, most Americans have accepted the lies of the U.S. government about Waco. The Branch Davidians killed themselves, we were told. David Koresh burned himself and 70-odd others including children rather than submit themselves to the authority of the federal storm troopers who had invaded their church, the government insisted despite overwhelming forensic evidence to the contrary.

For the growing minority of Americans who don't accept the official hand-outs of government at face value, the truth was out there -- but you had to search for it, on the Internet, in alternative publications, in books and in the award-winning video documentary, "Waco: The Rules of Engagement."

But only last week did some of the shocking truth begin to permeate through the establishment press, which is more akin to a propaganda arm of government than a free and independent source of news. So far, the admissions represent only the tip of an iceberg obscured by six years of official lies and semi-official obfuscation by the Big Media.

How much of the truth we uncover depends on the response of a Congress and establishment press that have, during the Clinton administration especially, demonstrated precious little desire to hold guilty officials accountable for the most reprehensible crimes -- including, in the case of Waco, mass murder of innocents.

There's talk about appointment of "independent counsels" by Congress. If you see this happen, you will know that, once again, Congress is passing the buck -- afraid, for whatever reason, to assert its authority and hold the administration responsible for the crimes committed at Waco.

Haven't we seen enough of these sham operations in recent years? You cannot point to one independent counsel or special prosecutor appointment that has resulted in justice. Lawrence Walsh, Robert Fiske, Kenneth Starr all failed miserably in their tasks. The only way we'll ever get the truth and justice is for Congress to hold open, public hearings led by aggressive and qualified prosecutors -- fearless men like David Schippers, for instance.

So far, the government has only moved the line of defense -- admitting that it did use pyrotechnic devices the day the Davidians' Mount Carmel church compound burned down, killing nearly 80 men, women and children.

Waco and the mysterious death of Vincent Foster in 1993 are the seminal events of the Clinton administration. They set the stage for two terms of White House obstruction of justice and official executive branch terror campaigns on political enemies. A White House that could get away with these kinds of cover-ups could reasonably be expected to get away with anything -- and it has.

Whether the revelations of the last week open the floodgates of justice or not remains to be seen. One thing we have learned with this administration is that you can never assume it is finished -- that its goose is cooked. One scandal leads into another and another in a way that seems to overwhelm the senses of the public and paralyze the press.

No one, however, can any longer deny the following:

• Attorney General Janet Reno was intimately involved in the planning of a military-style campaign against the Davidians.

• The White House was apprised of every development and consented to every action taken in the hostage siege through Webster Hubbell.

• After Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents botched the raid on Koresh's church 10 miles east of Waco on Feb. 28, 1993, the FBI recklessly attacked the religious group 50 days later, on April 19, with tank-driving commandos, intent on avenging the death of four agents.

• There is sufficient evidence to suggest that the government was not only responsible for the fatal fire that swept through the church compound, but that it suppressed an attempt to control it and that it fired on Davidians attempting to escape the fiery holocaust.

Will we ever find out the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Will the guilty parties ever be brought to justice?

The tepid level of outrage expressed and buck-passing suggestions so far from members of Congress is not encouraging. How many, for instance, have so far demanded the resignation of Reno? That, it seems to me, would be the first step to ending the trail of lies and deceit that have kept the American people in the dark for the last six years.