Oklahoma City Bombing Informative Speech Outline

Title: Oklahoma City Bombing
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the three major impacts the Oklahoma City Bombing had on America.
Central Idea: The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building has impacted all of America in that we have American citizens becoming home grown terrorists on American soil, changes in security of Federal and public buildings, and added new laws to attempt to keep any more terrorist acts from happening in the future.
Introduction:
I. What were you doing 9:02 AM on April 19, 1995? A. I was assuming duty as the CQ, Charge of Quarters, because at that time I was stationed in Germany and we had an 8 hour difference. B. For some of you, that time is when you would be dropping off your children
at school, or for one of you, you might not have even been born yet. II. Tonight I am going to tell you a little about what and who caused this event and how it happened. III. We will see some of the changes in security that has been made to public and government buildings. IV. Finally I will discuss some of the laws that were brought about by this terrorist act that happened in the heartland of America.

Transition: Let me tell you about the three men responsible for this act.
Body:
I. First, the bombing of the Murrah Building was a Terrorist Act don’t anyone let that be forgotten. The planning for this act and the stated reasons for it started way back with the incidents on Ruby Ridge and in Waco, Texas. A. Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols, and Michael Fortier all three enlisted in the Army on May 24, 1988 and according to the book Apocalypse in America the three of them then went thru basic training together. B. Timothy McVeigh was a model soldier in that he learned everything he could on how to kill, and while the other two performed their jobs no one else could stand them except for each other. 1. According to Robert Littelton, another recruit who was in basic at the same time commented “Terry and Tim in boot camp went together like magnets” C. Second Battalion, Sixteenth Infantry Regiment, First Infantry Division was assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas. 1. It was at Fort Riley that McVeigh got ahold of a book called “The Turner Diaries”. A science fiction book about the removal of the 2nd Amendment. This book was the turning point for all three of these men. a.
According to the book, Apocalypse in America, McVeigh attempted to get the other soldiers he worked with to read the Diaries but was rebuffed by everyone else except for the other two men. D. McVeigh became a decorated soldier during Desert Storm while Nichols and Fortier left the military under questionable circumstances. 1. After McVeigh left the military he turned to selling guns at gun shows. That was where he learned about Ruby Ridge. 2. McVeigh with Nichols and Fortier while working together selling drugs all watched the attack on the Branch Dividians killing 75 followers and became even more antigovernment. 3. The three friends decided at that time to fight back against a government that they felt had went against them, and killed innocents. E. April 19th, 1995 at 9:03 AM McVeigh blew the truck up that did all the damage to the Murrah building and killing 168 people, to include 19 children. 1. McVeigh and Nichols designed the 5000 pound ammonium nitrate bomb that was transported inside a rental truck. 2. While McVeigh and Nichols were the two charged with blowing up the Murrah building, Fortier pleaded a deal and ended up going to jail for only 10 years for telling the government all about the other
two. 3. It was the worst terrorist attack on US soil until 9/11 II. Second we will look at what the government has mandated for public and government buildings. A. All Federal buildings now have a standard construction that has to be met to keep another explosion from doing the same damage as was seen in Oklahoma City. 1. All government building now have to have a standoff distance from the road or parking areas. B. The GAO report on Combating Terrorism dated March 2001 took a long time to get thru the government standards but it did finally pass and this is used as a guideline for public and government buildings. C.
This report includes policy and practice, FEMA has addressed three actions to take. 1. Create guidance to facilitate agencies’ coordinated response to terrorist events. 2. Ensure that state and local emergency plans mirror the Federal Response Plan 3. Establish an adequate number of emergency response teams to deal with mass casualties. III. The laws that were brought about by this terrorist act that happened in the heartland of America have impacted everyone whether they realize it or not. A. From the Web site www.boogieonline.com/revolution “The Effective Death Penalty and Anti-Terrorism Act of 1996 gave extensive authority to federal law enforcement agencies. B. Senator Joe Biden and Senator Arlen Specter introduced this bill on February 10, 1995 but it took the bombing to galvanize congress into passing it. C. One of the items that this Act allows is for the President to be able to label organizations as “terrorist” without any appeal or review. D. Another item that this Act changed was if you are labeled a terrorist and are given the death penalty you have no recourse, and the judgment cannot be overturned, as well as the sentence has to be performed within one year of the
judgment.
Conclusion:
I. As a Conclusion I would like to finish by telling you how this terrorist act has impacted America. A. First we learned how the three friends had formed their bonds and what helped to motivate them into doing this act. B. Second we found out that all federal and public buildings have different guidelines now in their building to keep the damage from being as bad as the original incident. C. Third, the law that was passed has impacted everyone in America with how tough it is on Terrorism. II. Almost everyone here remembers this bombing and some have worse memories than others but for all of us, if you have the time go and see the memorial.