david koresh was dangerous, irrational, and probably insane. >>> david, you have had your 15 minutes of fame. you are under arrest. this standoff is over. >> it went horribly. it was a total disaster. >> the siege at waco. next . >> waco, texas, is a quiet, modest city surrounded by sprawling cattle ranches located halfway between dallas and austin. it's an unlikely place for a modern day armageddon. >> this is the fbi command post. we have a fire at the compound in mt. carmel. the entire compound is going up right now. >> it was an epic debacle in united states law enforcement history. a deadly shootout followed by a 51-day siege that ended with more than 70 people dead in a raging inferno. all caught on live television with the whole world watching. two questions rise from the ashes of this american tragedy. who shot first and who started the fire? >> it began innocently enough. in 1935 a small religious group moved to waco. an offshoot of the seventh day adventist church, they eventually called themselves as the branch davidians. >> pretty stable leadership for a lot of years, and

david koresh was dangerous, irrational, and probably insane.