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This topic has been exhaustively researched and we are now approaching the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination. So much has transpired since half a century ago that I feel the event and to some extent its relevance are fading in the American cultural memory.
At any rate, I would like to ascertain through this poll if, after 50 years of investigation, the readers of CD are ultimately satisfied with the basic conclusions of the Warren Report. That is: that one man, Lee Harvey Oswald, fired the shots that killed the president from the Texas school book depository without the aid of any other individuals, agencies, or foreign powers.
Bear in mind that much of the evidence was not available for public scrutiny at the time of the WR, namely the most important piece of evidence, the Zapruder film. Since then, numerous anecdotal evidence has arisen, including the death bed confession of Howard Hunt.
I've read several books on the topic including Posner's Case Closed, Jim Garrison's On the Trail of the Assassins (the book upon which Oliver Stone's movie was based), and skimmed Vincent Bugliosi's behemoth Reclaiming History.
If you like, discuss your reasons for your choice in the poll (in a civil, CD friendly way of course)
The topic of the JFK assassination comes up every now and then. There are always some members that come in and say "Oswald did it. End of story." These posters never have anything to add to the conversation. I've been reading about this and collecting video and computer programs since the mid-90's, and I can tell you that open-minded, intelligent, well-read people do not know who did it or how it was done.
The program JFK: The Smoking Gun (showing on the REELZ channel is based on the theory that Bonar Menninger presented in his book Mortal Error in 1992. The conclusion is that the trajectory of the fatal shot could only come from the Secret Service follow up car. Earlier than this source, others had postulated a shot from the second floor of the Dal-Tex building, across the street from the School Book Depository, where Abraham Zapruder's clothing company was located. That trajectory is just as plausible as the SS car.
In addition to the trajectory, any solution must account for the shot that hit the sidewalk, and account for the wound that James Tague received all the way across Dealey Plaza. I don't recall if Tague was mentioned in that program.
There are several reasons we will probably never know what happened. One is that the number of deaths among the witnesses is quite high, for reasons unknown. A second is that any crackpot with a theory can write a book, and they have. [One claimed to have sold Oswald 3 Carcano rifles, another claimed his father was the grassy knoll shooter, another claimed French assassins were hired to do the job, and yet another claimed to describe shooting lessons for Oswald and Ruby.] A third problem is that there are so many plausible theories, each of which has books devoted to their proof, and another group of books disclaiming those same theories. A fourth problem is that there are so many groups that had motives to want JFK killed.
JFK had threatened to tear the CIA into 1000 pieces. He withheld air support for the Bay of Pigs, angering the Cuban rebels. The fact that he did supply weapons, training and water support angered Castro. After getting help from the mod during the 1960 election, JFK appointed his brother as Attorney General and RFK declared war on organized crime, providing a motive for the mob. Shortly before his death, JFK had signed a Security memorandum calling for a draw down of the first 1000 of the troops in Viet Nam, an action that was cancelled by LBJ a few days after the assassination. Remember Eisenhower's admonishment about the military-industrial complex.
So, to solve the mystery, you have to conclusively determine which suspect used which theory to get the deed done. Remember that too many witnesses and suspects died strange, untimely deaths, so they can't be questioned. My opinion is that the case will never be solved.
The books you mentioned barely touch the surface of this topic. My opinion is that they are not good references. Try Accessories After The Fact, Six Seconds In Dallas, Plausible Denial, Crossfire. Some of the best references are long out of print and are considered valuable to book collectors as well as to JFK assassination researchers. Copies of the 26 volumes often sell for over $2000.
The topic of the JFK assassination comes up every now and then. There are always some members that come in and say "Oswald did it. End of story." These posters never have anything to add to the conversation. I've been reading about this and collecting video and computer programs since the mid-90's, and I can tell you that open-minded, intelligent, well-read people do not know who did it or how it was done.
Apparently you missed Gerald Posner's Case Closed.
