Oswald’s 201 CIA File

[Denis Pointing]

The key to understanding Oswald’s 201 file is the date it was established. He defected in October 1959, yet the file was created in December 1960.

Here's a link to a very interesting interview between Jefferson Morley and Jane Roman. http://www.history-matters.com/essays/fram...RomanSaid_2.htm

Jane Roman was a high ranking CIA officer also working in the C.I. office. During the interview, unlike her colleague Ann Egerter , Roman makes it plain that there was in fact a file on Oswald in 59. A quote from the interview: "She did this by checking to see if the agency had ever opened a so-called 201 file on anyone named Lee Oswald. (A 201 file, sometimes known as a personality file, is opened on anybody of interest to the agency.) Because of his defection to the Soviet Union in 1959, Oswald already had a 201 file at CIA headquarters."

Denis

Once again the main point is, "What was the pressing need that generated the creation of a 201 File in December of 1960 when there was already some sort of file by November 1959?"

Pressing the matter further, "Why did the people who had access to the Oswald files in 1959 become so involved in the Warren Commissions investigation of the assassination in 1964?"

Newman's book, Oswald and the CIA, suggests that Oswald's association with the U-2 program was of great interest to those were monitoring Oswald shortly after his defection to Russia. It seems that there is a great deal of information that suggests, based on interviews done by Newman as well as released documents, that Oswald had access to a great deal of information on the U-2. Newman also suggests that Snyders report generated a great deal of activitiy within the agency when Oswald suggested that he was willing to share information with the Soviets.

For myself the downing of Powers on May 1 and the failure of the Paris Summit on May 15, 1960 may well be connected. If true it is not hard to imagine that Oswald played a role in the first event that then led to the second, perhaps without his knowledge.

There are at least two reasons why the above rings true based upon action by Oswald himself:

1. His fear of being proscecuted when he returned to the United States.

2. His speech at Spring Hill College where he himself tied the two events together.

Continuing thoughts that bug the heck out of me.

Jim Root

Hi Jim, I dont really know enough about the Gary Powers episode to get over involved with this one. But FWIW, here's a quote I spotted recently: " That's the biggest pile of bull," laughs Dino Brugioni, the CIA's chief U-2 photoanalyst of that period. "The Soviets already knew how to track the U-2s, so what the hell could he [Oswald] tell them? All he could give them was the fact that there were U-2s at Atsugi, and they already knew that. The actual photo targets were a tightly held secret, and there is no way a radar operator had that information." [unquote] Mind you, the guy is CIA of course. Denis.

[William Kelly]

The key to understanding Oswald's 201 file is the date it was established. He defected in October 1959, yet the file was created in December 1960.

Here's a link to a very interesting interview between Jefferson Morley and Jane Roman. http://www.history-matters.com/essays/fram...RomanSaid_2.htm

Jane Roman was a high ranking CIA officer also working in the C.I. office. During the interview, unlike her colleague Ann Egerter , Roman makes it plain that there was in fact a file on Oswald in 59. A quote from the interview: "She did this by checking to see if the agency had ever opened a so-called 201 file on anyone named Lee Oswald. (A 201 file, sometimes known as a personality file, is opened on anybody of interest to the agency.) Because of his defection to the Soviet Union in 1959, Oswald already had a 201 file at CIA headquarters."

Denis

Once again the main point is, "What was the pressing need that generated the creation of a 201 File in December of 1960 when there was already some sort of file by November 1959?"

Pressing the matter further, "Why did the people who had access to the Oswald files in 1959 become so involved in the Warren Commissions investigation of the assassination in 1964?"

Newman's book, Oswald and the CIA, suggests that Oswald's association with the U-2 program was of great interest to those were monitoring Oswald shortly after his defection to Russia. It seems that there is a great deal of information that suggests, based on interviews done by Newman as well as released documents, that Oswald had access to a great deal of information on the U-2. Newman also suggests that Snyders report generated a great deal of activitiy within the agency when Oswald suggested that he was willing to share information with the Soviets.

For myself the downing of Powers on May 1 and the failure of the Paris Summit on May 15, 1960 may well be connected. If true it is not hard to imagine that Oswald played a role in the first event that then led to the second, perhaps without his knowledge.

There are at least two reasons why the above rings true based upon action by Oswald himself:

1. His fear of being proscecuted when he returned to the United States.

2. His speech at Spring Hill College where he himself tied the two events together.

Continuing thoughts that bug the heck out of me.

Jim Root

Hi Jim, I dont really know enough about the Gary Powers episode to get over involved with this one. But FWIW, here's a quote I spotted recently: " That's the biggest pile of bull," laughs Dino Brugioni, the CIA's chief U-2 photoanalyst of that period. "The Soviets already knew how to track the U-2s, so what the hell could he [Oswald] tell them? All he could give them was the fact that there were U-2s at Atsugi, and they already knew that. The actual photo targets were a tightly held secret, and there is no way a radar operator had that information." [unquote] Mind you, the guy is CIA of course. Denis.

Of course Dino Brugioni is a CIA photo anyalist whose book on photo fakery I once owned and passed on to Jack White.

And of course he is wrong about what LHO could have told the Ruskies about the U2.

As a radar operator at Atsugi, Oswald knew the speed and altitute of the U2, as any algabra student could tell you, the two things that are necssary to shoot it down.

BK

[Greg Parker]

John Newman in Oswald and the CIA, explores the possibility that the 201 file was opened only when someone within the Agency knew of Oswalds intention to return home. He suggests this knowledge may have been obtained in December 1960, before Oswald had actually informed the U.S. embassy where he was in the USSR or of his intention to return to the U.S. From here Newman explores the possibility that the CIA had some means of communicating with Oswald while he was living in the USSR.

Nat, I haven't read the book, but I'd have to agree with the above.

Dec, 1960 - Ops REDCAP/RED SOX ceased, LHO 201 file opened

Jan, 1961 - LHO notes desire to leave

Feb, 1961 - LHO contacts Embassy informing them of decision to return

Jul, 1961 - Snyder transferred to Japan

[Jim Root]

John Newman in Oswald and the CIA, explores the possibility that the 201 file was opened only when someone within the Agency knew of Oswalds intention to return home. He suggests this knowledge may have been obtained in December 1960, before Oswald had actually informed the U.S. embassy where he was in the USSR or of his intention to return to the U.S. From here Newman explores the possibility that the CIA had some means of communicating with Oswald while he was living in the USSR.

Nat, I haven't read the book, but I'd have to agree with the above.

Dec, 1960 - Ops REDCAP/RED SOX ceased, LHO 201 file opened

Jan, 1961 - LHO notes desire to leave

Feb, 1961 - LHO contacts Embassy informing them of decision to return

Jul, 1961 - Snyder transferred to Japan

Greg

You may want to add to your timeline what I consider another important piece to this particular puzzle.

