MCVEIGH CONFESSES ALL IN COMFORTLESS BOOK

In its own chilling way, a new book about Timothy McVeigh and his involvement in the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City serves a useful purpose: It confirms McVeigh's role in the killing of 168 people, including 19 children. He is scheduled to be executed next month.

In "American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing," two reporters for The Buffalo News tell of the killer's regret that national shock over the youngest victims detracted from his effort to avenge the deaths at government hands in Waco, Texas, and Ruby Ridge, Idaho.

This will come as small comfort to the parents of the young victims and the relatives of all the others who died on that April day.

It is indeed sad to think that anyone might profit from telling this tale -- a tragic story that could just as easily have been reported fully in the nation's news media.