One of those claiming to have knowledge a few years back was Howard Hunt, one of the burglars that went to jail for Watergate. His video recorded deathbed confession posits that LBJ went through certain elements of the CIA, one of which was Cord Meyer who was disgruntled because JFK had an affair with his wife. Meyer's wife was murdered under rather strange circumstances.
I'm of the "Oswald did it, end of story" faction. There have been many posts before on this subject however and at this point I don't want to rehash what I wrote before. It's too much like a rerun. Be aware there is just a mass of misinformation on this subject relating to conspiracy theories on the web, and it's really tough to suffer through it all in a forum like this. Just so much that is just plain false. It's like that commercial "I read it on the internet, so it must be true".
I might come in later and dispute a point or two.
One update - earlier this year I happened to be in Dallas and visited the museam in the Texas School Depository. You can actually stand near Oswald's perch. Doing that pretty much puts the pieces together, you can see yourself what an easy shot it was from that perspective, and it falls into place with the only simple conclusion there can be.
There are several reasons we will probably never know what happened. One is that the number of deaths among the witnesses is quite high, for reasons unknown. A second is that any crackpot with a theory can write a book, and they have. [One claimed to have sold Oswald 3 Carcano rifles, another claimed his father was the grassy knoll shooter, another claimed French assassins were hired to do the job, and yet another claimed to describe shooting lessons for Oswald and Ruby.] A third problem is that there are so many plausible theories, each of which has books devoted to their proof, and another group of books disclaiming those same theories. A fourth problem is that there are so many groups that had motives to want JFK killed.
Yes, the reasons are quite well-known - people die. All people.
First off, it's ironic that in the sentence after referencing the supposedly high number of deaths among witnesses, you note that 'any crackpot with a theory can write a book'. The 'mysterious deaths of witnesses' comes from Jim Marrs.
Here's the Barnes & Noble review of Marrs' book Alien Agenda: Award-winning journalist Jim Marrs has uncovered compelling new evidence to suggest that alien life forms have not only visited our planet in the past, but are among us right now. Drawing on numerous eyewitness accounts, highly classified CIA reports, and his own meticulous research, he marshals an impressive array of facts to confirm the reality of UFOs...as well as the depth of the government campaign to keep America in the dark.
Henry Delaune - Brother-in-law to coroner Chetta
Who was Chetta, you ask? The coroner who performed that autopsy on David Ferrie. And who was David Ferrie? Some guy who supposedly hypnotized Oswald and had him whack JFK. Any actual evidence connecting Ferrie to JFK's death? No. Lots of wild claims, but that's it.
Now, consider how enormous the pool of 'witnesses' would be when we define as 'witnesses':
'All the in-laws of every medical professional who examined everyone claimed by someone or other to be connected to the assassination of JFK'
So, how does Delaune get on this list?
*Someone claims Ferrie hypnotized Oswald
*Ferrie dies (accidentally, but since this is a conspiracy we know he was really nefariously offed, so the coronor who ruled his death was accidental must be on it it)
*The coronor must've spilled his guts to his brother-in-law. After all, it's not like in-laws ever just die, right?
Hank Suydam - Life magazine official in charge of JFK stories
Gee, I wonder how many magazines and newspapers wrote stories about the JFK assassination? I wasn't alive then, but I'll bet it got a lot of news coverage. Just a hunch. Truly, it is stunning that at least one writer or editor or manager or 'official' of some sort at one of these publicantions died of something so mysterious as a [drum roll, please] ... heart attack.
Rufus Youngblood - Agent who shielded LBJ during the JFK murder
Dead of cancer at age 72 in 1996. Yes, 1996. A third of a century after the assassination. Now, given that most people associated with the assassination were already adults, and typically people of some importance with a number of years of education and professional experience behind them, they were mostly in their 30s or older. It would be statistically unusual if a great many of them hadn't died by the mid-1990s, would it not?