By early January, 1961 Overseas Weekly reporters began investigating Maj. Gen. Edwin Walker's "Pro Blue" Program. Newman does not mention this coincidence but does make a wonderful case that the CIA was fully aware of LHO's attempts to return to the Us by December, before Overseas weekly began their investigatin, and the CIA did begin to take immediate action on the Oswald case. Newman proves (201 File) that a "new" file was created and what Newman refers to as "the Black Hole" begins being covered up by the creation of this new 201 File.

For myself I had read Oswald's February letter and believed that it was possible that he had written the December letter that he speaks of (although the Warren Commission suggests that the Dec. letter never existed). It made the timeline for Walker's fall from grace fit into the package as a necessary event if it had been Walker that provided Oswald with information that would allow him to end up at the only Soviet Emabassy in the world that could issue him an entrance visa into the Soviet Union within in 24 hours. Oswald's missing flight information and the passenger lists that were still available in 1964 for flights between London and Helsinki in October of 1959, the fact that the day before Oswald arrived in Helsinki US Ambassador Hickerson penned a note to the State Department that provided classified information about how to apply for the Soviet visa and how to insure success for that application (which Oswald followed to the "T"). These pieces of information, I felt, supported the hypothisis that Walker may have met Oswald while Oswald was in the process of deffecting. The State Department, via the role played by Hickerson, could also have suspected that Oswald's arrival in Helsinki may have been "special." According to Newman, the handling of the Oswald case at the time, especially the actions of John McVickar, seem unusual and for our study, worth further scuitiny.

Newman's research can be used to support this senario as well.

In my study of the Walker papers (which is far from complete) I was surprized by how hard Walker was working to understand why his "Pro Blue" program had suddenly become so controversial. Walker attempted to contact several people with CIA connections to ascertain the reason he was being prosecuted in the press for something that he had been doing for years. In my opinion (supported by letters that Walker wrote seeking information), Walker seems to have understood that the Overseas Weekly article was officially sanctioned by US Intelligence but he did not understand why he had become a target. Walker, at that time, was gropping for answers as his ordeal unfolded and his military career was destroyed. I suggest that Walker's problems began when Oswald, who according to the documents Newman quotes, the CIA believed would not be allowed back into the US was then faced with the real problem of Oswald's return to the US. The CIA, it seems, began covering their official tracks even within the CIA. As Newman points out, Oswald's CIA files generate new activity which seems to be designed to "cover" previous activity by opening new files that should have been opened in 1959, and depositing only the information that is generated after Dec. 1960 although, in contridiction to this there are newspaper articles and State Dept. memos from 1959 included that had to have been somewhere between Nov. 1959 and Dec. 1960.

I do have some new thoughts based upon this information, reminding you that they are just new thoughts. The US State Department and the Defense/Intelligence community were many times at odds over what US Policy should be. They both approached problems from their individual perspectives that did not always overlap. Of special interest to my study is the events leading toward the 1960 Paris Summit and the Limited Test Ban Treaty that State endorsed while Defense was scared to death off (even McCloy suggested that the US was going to be pressured into signing this treaty that he did not feel was good for the US). The Paris Summit fails because of the U-2 incident. Newman provides a detailed study of the investigation that was done by the CIA and other intelligence organizations based upon Oswald's U-2 connection. It seems to have been much more indepth than what we were/are led to believe by the Warren Commission and other investigations since. Suffice it to say that the amount of information that Oswald could/did provide the Soviets about the U-2 may have been significant. One fact is for sure, a U-2 went down after Oswald's defection and that incident led to the failure of the Paris Summit which was an event that McCloy wanted to see fail.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum.......Oswald's renunciation of his US Citizenship did not occur and it was the State Department that makes this point official overidding what the CIA believed to be true. This internal duelism and infighting is perhaps significant to this investigation.

State and defense seem to be at it again in 1963 with the "new" Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963. This time State gains the upper hand with the signing of this treaty which was vigorusly opposed by McCloy and Maxwell Taylor. Some also speculate on the question of Vietnam and the role of State vs Defense at this point but that seems fuzzy at best to me. Kennedy has set up his own program to eliminate Castro (ran by his brother via the office of Attorney General) that seems to go contrary to the guarentees that McCloy gave to the Soviets during his negotiations surrounding the Cuban Missle Crisis. One could argue or speculate that it was perceived that Kennedy was not playing by the "rules" and his personal handling of the many issues confronting the US outside of the offical channels made him a target. But then Kennedy is killed and Intelligence/defense is again top dog, McCloy is positioned upon the Warren Commission, etc. etc.......Just thoughts.

The internal battles between the State Department and the Defense community seem to be ongoing throughout this period (following the end of WWII). The infighting at these high levels is, I might suggest, unimaginable with both sides believing that only they can save the world from nuclear destruction. I can also imagine that both areas, defense and State had been infiltated to a degree that would alow the stage to include intrigue at the international level.

Within this show I see Oswald as just a "patsy" or, as Angleton might have us believe, an insect that unknowingly is used to provide the pollen necessary to allow the Orchid to continue to exist as a species.

According to Newman one thing is for certain, Oswald's decission to return to the US created a big stir within the CIA and we can suggest that the State/Defense Departments decission to allow Oswald to return to the United States without being prosecuted was fatal to the life of John F. Kennedy.

Jim Root

[Tim Gratz]

So Jim is it your position that it was LHO who shot JFK?

[Jim Root]

So Jim is it your position that it was LHO who shot JFK?

Tim

My research has never been about who or how many people fired a shot or shots at President Kennedy but rather an attempt to identify conspirators who had the motive and the ability to arrange the assassination as well as the ability to insure that they would not get caught or be identified.

I have read, heard about and seen on television dozens if not hundreds of theories explaining the events of November 22, 1963 and using those explanations to then "prove" a conspiracy without ever seeing or hearing consensus on any one theory or more than speculation about who may have been responsible for placing one shooter or another in one particular place or another. It seems to me that this approach has never been successful in providing answers to the conspiracy question, the WHO, although it has proven devisive to forums such as this when individuals attempt to pit one theory vs another theory to explain the events of Nov. 22 or to discredit one researcher or another.

Most of the information in this thread can be found in John Newman's book "Oswald and The CIA." In his introduction Newman makes this comment on the first page, "We will not address the assassination of President Kennedy. We will not discuss Dealey Plaza. This book is content to explore the subject of Oswald and the CIA without regard to who is right and who is wrong in the larger debate about the Kennedy assassination."

In the final 71 pages of "Oswald and the CIA" Newman deals with information provided by FBI agent James P. Hosty on over a third of those pages. I would suggest that Newman recognizes the importance that was placed upon Hosty's information within the intelligence community as Hosty observed and recorded the movements of Lee Harvey Oswald leading up to the assassination. I believe that Newman has done a great job of proving how closely the Hosty information was followed by those in the CIA! Yet we once again find that Hosty's third note of November 4th is nowhere to be found in these released records. That note, of course, tells the FBI and the CIA that were receiving copies of Hosty's notes, exactly where Lee Harvey Oswald was working in the days proceding the development of the motorcade route through Dallas that would have Kennedy pass, one final building. That final building on the motorcade route, before backtracking to the Trade Mart, was where Lee Harvey Oswald worked!

