Who killed JFK?

[Tim Gratz]

Mark what I think is ridiculous is that if the conspirators knew of the enmity between Hoover and the Kennedys they would assume that if Hoover was informed of a plan to kill the President he would not fulfill his duties. I think that HIGHLY unlikely. But even if that was Hoover's attitude, there was no way the conspirators could be certain of that. So without that cerainty why would the conspirators risk exposure by advising the head of the FBI?

I think the situation may be different with LBJ because I think the conspirators had "the goods" on LBJ and could have been assured his compliance lest they expose his corruption. So I think it either possible or probable that to ensure a cover-up the conspirators gave LBJ a very limited advance notice of the assassination.

My scenario can be criticized by the same reasoning that I criticized your theory of Hoover's being given advance notice: how did the conspirators know for a fact that LBJ would not stand up to them, refuse their blackmail, and save the President's life even at the cost of his political career? Well, since Marcello cohort Halfen had apparently been corrupting LBJ for years, the conspirators probably had every reason to suspect that LBJ's first priority would be self-preservation.

Edited September 26, 2005 by Tim Gratz

[John Simkin]

Memo to John Simkin: John, it pains me to write this memo, but can you please advise why Tim Gratz has not yet been barred from this forum? Debra Conway has vastly improved the Lancer Forum because she had the balls to disbar that stupid Von Pein character who, like Gratz, has absolutely no interest in solving the murders of JFK, J.D. Tippit or, last but not least, the murder of Lee Oswald. If any further evidence was needed that Gratz is totally insincere, just read the bullxxxx he has written above. This man is a law school grad, so he can't plead stupidity (of course Dan Quayle was also a law school grad, so you never know) My question is: Do you have the testicular fortitude that the the lovely Debra has?  If not, then I don't see how you can show your face in Dallas at NID 2005.

I am an old fashioned English liberal who believes in freedom of speech. I think it is intellectually healthy to have people on this forum with very different political views. As a supporter of the Socratic method of education, I hope that onlookers learn by watching these intellectual debates. Unfortunately we do not have intelligent members of the forum who are supporters of George Bush. Nor do we have such members who support the lone gunman or the Castro/KGB did it theory. However, we do have Tim Gratz. I know he is extremely irritating and constantly tries to hijack threads. His intellectual abilities are clear to all those who bother to read his posts. His failure to produce a logical theory about who killed JFK on this thread is further evidence of this. Remember, this is the man who constantly hijacks other people’s threads with his Castro/KGB did it arguments.

Tim also has a tendency to threaten me with legal action if others criticise him. His comments on threads outside the JFK thread show him to be a man with unpleasant moral standards (usually expressed when defending the policies of George Bush and the Christian Right).

I believe that Tim’s presence on this forum helps to educate students (young and old). Over the months the debates that have included Tim’s comments have been read by millions of people all over the world. I have enough faith in the human race to believe that he does a great deal of damage to the cause of the far right.

I do find it strange that you should state: "My question is: Do you have the testicular fortitude that the lovely Debra has? I don't see how you can show your face in Dallas at NID 2005”. In the UK we have a different view of masculinity. We probably have a different view on the concept of freedom of speech. Therefore I still refuse to bar Tim Gratz from the forum. I also still intend to turn up in Dallas.

Can we now get back to the original theme of the thread. Maybe Tim can even outline his theory on his apparent belief that JFK was assassinated as a result of a Castro/KGB/Mafia conspiracy.

I am sure we all have a lot of things we want to discuss with some of the postings that have been made so far (I especially want to look in detail at Jeff Morley’s contribution). However, I would like the next couple of days taken up with members posting their own theories. We can then open it up to a full scale debate.

[Matthew Smith]

I believe the assassination of JFK was the work of a highly competent team of (1) marksmen, (2) communications operatives, and (3) liaison personnel, and I could not remotely go with the notion of two Cuban agents carrying this out. With respect, this is little better than the Warren Report's lone gunman theory.

Wayne January's fully documented encounter with a renegade CIA pilot at Red Bird airfield was very revealing. It also established that the team of assassins was great enough to require a Douglas DC3 to take them out of Dallas.