Starting to get the picture on just how wide the net is being cast to come up with anyone at all even remotely associated (to really stretch the definition of that word) with the assassination, and the time span allowed for their deaths to be 'unusual'?
David Goldstein - Dallasite who helped FBI trace Oswald's pistol
He owned a gunshop owner, and testified that he did not sell Oswald the handgun he used to kill the police officer. That is Marrs' example of a 'witness'.
Abraham Zapruder - Took famous film of JFK assassination
Good thing they got him before he could reveal his video evidence to the world. Oh, wait...
Earl Warren - Chief Justice who reluctantly chaired Warren Commission
He died 11 years after the assassination. At the age of 83. How mysterious.
Lee Bowers Jr. - Witnessed men behind picket fence on Grassy Knoll
What's the point in whacking someone who has already spilled his guts? Bowers talked extensively about his claims. Shouldn't the whole point
Francis G. Powers - U-2 pilot downed over Russia in 1960
Hey, even Gary Powers made the list!
Here's another look at the list, with its numerous errors pointed out. Marrs' work is so shoddy that he regularly screws up even mundane, uncontested details. http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/deaths.htm
Only for a little while did I ever believe the Warren report and that was right after it came out. The supposed spot where "Oswald did it" was made to look as if "Oswald did it."
The second poster, mensaguy, said most of what I would have said and said it better.
Additionally, an expert who has studied the assassination for decades was interviewed on a Boston radio station a while back and he said that no one knows who did it, no one will ever know who did it, and the same "forces" (don't know the exact word he used) are still alive and in action today so there aren't any new clues about to be found either.
He described the combination of the CIA, Mafia, FBI, the Cuban connection--all working together since they all hated Kennedy. Oswald was not the only "patsy" there were others but on this day the action centered on Lee Harvey Oswald. He was not an ignorant man as has often been portrayed but he was an attention seeker, someone who wanted to be important. An ignorant man couldn't have learned to speak Russian so well, for one thing.
He worked for the CIA and they took advantage of him and used him. But there is such a tangled web of complicated deception that there is probably no way of ever knowing the complete truth. The event was an overthrow of the government, a coup de' etat.
No I didn't. I have a copy, and happen to disagree with the conclusions in the book. Posner has been often quoted and has written several other books (which I have not read).
I'm of the "Oswald did it, end of story" faction. There have been many posts before on this subject however and at this point I don't want to rehash what I wrote before. It's too much like a rerun. Be aware there is just a mass of misinformation on this subject relating to conspiracy theories on the web, and it's really tough to suffer through it all in a forum like this. Just so much that is just plain false. It's like that commercial "I read it on the internet, so it must be true".
I might come in later and dispute a point or two.
One update - earlier this year I happened to be in Dallas and visited the museam in the Texas School Depository. You can actually stand near Oswald's perch. Doing that pretty much puts the pieces together, you can see yourself what an easy shot it was from that perspective, and it falls into place with the only simple conclusion there can be.
My brother was there last week. One of his friends is quite knowledgeable about guns. His reaction to his visit to the 6th Floor Museum was, "No way. That would be one hell of an expert shot."
I'm not starting an argument here. I'm just pointing out that everything about the case has two conflicting sides that can't be resolved.
My brother was there last week. One of his friends is quite knowledgeable about guns. His reaction to his visit to the 6th Floor Museum was, "No way. That would be one hell of an expert shot."
I'm not starting an argument here. I'm just pointing out that everything about the case has two conflicting sides that can't be resolved.
Your first shot in a rapid succession will be your best since you will be recovering from recoil with each subsequent shot. The WW2 bolt action rifles had quite a kick. I have not personally fired a 6.5 Carcano which was the rifle allegedly used, but I can assure you that the 8mm Mauser and M48 from the same era has quite a kick! Even Carlos Hathcock (USMC vietnam era sniper) had his doubts.
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