As Vincent Bugliosi said in "Reclaiming History," "More often than not in a criminal case, the means a criminal employs to conceal his guilt are the precise means that reveal his culpability." (pp 965) Although questioned by the two attorneys, McCloy and Dulles when Hosty alluded to his third note of November 4, 1963, neither McCloy or Dulles entered that note into the evidence that was collected by the Warren Commission. Nor did the CIA produce that note, although it produced the other two that were given Commission Exhibit Numbers, when the JFK Assassination Records Review Board released the information that Newman's book was based upon. The information about who exactly had access to Hosty's third note, which states exactly where Lee Harvey Oswald was working, it would seem, would have no resonable reason to be exocised from the record unless it could be expected to point toward the quilt either directly or by association of those persons who may have been responsible for the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

To me, Tim, this is much more important than who the shooter was. Would you agree?

Jim Root

[Greg Parker]

Greg

You may want to add to your timeline what I consider another important piece to this particular puzzle.

By early January, 1961 Overseas Weekly reporters began investigating Maj. Gen. Edwin Walker's "Pro Blue" Program. Newman does not mention this coincidence but does make a wonderful case that the CIA was fully aware of LHO's attempts to return to the Us by December, before Overseas weekly began their investigatin, and the CIA did begin to take immediate action on the Oswald case. Newman proves (201 File) that a "new" file was created and what Newman refers to as "the Black Hole" begins being covered up by the creation of this new 201 File.

For myself I had read Oswald's February letter and believed that it was possible that he had written the December letter that he speaks of (although the Warren Commission suggests that the Dec. letter never existed). It made the timeline for Walker's fall from grace fit into the package as a necessary event if it had been Walker that provided Oswald with information that would allow him to end up at the only Soviet Emabassy in the world that could issue him an entrance visa into the Soviet Union within in 24 hours.

Jim, some timing events really are just coincidental. Even assuming for argument sake that you're right about Oswald's source on Helsinki being Walker, I don't see any nexus between that and Walker's troubles with Pro Blue.

Oswald's missing flight information and the passenger lists that were still available in 1964 for flights between London and Helsinki in October of 1959, the fact that the day before Oswald arrived in Helsinki US Ambassador Hickerson penned a note to the State Department that provided classified information about how to apply for the Soviet visa and how to insure success for that application (which Oswald followed to the "T"). These pieces of information, I felt, supported the hypothisis that Walker may have met Oswald while Oswald was in the process of deffecting. The State Department, via the role played by Hickerson, could also have suspected that Oswald's arrival in Helsinki may have been "special." According to Newman, the handling of the Oswald case at the time, especially the actions of John McVickar, seem unusual and for our study, worth further scuitiny.

Newman's research can be used to support this senario as well.

In my study of the Walker papers (which is far from complete) I was surprized by how hard Walker was working to understand why his "Pro Blue" program had suddenly become so controversial. Walker attempted to contact several people with CIA connections to ascertain the reason he was being prosecuted in the press for something that he had been doing for years. In my opinion (supported by letters that Walker wrote seeking information), Walker seems to have understood that the Overseas Weekly article was officially sanctioned by US Intelligence but he did not understand why he had become a target.

His Pro Blue program had not been going for years since his influence seems to have been the relatively new organization, the John Birch Society. The program itself was in response to instructions that the Army should be pro-active in educating the populace about communism. Walker took it way too far by disseminating JBS material, showing color-coded maps to troops indicating which areas of the US were under communist influence, naming Truman, Acheson and others as being pinkos and generally pushed conservative candidates for office. The fact that he failed to understand why he was in trouble shows only shows his mental state was deteriorating - something that was certainly obvious to most later in his life. Look around the web. You'll find blogs by some of his troops saying they thought he was truly crazy even as he instructed them in this program.

Nor was he singled out. Time reported on Feb 2, 1962 that Arleigh Burke had a speech heavily censored because of fears it would ruin negotiations for the release of two pilots being held by the Soviets. That was prior to Walker's problems, and between then and Walker came numerous other military leaders who likewise were heavily censored.

Walker, at that time, was gropping for answers as his ordeal unfolded and his military career was destroyed. I suggest that Walker's problems began when Oswald, who according to the documents Newman quotes, the CIA believed would not be allowed back into the US was then faced with the real problem of Oswald's return to the US. The CIA, it seems, began covering their official tracks even within the CIA. As Newman points out, Oswald's CIA files generate new activity which seems to be designed to "cover" previous activity by opening new files that should have been opened in 1959, and depositing only the information that is generated after Dec. 1960 although, in contridiction to this there are newspaper articles and State Dept. memos from 1959 included that had to have been somewhere between Nov. 1959 and Dec. 1960.

I do have some new thoughts based upon this information, reminding you that they are just new thoughts. The US State Department and the Defense/Intelligence community were many times at odds over what US Policy should be. They both approached problems from their individual perspectives that did not always overlap. Of special interest to my study is the events leading toward the 1960 Paris Summit and the Limited Test Ban Treaty that State endorsed while Defense was scared to death off (even McCloy suggested that the US was going to be pressured into signing this treaty that he did not feel was good for the US). The Paris Summit fails because of the U-2 incident. Newman provides a detailed study of the investigation that was done by the CIA and other intelligence organizations based upon Oswald's U-2 connection. It seems to have been much more indepth than what we were/are led to believe by the Warren Commission and other investigations since. Suffice it to say that the amount of information that Oswald could/did provide the Soviets about the U-2 may have been significant. One fact is for sure, a U-2 went down after Oswald's defection and that incident led to the failure of the Paris Summit which was an event that McCloy wanted to see fail.

You are right in saying the various agencies were sometimes at odds with each other in terms of policy and strategic direction. This resulted in oft-times working various missions, if not at cross-purposes, then not far from it. Every president had a crack at trying to fix this - some more successfully than others.

As for the U2 incident, it also happened after the defection of Martin and Mitchell from the NSA.

I believe Oswald was rushed into the reserves for secondment to a 5412 Committee assignment that had a deadline tied in with a pending exchange on science and technology with the Soviets and eventually signed on Nov 21, 1959. His assignment was delivery of data relating to Project Teepee (radar). This technology was being shared with NATO countries and I believe (though still need to verify) that Ike also wanted to share this with the Soviets but could not so openly for political reasons. This fits with Nash's Equilibrium. Both sides benefited, but without the US giving up any advantage (this radar, though newly developed, was due to be replaced in about a year by a sister project named MADRE).

