We'll never know what they would have done, no matter which alternative we might imagine.

One by-catch of the event is as a rallying cry for all kinds of conspiracy theory nutjobs. Had the gov not murdered that guy's family at Ruby Ridge or incinerated those families in Waco, McVeigh would have been deprived of them as justification for his murderous action.

No, I am not excusing McVeigh.

But people like him are out there, looking for a way to justify whatever terrible act they wish to commit against the Great Satan. It does nobody any good for the Great Satan to give them a target for their madness.