"Additionally, borrowing a page from U.S. foreign policy, I decided to send a message to a government that was becoming increasingly hostile"

This quote by Timothy McVeigh is referring to his choice to carry out the 1995 Oklahoma City battle. McVeigh was trying to send a message to the U.S. federal government, which he thought was becoming progressively hostile towards its residents. He was influenced by U.S. diplomacy, which often uses military force to send out a message to other countries. McVeigh thought that the exact same technique must be taken with the U.S. federal government, and that the battle would be a way to make a statement and draw attention to his complaints. Unfortunately, his actions led to the death of 168 individuals and the injury of hundreds more. McVeigh's actions were an awful suggestion of the effects of using violence to send a message.