Selected quotes from recent letters to The Buffalo News by Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh:
On blowing up the Alfred P. Murrah building on April 19th, 1995, killing 168 people:
"I am sorry these people had to lose their lives. But that's the nature of the beast. It's understood going in what the human toll will be."
___=
On the possibility of an afterlife:
"(I will) improvise, adapt and overcome. If I am going to hell, I'm gonna have a lot of company."
___=
On having his ashes scattered in a secret location:
"I don't want to create a draw for people who hate me, or for people who love me."
___=
On having his ashes scattered at the Oklahoma City bombing site (an idea he considered, then rejected):
"That would be too vengeful, too raw, cold. It's not in me."
___=
On the conspiracy theories:
"For those die-hard conspiracy theorists who will refuse to believe this, I turn the tables and say: Show me where I needed anyone else. Financing? Logistics? Specialized tech skills? Brainpower? Strategy? ... Show me where I needed a dark, mysterious `Mr. X!"'
___=
On the defining moment in his decision to blow up the building:
"If there would not have been a Waco, I would have put down roots somewhere and not been so unsettled with the fact that my government ... was a threat to me. Everything that Waco implies was on the forefront of my thoughts. That sort of guided my path for the next couple of years."
___=
On his refusal to grant a final F-B-I interview:
"I will not be doing a progressive (a.k.a repressive) interview with the F-B-I. I would hate for my insights to be used to kill more people, when they eventually abuse their power."
(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV 06-09-01 1750MDT