While there, he was recruited as a REDSOX agent - thus, the "defection" - REDSOX being the program to infiltrate agents into Soviet bloc countries. When this program was officially cut in Dec, 1960 (the CIA actually continued with it in contravention of its axing - but that's another story!), plans begun to bring him home utilizing a familiar REDSOX method - the International Rescue Committee.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum.......Oswald's renunciation of his US Citizenship did not occur and it was the State Department that makes this point official overidding what the CIA believed to be true. This internal duelism and infighting is perhaps significant to this investigation.

Sometimes dualism, like much else in spookdom, isn't what it seems. Other times, it's a result of intra-agency confusion - the right hand not knowing what the left one is doing.

State and defense seem to be at it again in 1963 with the "new" Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963. This time State gains the upper hand with the signing of this treaty which was vigorusly opposed by McCloy and Maxwell Taylor. Some also speculate on the question of Vietnam and the role of State vs Defense at this point but that seems fuzzy at best to me. Kennedy has set up his own program to eliminate Castro (ran by his brother via the office of Attorney General) that seems to go contrary to the guarentees that McCloy gave to the Soviets during his negotiations surrounding the Cuban Missle Crisis. One could argue or speculate that it was perceived that Kennedy was not playing by the "rules" and his personal handling of the many issues confronting the US outside of the offical channels made him a target. But then Kennedy is killed and Intelligence/defense is again top dog, McCloy is positioned upon the Warren Commission, etc. etc.......Just thoughts.

You're digging in rich archaeological ground… it's just disagreement over the nature of the beast you're uncovering that seems to separate many of our positions.

The internal battles between the State Department and the Defense community seem to be ongoing throughout this period (following the end of WWII). The infighting at these high levels is, I might suggest, unimaginable with both sides believing that only they can save the world from nuclear destruction. I can also imagine that both areas, defense and State had been infiltated to a degree that would alow the stage to include intrigue at the international level.

Within this show I see Oswald as just a "patsy" or, as Angleton might have us believe, an insect that unknowingly is used to provide the pollen necessary to allow the Orchid to continue to exist as a species.

According to Newman one thing is for certain, Oswald's decission to return to the US created a big stir within the CIA and we can suggest that the State/Defense Departments decission to allow Oswald to return to the United States without being prosecuted was fatal to the life of John F. Kennedy.

Not sure about Kennedy, but it was certainly fatal for Oswald.

Jim Root

[Jim Root]

Greg

"His Pro Blue program had not been going for years since his influence seems to have been the relatively new organization, the John Birch Society. The program itself was in response to instructions that the Army should be pro-active in educating the populace about communism. Walker took it way too far by disseminating JBS material, showing color-coded maps to troops indicating which areas of the US were under communist influence, naming Truman, Acheson and others as being pinkos and generally pushed conservative candidates for office. The fact that he failed to understand why he was in trouble shows only shows his mental state was deteriorating - something that was certainly obvious to most later in his life. Look around the web. You'll find blogs by some of his troops saying they thought he was truly crazy even as he instructed them in this program."

In the last few weeks I had an opportunity to interview a retired college professor who, in 1954/55, was running Walker's Pro Blue program. He makes the same comment as you have suggested but his take is that the John Birch Society had nothing to do with it because that organization did not even come into existance when he was provided with Walker's materials which he used to present the program. According to this person he was hand selected by Walker because he had graduated from a "conservative" university with a degree in Political Science/History. He was a Pro Blue instructor for 18 months (until his enlistment was over) in 1955.

The same gentleman provided several antedotes about the time he was working for Walker including a story about Christine Jorgensen's visit to the base. While there was scuttlebutt about sexual orientation Walker was apparently respected by his men who were well aware of his combat record.

This same person reports that he researched the John Birch material issue after Walker's resignation from the military and found information that suggests that the Birch material was not used, at least not to the degree that it was reported. He stood by his position that Walker's program was in full swing before he left Korea and had begun as a result of Walker's belief that his troops in Korea did not understand the threat of international communism, therefore they did not undersand what they were fighting for. At the time the First Straits of Taiwan Crisis was unfolding and Walker's unit would have been the first sent to Formosa. Walker wanted them to understand what they were about to be placed in harms way for.Jim, some timing events really are just coincidental.

"Even assuming for argument sake that you're right about Oswald's source on Helsinki being Walker, I don't see any nexus between that and Walker's troubles with Pro Blue."

According to Newman, the CIA seems to have believed that Oswald had given up his US Citizenship when he entered the Soviet Union. Coincidence or not, Walker's Pro Blue program problems do coincide with Oswald's earliest attempt to return to the US. Coincidence or not the US was aware of that fact although there is no evidence that they had received Oswald's December letter where he first requested to return to the US. The greater coincidence is that the CIA claims they did not intercept the letter but took the action of opening the 201 File on Dec. 9 based upon Oswald attempts to return to the US.

Two things are for certain; First, Oswald's earliest attempt to return to the United States was known by the CIA in early December and (Second) Walker's Pro Blue debacle began shortly thereafter. If Oswald, as Newman suggests, could have provided the Soviets with U-2 secretes and if Walker provided Oswald with the necessary information to enter the Soviet Union via Helsinki, Walker would have helped in the downing of a US spy plane. By coincidence this would provide Oswald with a reason to believe that Walker was an evil person and that he was involved with an evil organization, both things that Oswald supposedly believed. Another "coincidence" in this sequence of coincidences is the failure of the CIA to provide passenger lists for Oswald's trip from London to Helsinki. While many have speculated (led by Chris Mills) that a sensitive name may have been on one of the planes, with the help of Antti Hynonen we have shown that it is possible, just by coincidenc that both Walker and Oswald could have traveled from London to Hamburg or London to Frankfurt on the morning of October 10 in time to be on one of the two planes that would carry passengers from London to Helsinki in time to check into the Torni Hotel. We also have the coincidence that Ambassador Hickerson had provided the State Department with information about entry into the Soviet Union via the Russian embassy in Helsinki the day before Oswald arrives in Helsinki. By "coincidence" Hickerson had also nsent a previous memo that arrived at State on the Same day that Oswald would later apply for his passport in Santa Ana, Calif. listing Helsinki as a possible destination. By coincidence Oswald would follow the Hickerson directions to the "T" when he applied for his visa in the Soviet Union and would receive his entry papers to Russia within 24 hours.

You are correct that some things are just coincidental but a sequence of coincidences raises the proportional probability to ever higher numbers with each addition to the number of events in the sequence of coincidences. For instance the chances of flipping a coin and having it come up heads is 1:2 For a flip of a coin to come up heads 10 times in a row is 1:1024 attempts at 10 flips in a row. For the 10 heads in a row flips to actually happen could resonably require about 5100 attempts. While any one of the ten flips being heads is easy enough to explain as a coincidence if viewed as a string of single events one loses the impact of the algebraic impact of the sequence comming true. At what time does one start to suspect that a sequence of events is less than coincidental but rather the result of a controlling influence?