[J. Raymond Carroll]

John Simkin wrote: "I believe that Tim’s presence on this forum helps to educate students (young and old). Over the months the debates that have included Tim’s comments have been read by millions of people all over the world. I have enough faith in the human race to believe that he does a great deal of damage to the cause of the far right."

Here I defer to your expertise as an educator.

John Simkin wrote:

"I do find it strange that you should state: "My question is: Do you have the testicular fortitude that the lovely Debra has? I don't see how you can show your face in Dallas at NID 2005”. In the UK we have a different view of masculinity. We probably have a different view on the concept of freedom of speech. Therefore I still refuse to bar Tim Gratz from the forum. I also still intend to turn up in Dallas."

I do not see this as an issue of fredom of speech since Tim's views, (like David Von Pein's on the lancer forum) are more than adequately represented in powerful mainstream media outlets. However, I apologize sincerely for the shockingly bad taste of my puerile attempt at humor. I wrote it at the end of a long day when it was well past my bedtime.

[Lee Forman]

I'm not completely satisfied in my own understanding of the whole construct - and there have been many very interesting posts made before mine - many of which I find myself in alignment - however, I feel a need to segment the conspiracy [the plotting, funding, coordination, etc.] - to some extent from the operation. Something that would resemble a large hourglass, one side much larger than the other, with Intelligence, primarily the CIA, in the middle.

In terms of my own beliefs on the conspiracy - My own leanings are towards what has been defined as a 'Secret Government.' Or it could be defined as an extended 'Military Industrial Complex.' This would include, at a minimum, that the charter of intelligence organizations such as the CIA is not limited to the collection of information, but the execution of policy. That this organization, linked with others, is really a vehicle whereby policy is created and exacted on an International basis, for the main purpose of fostering US 'friendly' regimes, and promoting and protecting investments and opportunities outside of the United States. I do not believe that it falls under the original framer's ideas for a system of checks and balances - it is accountable to itself, and has the freedom and budget to engage in activities that are unscrupulous, illegal, and etc., with or without the knowledge or consent of the Executive Branch. It also uses methods to 'create' intelligence, which has nothing at all to do with the truth. Within the various organizations and channels represented by this agency are the relationships with the very businesses and masters they serve - which largely includer the concept we know today as the Multi-National Corporation. Large US owned businesses that shape the policy and decision-making of the body that was created to promote and protect these interests.

This would include connections with the Maffia, and leaders of Countries that produce Coca, Marijuana, etc, since an early date [1952?], at which time the CIA was already engaged in the drug trafficking racket. Policy dictated that this sort of activity was condoned, as it appears to have somehow also part of a program to distibute these illegal drug substances into targetted domestic areas, and therefore certain undesireable groups of people. The cash that resulted from such transactions resulted in monies to be used in further supporting the overall aims at creating 'democratic' nation states, which would be beholden to the US - as a sort of new hegemony / Global expansion / divine right - Interdependency, as opposed to further expansion of the United States territory. Supplying arms, sponsoring insurgent armies, providing funds, military training, plenty of propaganda, etc.

Further connections with the Maffia would occur through the relationship which was forged for the elimination of Castro.

Cuba represented trade - sugar, prostitution, weapons, drugs, gambling, etc. It also represented a microcosm for the Cold War battle between 'Democracy' and 'Communism' between the US and USSR - as did the Congo, Vietnam, etc. Right in Florida's backyard.

Oil is of course a much larger scale concern, and there were plenty that have already been cited as somehow being engaged, if only as a channel for funding, and connections to certain organizations like the JBS and etc.

The pursuit of oil [and other resources such as minerals], and what it represents to the US economy - it is the job of the CIA and other organizations to ensure that the US extends it's control over any region or country that is oil [or mineral] rich.

