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I recommend reading "JFK and the Unspeakable" by James Douglass. This is a rather recent book (published in 2008) and its premise makes the argument that Kennedy was seeking the path of peace with USSR and Cuba. This radical notion was cause for his assassination; Douglass believes the CIA was the primary coordinator behind the assassination. The CIA of the early 60's was a unique beast and its hard to understand today just how different things were back then - George Kennan who helped create the CIA and sponsored its powers is on record as saying it was the greatest mistake he ever made.
From Laos to the Bay of Pigs to the Cuban Missile Crisis to the request to withdraw from Vietnam; Kennedy was not making any friends with the Joint Chiefs and the CIA. Remarkably; Kennedy refused their repeated requests (as far back as the fall of '61)to send combat troops to Vietnam. He resisted their requests to invade and or bomb Cuba and he resisted advice to escalate the Cuban Missile Crises. He also opposed the Joint Chiefs and CIA with regard to the US policy on Laos and he avoided sending in combat troops there as well.. In June of '61 the Joint Chiefs and CIA presented plans for a nuclear first strike against the Soviet Union to occur in '63 - again Kennedy opposed their ideas.
Douglass provides a wealth of documentation and research here - he does a great job explaining the mystery of who was Lee Oswald and provides details as to who sponsored him in Dallas and how in fact he became employed at the Texas School Book Depository. Is there a connection between Oswald's defection to the Soviet Union and the downed U-2 plane in 1960 ? Yes, quite possibly.
Douglass also provides fascinating details about a plot to assassinate Kennedy in Chicago - the similarities to Dallas are striking.
The subject of the military-industrial complex and its impact on the US and the rest of the world should never be overlooked. Looking at LBJ's reversal of Kennedy's attitude and policy toward Indonesia is a good example provided by Douglass - Kennedy's policy would not have benefited the military-industrial complex while Johnson's most certainly did. We all know what happened in Vietnam and we can only wonder what would happened had Kennedy lived.
The fact that no well respected university level professor of American history espouses a conspiracy theory speaks volumes. Don't accept your history from uncredentialed wackos.
The movie JFK was a work of fiction and should have no impact on serious discussions of the assassination (even though Oswald WAS a poor shot). The movie was built on Oliver Stone's opinion about what happened, which was based on Jim Garrison's book "On the Trail of the Assassins" and Jim Marrs' book "Crossfire: The Plot that Killed Kennedy."
JFK, despite the JFK legacy was killed by a little nobody communist, Oswald.
This post is pretty much an example of trolling. After nine pages of comments, many offering well reasoned arguments, you jumped in and said little nobody communist Oswald did it. No explanation. No links. No references cited. Troll.
BTW, Oswald was not a Communist. Whenever he was accused of being one, he was always careful to correct by stating that he was not a Communist but was a Marxist. He thought there was an important difference. I don't know enough about either to form an opinion as to whether there is a significant difference.
Another bitter clinger? History is best summed up in few words. The JFK legacy is one of the biggest lies on America. He was a clown. Oswald was not a Communist but a Marxist? Maybe that matters to a Communist, but at the end of the day, he was the nobody that took out JFK.
The fact that no well respected university level professor of American history espouses a conspiracy theory speaks volumes. Don't accept your history from uncredentialed wackos.
The more "respected" someone becomes, the more meaningless their conjecture becomes. They attain and keep their position due to their political skills.
The movie JFK was a work of fiction and should have no impact on serious discussions of the assassination (even though Oswald WAS a poor shot). The movie was built on Oliver Stone's opinion about what happened, which was based on Jim Garrison's book "On the Trail of the Assassins" and Jim Marrs' book "Crossfire: The Plot that Killed Kennedy."
By inference, you are stating that both of your referenced books are fiction and should "have no impact on serious discussion." What if a book uses dozens of other books for reference?
Last edited by JohnHAdams; 04-10-2011 at 09:03 AM..
The post you are quoting is illustrative of what I find about the Kennedy Assassination and controversies in general. Talking to some people is like talking to a brick wall. Some refuse to digest or consider any information that is presented contrary to their viewpoint. They're several fallacies that have already been contradicted that this poster alludes too:
1. He claims Oswald was a "poor shot". On the contrary, Oswald qualified at least at one point as a "sharpshooter" in the Marine Corps. Later he qualified as a "marksman". Than there is the Congressional Testimony quoted. Yet, this poster would rather rely on hearsay from a bunch of friends in a shooting club. IMO, Oswald's qualification as a sharpshooter indicates what his potential was. It does not say what he actually accomplished on November 22, 1963, but it says what he was capable of.
2. The poster makes much of a comment that Oswald made when he was in custody about being a "patsy". I'd encourage people to go on youtube and find this interview on t.v. The context would suggest that Oswald was totally denying involvement in any aspect of the assassination. It must be weighed along with other comments like "I haven't shot anybody" when he most certainly had at least shot Dallas Police JD Tippets. Plus it was definitely Oswald's rifle found in the Book Depository. Oswald's denial of involvement in killing Kennedy is not odd. Its what most criminals initially try to do. How honest are most guilty people when they are charged with a capital crime?
3. The poster insists that Ruby was dispatched to "remove" Oswald before he could tell the real truth about the assassination. No real proof of this has ever surfaced. Many don't know that after assassinating Oswald that Ruby was tried for murder and sentenced to death. Doesn't it occur to you that someone facing the death penalty would probably tell the full truth simply to avoid their execution? Again, I ask if Ruby's intention was to kill Oswald than why did he shoot him in the abdomen instead of the chest or head?
The moral of the story is that while we'll never have complete information, the preponderance of evidence that exists points to Oswald being a lone gunman. I think its wise to ask questions and it may well be the Warren Commission did an inadequate job of conducting an investigation. Nevertheless, these discrepancies do not even begin to prove a conspiracy.
The moral of the story though is that even without evidence, some people will continue to insist that there was one. It would make just about as much sense for me to claim that Dick Cheney committed the Sharon Tate murders.
I am inclined to think that walking up to Oswald and shooting him does indicate intention to kill him. There would have been a far better chance for intervention had Ruby taken the time to raise his pistol to chest level.
Abdomen shots may be highly lethal due to infection and spilled intestinal fluids. It would be interesting to see a discussion on the merits of a gut shot. My late father was a WWII medic but I'm not 100% certain of the accuracy of my memory of what he said about gut shots.
I took a taxidermy course when I was a kid. I've shot a few critters in my time. More than I probably should have. Most were rats, mice, and sparrows.
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