"Not sure about Kennedy, but it was certainly fatal for Oswald." Agreed

For myself, as I have researched the life of Edwin Walker, the sequence of "coincidental" events continues to mount and for my bet the odds are that his relationship to this story is not just coincidental.

Jim Root

[Greg Parker]

Latest comments in red.

Greg

"His Pro Blue program had not been going for years since his influence seems to have been the relatively new organization, the John Birch Society. The program itself was in response to instructions that the Army should be pro-active in educating the populace about communism. Walker took it way too far by disseminating JBS material, showing color-coded maps to troops indicating which areas of the US were under communist influence, naming Truman, Acheson and others as being pinkos and generally pushed conservative candidates for office. The fact that he failed to understand why he was in trouble shows only shows his mental state was deteriorating - something that was certainly obvious to most later in his life. Look around the web. You'll find blogs by some of his troops saying they thought he was truly crazy even as he instructed them in this program."

In the last few weeks I had an opportunity to interview a retired college professor who, in 1954/55, was running Walker's Pro Blue program. He makes the same comment as you have suggested but his take is that the John Birch Society had nothing to do with it because that organization did not even come into existance when he was provided with Walker's materials which he used to present the program. According to this person he was hand selected by Walker because he had graduated from a "conservative" university with a degree in Political Science/History. He was a Pro Blue instructor for 18 months (until his enlistment was over) in 1955.

Jim,

He is technically right in saying Pro-Blue was not a program created by the JBS - regardless of when it began. It remains true, however, that the distribution of JBS material in Germany was part of it - as was his use of American Opinion as a guide for his troops as to who they should vote for.

The same gentleman provided several antedotes about the time he was working for Walker including a story about Christine Jorgensen's visit to the base. While there was scuttlebutt about sexual orientation Walker was apparently respected by his men who were well aware of his combat record.

The men of the 24th Infantry seem about equally divided in their respect for him

http://libraryautomation.com/24th/contributions.html

This same person reports that he researched the John Birch material issue after Walker's resignation from the military and found information that suggests that the Birch material was not used, at least not to the degree that it was reported. He stood by his position that Walker's program was in full swing before he left Korea and had begun as a result of Walker's belief that his troops in Korea did not understand the threat of international communism, therefore they did not undersand what they were fighting for. At the time the First Straits of Taiwan Crisis was unfolding and Walker's unit would have been the first sent to Formosa. Walker wanted them to understand what they were about to be placed in harms way for.

Arch Roberts is widely regarded as the author of the program. He did not join Walker (as his information officer) until after Walker was already stationed with the 24th Infantry in Germany. I have read somewhere that Walker was outspoken about politics, and communism in particular, during the Korean conflict, but I've read nothing about any Pro Blue type program dating back to then, though it's possible it did exist in some form or other, with Roberts putting his professional polish to it later.

What you might find of some interest is that Roberts himself, never discussed politics in his two years with the 3rd Division prior to taking on the job under Walker. He was akin to an Ed Butler, having been in the adversing business prior to army service. His interest and expertise then was selling ideas without necessarily having any deep knowledge of the subject at hand.

Jim, some timing events really are just coincidental.

"Even assuming for argument sake that you're right about Oswald's source on Helsinki being Walker, I don't see any nexus between that and Walker's troubles with Pro Blue."

According to Newman, the CIA seems to have believed that Oswald had given up his US Citizenship when he entered the Soviet Union. Coincidence or not, Walker's Pro Blue program problems do coincide with Oswald's earliest attempt to return to the US. Coincidence or not the US was aware of that fact although there is no evidence that they had received Oswald's December letter where he first requested to return to the US. The greater coincidence is that the CIA claims they did not intercept the letter but took the action of opening the 201 File on Dec. 9 based upon Oswald attempts to return to the US.

Two things are for certain; First, Oswald's earliest attempt to return to the United States was known by the CIA in early December and (Second) Walker's Pro Blue debacle began shortly thereafter. If Oswald, as Newman suggests, could have provided the Soviets with U-2 secretes and if Walker provided Oswald with the necessary information to enter the Soviet Union via Helsinki, Walker would have helped in the downing of a US spy plane. By coincidence this would provide Oswald with a reason to believe that Walker was an evil person and that he was involved with an evil organization, both things that Oswald supposedly believed.

I really can't follow the logic here. If Walker helped Oswald in this quest to stop the summit by giving radar information enabling the Soviets to bring down a U2, why would that assistance give rise to Oswald believe he was an evil person?

Another "coincidence" in this sequence of coincidences is the failure of the CIA to provide passenger lists for Oswald's trip from London to Helsinki. While many have speculated (led by Chris Mills) that a sensitive name may have been on one of the planes, with the help of Antti Hynonen we have shown that it is possible, just by coincidenc that both Walker and Oswald could have traveled from London to Hamburg or London to Frankfurt on the morning of October 10 in time to be on one of the two planes that would carry passengers from London to Helsinki in time to check into the Torni Hotel. We also have the coincidence that Ambassador Hickerson had provided the State Department with information about entry into the Soviet Union via the Russian embassy in Helsinki the day before Oswald arrives in Helsinki. By "coincidence" Hickerson had also nsent a previous memo that arrived at State on the Same day that Oswald would later apply for his passport in Santa Ana, Calif. listing Helsinki as a possible destination. By coincidence Oswald would follow the Hickerson directions to the "T" when he applied for his visa in the Soviet Union and would receive his entry papers to Russia within 24 hours.

Yes. But unless you can verify Walker's route and mode of travel, that part remains conjecture. The rest, as you know, I agree is a little too coincidental.

You are correct that some things are just coincidental but a sequence of coincidences raises the proportional probability to ever higher numbers with each addition to the number of events in the sequence of coincidences. For instance the chances of flipping a coin and having it come up heads is 1:2 For a flip of a coin to come up heads 10 times in a row is 1:1024 attempts at 10 flips in a row. For the 10 heads in a row flips to actually happen could resonably require about 5100 attempts. While any one of the ten flips being heads is easy enough to explain as a coincidence if viewed as a string of single events one loses the impact of the algebraic impact of the sequence comming true. At what time does one start to suspect that a sequence of events is less than coincidental but rather the result of a controlling influence?

Which is why I wrote the following on my website:

The activities of Lee Harvey Oswald during his short life did not take place in a vacuum to be filled with plot scenarios purloined from Saturday Matinees. His was a real life, in a real world on the brink. And in that real world there were studies, policies, programs and overt and covert operations all pulling it either closer to the brink, or pulling it back. The trick was never to tip it over, but to perpetuate the feeling that it just might tip at any minute.

From his time in New York City, there is a distinct pattern of his activities fitting sweetly into just those curious little boxes. In the field of logic there is a logical fallacy known as cum hoc ergo propter hoc ("with this, therefore because of this"). Basically, it states that correlation does not imply cause and effect. However, logic also dictates that a long pattern of correlation considerably shortens the odds in favor of just such an implication.