I believe that there was quite a lot of those invested heavily in Oil interests - domestically and abroad - as well as Fruit, sugar, mining, 'slave labor,'cocaine, heroin, etc. These would include many high level Political figures. See the story of the United Fruit Company,

http://www.mayaparadise.com/ufc1e.htm

or Kermit the frog Roosevelt. Here's a nice piece on the Iran coup which provides plenty by way of details for precedence.

http://www.iranchamber.com/history/coup53/coup53p1.php

When Kennedy threatened to abolish the CIA, and with his dismissal of Dulles, Cabelle, etc. -- that was a major faux pas. There was a large budget, numerous operations, thousands of operators scattered across the globe - all working to ensure that the elite in the US continued to profit in their International schemes and political agendas.

The BOP was one of the final straws. Batista had been supported by the US - the money was good. When Castro made his bid for power, one could say it was also supported, as it went unopposed, while efforts were made to produce propaganda to support this transition. When Castro failed to get the kind of things that he wanted, he saw that there was another alternative open to him, represented by the USSR. Long story short - Castro went in for Communism, and began an undeniably repugnant and wrongful extermination program.

As the Cubans began streaming into Florida by the thousands daily, there were certain programs and ops set-up to pick-up intel [on the Nukes, etc], as well as recruit. Many of these Cubans were willing to fight with their lives - angry at Castro, and filled with a desire for freedom in their own Country - and were duped into serving as extended CIA muscle. And they are still the foolish pawns of the right today - and are too arrogant to recognize that nothing has been done for 40+ years - but they vote as a block for the Republican Party - a truly remarkable historical phenomenon. Despierta te! Digression...

There was a belief that aside from sugar, rum, prostitution, drugs and gambling interests - there may also be oil offshore Cuba. And this brings in some of the same parties, CIA associated, which were involved in the disaster of the BOP. Infilitration was occurring at multiple levels [KGB/GRU/G2/CIA/FBI/etc] - and even a blending could be seen between operatives from the various Political ideologies.

The failure of the BOP and the backlash it created against the CIA would prove Kennedy's undoing, IMO.

Within the various auspices of the CIA and the Military Industrial Complex, there were operations which included Propaganda, and control of US media - [OPERATION MOCKINGBIRD].

There were multiple brainwashing and other related experiments for biological warfare which included experimentation on human beings, germ technology, population control studies, etc [PROJECT BLUEBIRD, MKDELTA, MKSEARCH, Operation PAPERCIP, ARTICHOKE, MKULTRA, etc. etc. etc,].

There was a large budget devoted to Castro through MONGOOSE, and various other PSYOPS programs. Sydney Gottlieb - what else was he working on.

There is a precedent set by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the OPERATION NORTHWOODS for operations which would include domestic terrorism to garner public support and appropriate the required resources for specific goals - Northwoods was created in response to a request made by Lansdale.

There were Executive Action programs that pre-dated ZR-RIFLE, and the extermination of elected leaders to Nations that refused to buckle to the desires of the US Interests in their respective countries. There was Vietnam, and the whole battle that was being fought on multiple levels - levels which included the lucrative drug trade, but also policy and the stance on 'Communism' vs 'Democracy.' There were covert operations taking place on American soil - largely I imagine through the creation of the DOD domestic arm of the CIA - which was entirely contrary to it's original charter. Some of these included such operations as COINTELPRO [FBI?] and MHCHAOS.

So essentially, you have a young, Catholic, Northerner - associated with old Politics through his Father - coming to power at a time when things were already doing fine without him mucking about. And there was plenty of desire to keep status quo, and conceal some activities. His stance on peace and race didn't help him any - an understatement. Neither did the death of his Father.

A threat to eliminate the oil depletion allowance, The Federal Reserve Act, Detente with Cuba, leaving Vietnam, US Steel, The Teamsters, The Missile Crisis, etc. - all of these initiatives would impact multiple Millionaires, Billionaires and Large Companies and interests which had plenty of Political Clout and International aims, which would largely be controlled or aided by the CIA - which had a plethora of initiatives in progress, and plenty of plans for expansion.

The JBS, LDS, and associated organizations, which would largely be infilitrated and merged, and etc. I don't fully appreciate the enormity of this event. Somehow there would have had to have been a partnering by these elements and the CIA and affiliates. There are multiple interesting connections - many through the same Operation Paperclip / MKULTRA connection.

