the unsolved mystery
3 new books offer competing versions of jfk's assassination
from new york observer:
What can we hope to gain from a new book about the J.F.K. assassination? Surely not that it reveal some definitive truth about the events in Dallas, since with every passing year, with each frustrating release of declassified information, it becomes clear that no such revelation will ever be forthcoming. Rather, the best such a book can offer is a narrative that is plausible and in some way resonant; a story that provides the consolations of fiction rather than fact. If we can’t have the truth, then at least give us a myth we can believe in, a story with villains and heroes, with tragedy and some sense of redemption.
Perhaps sensing this, the publishers of Brothers in Arms claim that it depicts the events surrounding the assassination “in a narrative non-fiction format, using … techniques of the most highly readable novels.” Written by veteran investigative reporter Gus Russo in collaboration with novelist and screenwriter Stephen Molton, this elegantly composed book depicts those few seconds in Dallas as being the culmination of a blood feud between two sets of brothers, the Castros and Kennedys...
Legacy of Secrecy proves, in many ways, to be a mirror image of Brothers in Arms. Written by veteran Kennedy investigator Lamar Waldron (assisted by Air America host Thom Hartmann), it asserts that Oswald was in fact an anti-Castro agent involved in a C.I.A. plot to overthrow the Cuban leader, which was slated to take place just days after Kennedy’s killing...
For its part, James W. Douglass’ JFK and the Unspeakable puts forward a scenario in which J.F.K. was cut down by a C.I.A.-administered plot that used Oswald as a patsy. Mr. Douglass, “a longtime peace activist,” believes Kennedy was murdered by shadowy forces because he was in the process of renouncing the cold war and all its toxic legacies: the arms race, Vietnam, the anti-Castro campaign, even predatory capitalism in the form of Big Steel
1 comment:
Calling Gus Russo an investigative reporter is like awarding the Oscar to porn star John Holmes. This guy would not know the facts if they accosted him, beat him senseless, kidnapped him and held him for ransom. It is utterly laughable that he blames the Castro brothers for orchestrating the plot to kill JFK. I suppose Fidel convinced the covert operatives of Operation Mongoose to pull it off. (Mongoose was the CIA's plot to kill Castro, but, instead of gunning for the Beard, they were all photographed in Dallas on Nov. 21-22, 1963.) And, of course, the Castros arranged to have Secret Service agent Henry Rybka ordered off the death limo as it was leaving Love Field and to have the rest of the agents stand down as the shots were fired
in Dealey Plaza. Oh, yes, Fidel somehow managed to alter the wounds of the president between the time the body left Dallas and arrived at Bethesda. And the Castros made sure the body was highjacked from Parkland Hospital before an autopsy (manadated by Texas law) could be performed. But first, of course, they had to arrange, through their emissaries Michael Paine of Bell Helicopter and millionaire oilman and Texas School Book Depository owner D.H. Byrd, to get Oswald that job which overlooked the president's route so that he could be framed for the shooting. And it was clever how the Castros maneuvered Ruby into position at just the right time to kill the patsy. And certainly it was Castro's agents who appointed the Warren Commission to cover up the whole thing. And for the last 45 years, Fidel has somehow convinced the CIA to withhold evidence. My god the Castros were busy in 1963, and what power they have wielded since. Who says a Third World banana republic can't orchestrate a massive plot that kills the leader of the free world and stifles all investigative arms of the most powerful nation in the world, sworn enemy of communist Cuba.
"Legacy of Secrecy" is almost as hilarious. Hartmann and Wladron blame the mob for the whole thing.
If you want a cogent, serious read about the assassination, and a brave, logical exploration of the true motivation behind the killing, read Douglass' book. The establishment will try to smear him as a "peace activist" (God knows there's nothing worse than someone who works for peace), but he's got it right. Unlike Russo, Douglass points fingers at the people who GENUINELY had means, motive and opportunity.
Tim Fleming
author,"Murder of an American Nazi"
www.eloquentbooks.com
http://leftlooking.blogspot.com
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