Noted statistician, Edward R Tufte, goes so far as to suggest that the oft-quoted maxim "correlation is not causation" is incomplete and therefore innacurate. According to Tufte, the shortest true statement that can be made about causality and correlation is, "correlation is not causation, but it sure is a hint."

With that in mind, we now journey through those correlations: hints for future inquiries to ponder and investigate.

"Not sure about Kennedy, but it was certainly fatal for Oswald."

Agreed

For myself, as I have researched the life of Edwin Walker, the sequence of "coincidental" events continues to mount and for my bet the odds are that his relationship to this story is not just coincidental.

I may have been under a misapprehension regarding one of your central tenets. Didn't at some stage, you postulate that Walker was only acting the role of an extreme right winger in Germany; this, largely based on the fact that he kept the peace in Little Rock? If so, has your recent interview in which it was claimed he was running Pro Blue as early as 54/55, changed your opinion about that?

Jim Root

Edited April 20, 2008 by Greg Parker

[Jim Root]

Greg

Great post!

"He is technically right in saying Pro-Blue was not a program created by the JBS - regardless of when it began. It remains true, however, that the distribution of JBS material in Germany was part of it - as was his use of American Opinion as a guide for his troops as to who they should vote for. "

And the author of the Overseas Weekly article believed that Walker should have been tried for "his use of American Opinion as a guide for his troops as to who they should vote for." Needless to say, from the information that I have gathered Walker seems to have allowed whoever he put in charge of his "Pro Blue" program at any given time to run that program with our without a great deal of supervision. If it is Roberts and Roberts intorduces JBS material it remains Walker who is ultimately responsible for the program. It is not my point of what was going on in 1961 that is of importance. My point is that this or a similar program was in place for many years and only seems to have become a problem at exactly the same time that Oswald announces his intentions to return to America. THIS is the coincidence that standing alone would not seem to have much relavence. COLLECTIVELY this single coincidence seems to fit within a puzzle that presents an interesting picture of the importance of Oswald's "defection" to the Soviet Union. An importance that to this day, I might suggest, that we do not fully understand. Yet if the Oswald defection was of such great importance then the "new" 201 File in Dec. of 1960 can be fully explained, especially in light of the fact that it seems that up until late 1960 the position of the CIA was that Oswald had renounced his citizenship and would never be allowed to return to the US.

"The men of the 24th Infantry seem about equally divided in their respect for him"

As do men who served under him throughout his career, even back to the 1930's.

"I really can't follow the logic here. If Walker helped Oswald in this quest to stop the summit by giving radar information enabling the Soviets to bring down a U2, why would that assistance give rise to Oswald believe he was an evil person?"

I believe that Oswald made reference, in a conversation with his wife, something about if Hitler had been stopped at an early date, to explain his attempt on the life of Walker. I believe that there was also a reference to DeMohrenschildt where Oswald refers to Walker as "evil."

I do not believe that it was Walker's "quest to stop the summit," but do believe that the US nuclear negotiations team did express a fear for the negitive position that the US could be placed in if the US were forced, by international pressure, to sign a limited test ban treaty at the Paris Summit in May of 1960 (November 1959). McCloy was one who expressed this fear and I believe that NSC 68 provided the means whereby US Intelligence would have the authority to provide a nexus for that summit to fail, which it did after the U-2 Incident.

Oswald was a radar operator who may or may not have provided the Soviets with information that was then used to down the U-2. Oswald was very aware of the association between the two events (U-2 - Summit failure) as his speech at Spring Hill College shows. The point here is that "IF" Walker did help Oswald enter the Soviet Union and "IF" later Oswald himself felt guilt for the failure of the Paris Summit he would have a reason to express a hatred toward Walker and could easily have believed that Walker was the head of an "evil" organization (which he seems to have expressed to at least two different people) bent upon bringing about a war between the two super powers. This could lead us to many conjectures about Oswald's mental state at that time but lets not go to far here.

"Yes. But unless you can verify Walker's route and mode of travel, that part remains conjecture. The rest, as you know, I agree is a little too coincidental."

Still working upon that!

"I may have been under a misapprehension regarding one of your central tenets. Didn't at some stage, you postulate that Walker was only acting the role of an extreme right winger in Germany; this, largely based on the fact that he kept the peace in Little Rock? If so, has your recent interview in which it was claimed he was running Pro Blue as early as 54/55, changed your opinion about that?"

No. I hve postulated that once back in the United States and after he had become a "Right Wing" celebraty that Walker was THEN positioned to spy upon the right wing in America.

Walker himself was very concerned about the WHY that he had been persecuted by the press with what he felt was official sanctioning. He believed it was intelligence organizations that had set him up and did a great deal of investigation into this possibility when the whole Overseas Weekly and Muzzeling hearings were going on (numerous written records support this hypothisis). Then Walker joined in on the right wing speaking tours and would have been a great asset to US Intelligence in this field. Since, and I believe this strongly, Walker had always been involved in intelligence/counter intelligence operations throughout his career he would have accepted this destiny without question!

When the President was assinated I might suggest that Walker, at least until Oswald's death, may have feared that he was about to be set up once again....

And yes, "With that in mind, we now journey through those correlations: hints for future inquiries to ponder and investigate."

Jim Root

[Robert Howard]

Greg

Great post!

"He is technically right in saying Pro-Blue was not a program created by the JBS - regardless of when it began. It remains true, however, that the distribution of JBS material in Germany was part of it - as was his use of American Opinion as a guide for his troops as to who they should vote for. "

And the author of the Overseas Weekly article believed that Walker should have been tried for "his use of American Opinion as a guide for his troops as to who they should vote for." Needless to say, from the information that I have gathered Walker seems to have allowed whoever he put in charge of his "Pro Blue" program at any given time to run that program with our without a great deal of supervision. If it is Roberts and Roberts intorduces JBS material it remains Walker who is ultimately responsible for the program. It is not my point of what was going on in 1961 that is of importance. My point is that this or a similar program was in place for many years and only seems to have become a problem at exactly the same time that Oswald announces his intentions to return to America. THIS is the coincidence that standing alone would not seem to have much relavence. COLLECTIVELY this single coincidence seems to fit within a puzzle that presents an interesting picture of the importance of Oswald's "defection" to the Soviet Union. An importance that to this day, I might suggest, that we do not fully understand. Yet if the Oswald defection was of such great importance then the "new" 201 File in Dec. of 1960 can be fully explained, especially in light of the fact that it seems that up until late 1960 the position of the CIA was that Oswald had renounced his citizenship and would never be allowed to return to the US.

"The men of the 24th Infantry seem about equally divided in their respect for him"

As do men who served under him throughout his career, even back to the 1930's.

"I really can't follow the logic here. If Walker helped Oswald in this quest to stop the summit by giving radar information enabling the Soviets to bring down a U2, why would that assistance give rise to Oswald believe he was an evil person?"