Nuclear would also make up a large part of this scenario. Israel would be key to future policy, through allegiances between the CIA and Mossad, and the nature of the program for Israel, and it's strategic value due to the geographical nature of it's location and proximity to oil rich Nations.

The operation in Dallas was another remarkable historical event. It appears that numerous operatives were brought in from a large variety of backgrounds / organizations in compartmentalized fashion. If you believe Kerry Thornley, who wasn't the most stable or credible character, it was EH Hunt that put together the concept of the 'Maximum complicity crime.' Bringing together in Dallas multiple groups - possibly not even with knowledge as to the target, or that an assassination was about to take place - to create a trail of false leads, real leads, and a never-ending guessing game as to what really happened. Shooters engaged in compartmentalized fashion - individuals responsible for very defined roles [surveying, transporting, false identification, signalling, driving, recording, spotting, shooting, creating diversions, etc.].

JD Tippit? Probably just at the wrong place at the wrong time. If Culligan is to be believed, then there's a great possibility Tippit stumbled across one of the retired Dallas Police cars, being used by the operation, and parked at one of the safe houses. If only we knew the make, model and color of car driven by James A. Andrews when he was pulled over by Tippit - we might have a better appreciation for what he was searching for, and a better guess as to what he may have been doing.

No one would have had the power or the reach to obtain funding for this program from so many different resources, perform all of the required planning - which may have included a reduction in security and a change in the route, etc., set-up a patsy, and source operatives from so many different organizations - except an organization as powerful and connected as the CIA and it's affiliates. No one would have the power, experience and know-how on how to carry out such an extensive operation, and create the cover-up -with it's whirlwind of lies, false leads, plants, dead-ends, alteration of films and photos, and the murder of innocents who did nothing more than relate information concerning what they had witnessed, etc. - except the CIA and it's affiliates.

The CIA is not now nor has it ever been a central intelligence agency. It is the covert action arm of the President's foreign policy advisers. In that capacity it overthrows or supports foreign governments while reporting "intelligence" justifying those activities. It shapes its intelligence, even in such critical areas as Soviet nuclear weapons capability, to support presidential policy. Disinformation is a large part of its covert action responsibility, and the American people are the primary target of its lies.

Ralph McGehee

Questions:

I believe that learning more about the program initiated by RFK, which has been termed 'PROJECT FREEDOM' for lack of the real name - is imperative for filling in some of the blanks that remain.

Was there a PROJECT PURPLE SHAFT?

What was the original purpose of the first OPERATION MOSQUITO?

How botched was the plan for 11/22/63? How different was the result from the plan?

I am also quite interested to learn what role an MKULTRA program may have had -not only in the conspiracy but in the operation. The MKULTRA connection contains names like Charles Willoughby, Phillip Corso, Frank Capell, Lansdale, etc - organizations like the JBS, The Shickshinny Knights of Malta, LDS, etc.. PSYOPS. Sydney Gottlieb. Martin Bormann. Gehlen. Walker. It spirals out of control.

While accusations of biological warfare by Cuba are utterly bogus, a typical Cold War “disinformation” campaign, the United States government has a long history of using biological and chemical warfare against the Caribbean island nation. In 1961-62, the CIA’s infamous “Operation Mongoose” sought to cause sickness among sugar cane workers by spreading chemicals on the cane fields. U.S. agents repeatedly contaminated exported Cuban sugar. The CIA later admitted that during the 1960s it undertook clandestine anti-crop warfare “research” targeting a number of countries under its MK-ULTRA program, but claimed its records had been destroyed. At the end of the decade, as Castro tried to mobilize the population to bring in ten million tons of sugar, in addition to the regime’s rampant bureaucratic snafus the CIA sabotaged the harvest by seeding clouds to cause torrential rains in nearby provinces while leaving the cane fields parched (see William Blum, Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II [Common Courage Press, 1995]).