I believe that Oswald made reference, in a conversation with his wife, something about if Hitler had been stopped at an early date, to explain his attempt on the life of Walker. I believe that there was also a reference to DeMohrenschildt where Oswald refers to Walker as "evil."

I do not believe that it was Walker's "quest to stop the summit," but do believe that the US nuclear negotiations team did express a fear for the negitive position that the US could be placed in if the US were forced, by international pressure, to sign a limited test ban treaty at the Paris Summit in May of 1960 (November 1959). McCloy was one who expressed this fear and I believe that NSC 68 provided the means whereby US Intelligence would have the authority to provide a nexus for that summit to fail, which it did after the U-2 Incident.

Oswald was a radar operator who may or may not have provided the Soviets with information that was then used to down the U-2. Oswald was very aware of the association between the two events (U-2 - Summit failure) as his speech at Spring Hill College shows. The point here is that "IF" Walker did help Oswald enter the Soviet Union and "IF" later Oswald himself felt guilt for the failure of the Paris Summit he would have a reason to express a hatred toward Walker and could easily have believed that Walker was the head of an "evil" organization (which he seems to have expressed to at least two different people) bent upon bringing about a war between the two super powers. This could lead us to many conjectures about Oswald's mental state at that time but lets not go to far here.

"Yes. But unless you can verify Walker's route and mode of travel, that part remains conjecture. The rest, as you know, I agree is a little too coincidental."

Still working upon that!

"I may have been under a misapprehension regarding one of your central tenets. Didn't at some stage, you postulate that Walker was only acting the role of an extreme right winger in Germany; this, largely based on the fact that he kept the peace in Little Rock? If so, has your recent interview in which it was claimed he was running Pro Blue as early as 54/55, changed your opinion about that?"

No. I hve postulated that once back in the United States and after he had become a "Right Wing" celebraty that Walker was THEN positioned to spy upon the right wing in America.

Walker himself was very concerned about the WHY that he had been persecuted by the press with what he felt was official sanctioning. He believed it was intelligence organizations that had set him up and did a great deal of investigation into this possibility when the whole Overseas Weekly and Muzzeling hearings were going on (numerous written records support this hypothisis). Then Walker joined in on the right wing speaking tours and would have been a great asset to US Intelligence in this field. Since, and I believe this strongly, Walker had always been involved in intelligence/counter intelligence operations throughout his career he would have accepted this destiny without question!

When the President was assinated I might suggest that Walker, at least until Oswald's death, may have feared that he was about to be set up once again....

And yes, "With that in mind, we now journey through those correlations: hints for future inquiries to ponder and investigate."

Jim Root

Some might question why I would post the following on this thread, but as some of those who peruse files on a consistent basis, Oswald's 201 File is extremely large these day's; plus the fact that I do not get quite as excited about "hot off the press" type of headline size allegations.

Nevertheless, one has to scratch one's head when you read about a person in Dallas from 1964, who was not prosecuted for impersonating a Secret Service Agent.

See

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/...amp;relPageId=8

The previous three pages should give you a point of reference to pick all the salient points....

[Harry J.Dean]

Greg

Great post!

"He is technically right in saying Pro-Blue was not a program created by the JBS - regardless of when it began. It remains true, however, that the distribution of JBS material in Germany was part of it - as was his use of American Opinion as a guide for his troops as to who they should vote for. "

And the author of the Overseas Weekly article believed that Walker should have been tried for "his use of American Opinion as a guide for his troops as to who they should vote for." Needless to say, from the information that I have gathered Walker seems to have allowed whoever he put in charge of his "Pro Blue" program at any given time to run that program with our without a great deal of supervision. If it is Roberts and Roberts intorduces JBS material it remains Walker who is ultimately responsible for the program. It is not my point of what was going on in 1961 that is of importance. My point is that this or a similar program was in place for many years and only seems to have become a problem at exactly the same time that Oswald announces his intentions to return to America. THIS is the coincidence that standing alone would not seem to have much relavence. COLLECTIVELY this single coincidence seems to fit within a puzzle that presents an interesting picture of the importance of Oswald's "defection" to the Soviet Union. An importance that to this day, I might suggest, that we do not fully understand. Yet if the Oswald defection was of such great importance then the "new" 201 File in Dec. of 1960 can be fully explained, especially in light of the fact that it seems that up until late 1960 the position of the CIA was that Oswald had renounced his citizenship and would never be allowed to return to the US.

"The men of the 24th Infantry seem about equally divided in their respect for him"

As do men who served under him throughout his career, even back to the 1930's.

"I really can't follow the logic here. If Walker helped Oswald in this quest to stop the summit by giving radar information enabling the Soviets to bring down a U2, why would that assistance give rise to Oswald believe he was an evil person?"

I believe that Oswald made reference, in a conversation with his wife, something about if Hitler had been stopped at an early date, to explain his attempt on the life of Walker. I believe that there was also a reference to DeMohrenschildt where Oswald refers to Walker as "evil."

I do not believe that it was Walker's "quest to stop the summit," but do believe that the US nuclear negotiations team did express a fear for the negitive position that the US could be placed in if the US were forced, by international pressure, to sign a limited test ban treaty at the Paris Summit in May of 1960 (November 1959). McCloy was one who expressed this fear and I believe that NSC 68 provided the means whereby US Intelligence would have the authority to provide a nexus for that summit to fail, which it did after the U-2 Incident.

Oswald was a radar operator who may or may not have provided the Soviets with information that was then used to down the U-2. Oswald was very aware of the association between the two events (U-2 - Summit failure) as his speech at Spring Hill College shows. The point here is that "IF" Walker did help Oswald enter the Soviet Union and "IF" later Oswald himself felt guilt for the failure of the Paris Summit he would have a reason to express a hatred toward Walker and could easily have believed that Walker was the head of an "evil" organization (which he seems to have expressed to at least two different people) bent upon bringing about a war between the two super powers. This could lead us to many conjectures about Oswald's mental state at that time but lets not go to far here.

"Yes. But unless you can verify Walker's route and mode of travel, that part remains conjecture. The rest, as you know, I agree is a little too coincidental."

Still working upon that!

"I may have been under a misapprehension regarding one of your central tenets. Didn't at some stage, you postulate that Walker was only acting the role of an extreme right winger in Germany; this, largely based on the fact that he kept the peace in Little Rock? If so, has your recent interview in which it was claimed he was running Pro Blue as early as 54/55, changed your opinion about that?"

No. I hve postulated that once back in the United States and after he had become a "Right Wing" celebraty that Walker was THEN positioned to spy upon the right wing in America.

Walker himself was very concerned about the WHY that he had been persecuted by the press with what he felt was official sanctioning. He believed it was intelligence organizations that had set him up and did a great deal of investigation into this possibility when the whole Overseas Weekly and Muzzeling hearings were going on (numerous written records support this hypothisis). Then Walker joined in on the right wing speaking tours and would have been a great asset to US Intelligence in this field. Since, and I believe this strongly, Walker had always been involved in intelligence/counter intelligence operations throughout his career he would have accepted this destiny without question!

When the President was assinated I might suggest that Walker, at least until Oswald's death, may have feared that he was about to be set up once again....

And yes, "With that in mind, we now journey through those correlations: hints for future inquiries to ponder and investigate."

Jim Root

Some might question why I would post the following on this thread, but as some of those who peruse files on a consistent basis, Oswald's 201 File is extremely large these day's; plus the fact that I do not get quite as excited about "hot off the press" type of headline size allegations.

Nevertheless, one has to scratch one's head when you read about a person in Dallas from 1964, who was not prosecuted for impersonating a Secret Service Agent.

See

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/...amp;relPageId=8

The previous three pages should give you a point of reference to pick all the salient points....

Deutschland To Dallas

The JFK answer lies

Under German skies

In the 1960s years,

'Seek out' all members

Of the "Special Shooters

Team" in Walker's 24th!

H.J. Dean

[Charles Drago]

The U-2 data that enabled the Soviets to shoot down the plane -- if pre-flight sabotage can be ruled out -- was available via long-established high level (pun intended) contacts.

An American defector, false or otherwise, with specialized U-2 knowledge was sent to provide a plausible explanation and thus protect the treasonous cabal of U.S. and Soviet intelligence officers whose masters were above Cold War differences.

Hence the first known patsying of Lee Harvey Oswald.

[Linda Minor]

Oswald’s 201 file had been created in December 1960 by Ann Egerter. She controlled that file for the next three years. In other words, nothing could go in or out of this file without her permission.

When the HSCA asked Ann Egerter for an interview she refused. When Dan Hardaway of the HSCA threatened to subpoena her, she changed her mind. However, the verbatim record of her testimony is still classified.

There are many unanswered questions about Oswald’s 201 file. The first concerns the date it was opened. Why did it take over a year for the CIA to open his file? He defected in October 1959. Egerter was unable to answer this question. She said she created the file when she saw Oswald’s name on a list of defectors to the Soviet Union in December 1960. Richard Helms was also unable to answer this question. He told the HSCA: “I can’t imagine why it would have taken an entire year. I am amazed.”

The 201 opening form filled out by Egerter is also very strange. It includes the terms “defected to the USSR” and “radar operator” but does not include Oswald’s threat to pass official secrets corning his work to the Soviets.

The logical question is "What branch of the CIA did Egerter work for?"

The answer is found here: http://www.ctka.net/pr700-ang.html

PROBE--From the July-August 2000 issue (Vol. 7 No. 5)

By Lisa Pease

***

CI/SIG and Oswald

Angleton’s complete counterintelligence empire employed over 200 people. Inside this large group was a small handful of Angleton’s most trusted and closed-mouthed associates, called the Special Investigations Group (SIG). According to Ann Egerter, in 1959, when Oswald defected to the Soviet Union, only "about four or five" people were part of SIG, which was headed by Birch D. O’Neal. SIG members included Ann Egerter, Newton "Scotty" Miler, and very few others. Miler was, as of 1955, "either the Deputy or one of the principle officers with O’Neal," according to Angleton.²⁵ O’Neal, Egerter and Miler all play interesting roles in this case.

SIG is all-important in the case of the Kennedy assassination because, for whatever reason, SIG held a 201 file on Lee Oswald prior to the assassination. Both the Church Committee and HSCA investigators fixated quickly on this point, because it made no sense under the CIA’s scenario of their relationship (or, as they professed, non-relationship) with Oswald. What did SIG really do, and why would Oswald’s file have been there? Why wasn’t it opened when this ex-Marine (who had knowledge of the CIA’s top secret U-2 program) defected in 1959, telling embassy personnel he might have something of special interest to share with the Soviets? Why didn’t that set off alarm bells all over the place? Why was a 201 file on Oswald not opened for another year after that event? And why, when he returned to the States, did the CIA not debrief him? Or did they? These questions and more were adequately raised, to the HSCA’s credit, but not adequately answered by CIA.

Let’s start with the first issue. What did SIG do? Angleton described the primary task of SIG to the Church committee in this fashion:

The primary task was the penetration of the Agency and the government and historical penetration cases are recruitment of U.S. officials in positions, code clerks. It had a very tight filing system of its own, and it was the only component in counterintelligence that had access to the security files and the personnel maintained by the Office of Security.

²⁶

The Office of Security’s primary role was to protect the CIA from harm. This involves monitoring the CIA’s own employees and assets to ensure that no one leaks data about the CIA, or betrays the CIA in any way. Because of the nature of what was done there, Office of Security files were the most closely guarded in the Agency. It is significant, therefore, that Angleton’s CI/SIG group had access to these files. It is also significant that the Office of Security also had a file on Oswald, and was running an operation against the FPCC at the time Oswald was attaching himself visibly to that organization.

To the HSCA, Angleton gave a slightly enlarged definition:

…it had many duties that had to do with other categories of sensitive cases involving Americans and other things which were not being handled by anybody else or just falling between the stools and so on.

²⁷

Asked whether SIG’s charter would elucidate its operational mandate, Angleton replied,

It would probably be in fairly camoflauged terms, yes. It was not a unit, however, whose duties were in other words, explained to people. I mean, in training school and do on it was very much fuzzed over if anyone was laying out the CI staff.

²⁸

According to Angleton’s close associate Raymond G. Rocca, SIG

…was set up to handle especially sensitive cases in the area of security or personnel and in particular, cases involving security of personnel who were also of operational interest, as operators.

In other words, it was an interface with the Office of Security.²⁹

When asked what would cause CI/SIG to open a 201 file on someone, Rocca gave this answer:

I would imagine that they would have had that occasion whenever a question arose that concerned people that came within the purview of the mission that I have described, namely, the penetration of our operations or the advancement of our particular interests with respect to the security of those operations…. I mean, there were many sensitive areas that involved aspects, that involved sources and access to materials that were of higher classification than what you have shown me.

³⁰

When the conversation is brought around to Oswald in particular, Rocca’s answer is even more interesting:

Rocca: Let me go back and open a little parenthesis about this. What I regard now, in the light of what you said, is probably a too narrow view of what SIG was interested in.

They were also concerned with Americans as a security threat in a community-wide sense, and they dealt with FBI cases, with the Office of Security cases, and with other cases on the same level, as they dealt with our own, basically….It would be with respect to where and what had happened to DDP materials with respect to a defection in any of these places.

Goldsmith: Again, though, Oswald had nothing to do with the DDP at this time, at least apparently.

Rocca: I’m not saying that.

You

said it. [Emphasis added.]

³¹

Rocca’s answer hangs out there, teasing us with ambiguity. Did Oswald have something to do with the Directorate of Plans, the DDP?

...The rest of this article can be found in The Assassinations, edited by Jim DiEugenio and Lisa Pease.

[Note apparently the footnote numbering was changed when excerpts were made. Find sources at above url.]