A final interesting question/observation is this - if the assassination of Kennedy was indeed performed primarily through pressure and funding by large interest groups, rightwing organizations, Politicians, Multi-Millionaires/Billionaires and their relationship and affiliations to the CIA who the found methods to execute policy [anti-Communism, racial segregation at home, means of Population control, successful overthrow of unwanted Political Regimes, etc.]- primarily through their use of anti-Castro Cubans, ties to the Maffia, clandestine methods of communication, covert ops and secret weapons, money laundering, etc, which resulted in an enormous clean-up and cover-up afterwards - what relationship/impact could one assume to the present Political regime?

[Mark Knight]

My opinion--and until there is unquestionable evidence, opinions are all that is available--on who killed JFK has evolved over the past [nearly] 42 years. When Oswald was gunned down in the basement garage of the DPD by Ruby, I just knew it was a conspiracy; somebody wanted to "shut him up" before Oswald said too much or revealed too many details. I was 9 years old then.

Then the Warren Commission Report came along. This bipartisan group [allegedly] had access to all the investigative resources of the United States Government, and the Commission claimed that a preponderance of evidence showed beyond a reasonable doubt that Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Kennedy alone, with no conspiracy before the fact. That was a difficult result to accept, but as a loyal American I accepted their judgement. I was nearly 10 years old then.

Then the inconsistencies between the Warren Commission testimony and the conclusions began to surface. When LIFE Magazine's "A Matter of Reasonable Doubt" issue came out in 1966, it was obvious that the Warren Commission's conclusions weren't supported by the Zapruder film [or at least not by the stills that were released].

Over the years, I've read everything I could get my hands on to try to understand the "5W's and an H" that would tell the story: who, what, when, where, why, and how. That's what led me to journalism classes in college, in fact. But the questions weren't being answered with 100% certainty. The "who?" became "whodunnit?", and the "where?" became "where was/were the shooter(s)?"; the "why?" was still "why?", but the more information that poured forth, the less certain the answere appeared.

Who, among those who claimed involvement in the assassination, were true confessors and who were publicity seekers? Where was a conspiracy hatched? Washington? New Orleans? Miami? Dallas? Vegas? Los Angeles? Havana?

As a child, I resented having information withheld "for your own good." As an adult, the resentment has only grown. The questions that remain unanswered in my own mind have actually been answered somewhere, but the multiplicity of conflicting answers actually serves to block the light of truth. These days, for example, maybe Oswald wasn't really Oswald [two Oswald theory]. Maybe what we saw in the Z-film didn't really happen [film alteration theories]. Documents are forged, and others are lost or destroyed. Truth is fiction and fiction is truth.

So where does that leave my thoughts? I believe that ONE aspect of the assassination was the intention to provoke an attack on Cuba. Mafia wanted their playground back, exiles wanted their homeland back, right-wingers wanted the Commies out of the Western Hemisphere, military hawks wanted missiles out of the Caribbean. In fact, there were more reasons FOR attacking Cuba after the assassination than AGAINST. But the smoking gun, of Castro's involvement in the assassination, just never materialized. Whether this was because it didn't exist, or whether it was because it was covered up--and, if so, by whom?-- has yet to be determined conclusively.

I believe that, for this scenario to be proven, one must believe that the evidence points toward conspiracy...which I believe it overwhelmingly does. But determining who the conspirators were is a task akin to attaching metal handles to Jello and carrying it across the room.

[Tim Gratz]

Lee wrote:

No one would have had the power or the reach to obtain funding for this program from so many different resources, perform all of the required planning - which may have included a reduction in security and a change in the route, etc., set-up a patsy, and source operatives from so many different organizations - except an organization as powerful and connected as the CIA and it's affiliates. No one would have the power, experience and know-how on how to carry out such an extensive operation, and create the cover-up -with it's whirlwind of lies, false leads, plants, dead-ends, alteration of films and photos, and the murder of innocents who did nothing more than relate information concerning what they had witnessed, etc. - except the CIA and it's affiliates.

Joseph Trento says, and I agree, that the CIA was not smart enough to carry off such an operation.

Witness all the stupid mistakes it made in the BOP.

Look at its failure to be able to kill Castro despite numerous attempts.

Which is not to deny that there might have been one or more individuals in the CIA intelligent enough to do this. But from all I read about what was going on in the early sixties, Castro's intelligence operation was far superior to that of the mighty U.S.A.

[Lee Forman]

Joseph Trento says, and I agree, that the CIA was not smart enough to carry off such an operation.

Witness all the stupid mistakes it made in the BOP.

Look at its failure to be able to kill Castro despite numerous attempts.

Which is not to deny that there might have been one or more individuals in the CIA intelligent enough to do this.  But from all I read about what was going on in the early sixties, Castro's intelligence operation was far superior to that of the mighty U.S.A.

Partly agreed Tim - and a good riposte. I had a similar message from an ex-CIA officer whom I once enquired of as to his knowledge of the role played - 'the CIA are too stupid to have done it' - however - I think it's worth noting that what we have is what happened - not what was planned. I don't know the original plan - but I can surmise that things fell apart - and that there were multiple 'cock-ups.' Tippit, IMO, was one. We can guess at many others - for example, the Main Street corner and allowing certain photos to leak before they could be properly sanitized. A library card. The wrong cartridges. Too many witnesses that wouldn't shut up. People 'in the know' that shot their mouths off. The Dillard photos. The Redbird plane. The Rambler. The radios. The missed shots. The bulletholes. The Lincoln. Connally. ce399. Failure to exhibit a proper photo with Lee Oswald in the 6th floor window. Poor brain swapping. Obvious wound manipulation. TUM. DCM. Braden. Maybe the tramps. Antiquated methods of alteration which were not well coordinated and fail to withstand close examination today using computer technology. The failure to locate certain witnesses - as may have well been the case for Gordon Arnold. The amateur job on Reynolds. Odio. Mexico Oswald. The black couple behind the retaining wall. The provision of stupid plants that came forward as cover - only to provide inanities, inconsistencies and general foolish nonsense. Mostly in a reactive mode - and after the fact.

As with any bureacracy - the left hand isn't always clear on what the right is doing. Hence - many, many errors made. Perhaps a trivial example, but the one Towner photo is quite facinating for me - they failed to consistently demonstrate that no light passes through the leaves of a Texas Live Oak in that one photo.

The CIA, but in tandem with other intelligence organizations. And the old Sicilian method of leaving a patsy behind. How many times will we see that old hat worn? It's getting ragged.

The operation did not go off without it's hitches. It most likely was not according to plan - especially if one considers all the screw-ups, for one example - the overall goal was achieved, certainly - and the cover-up has lasted for 41+ years now. Ingenius and remarkable. And the machine is still working to provide cover - because some of those past trails, IMO, ride on into the sunset.

Knowledge of how the Commander-in-Chief, a 'democratically' elected President of the United States, the head of the Executive Branch of office - came to be removed from office in such a violent manner without reprisal -- Well - I don't see it as much of a leap that those who stood to profit, kept on profitting.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

[John Simkin]

Joseph Trento says, and I agree, that the CIA was not smart enough to carry off such an operation.

Witness all the stupid mistakes it made in the BOP.

Look at its failure to be able to kill Castro despite numerous attempts.

Which is not to deny that there might have been one or more individuals in the CIA intelligent enough to do this.  But from all I read about what was going on in the early sixties, Castro's intelligence operation was far superior to that of the mighty U.S.A.

Can we concentrate at this stage at putting forward our own theories of the assassination. I am still waiting for a logical account of the Castro/KGB/Mafia theory.

[Tim Gratz]

Gotcha, John, You want to defer the debate until most have had a chance to posdt their theories.

Re the Castro plot, Castro certainly had the requisite means, motive and opportunity. An aside here. Presumably anyone with the motive also had the means and opportunity since anyone operating at that level could hire paid assassins. Or, in the case of U.S. or Cuban intelligence agencies, already had assassins on the payroll. The theory that the cover-up was engineered by the people who plotted the assassination would presumably rule out elements who were not in a position to control the cover-up. However, I think you and I are in agreement that the cover-up may very well been orchestrated by people who were not part of the assassination. Also, I have suggested that the Mafia may have used blackmail to force LBJ into orchestrating the cover-up.

I now you will quarrel with me on Castro's motive but it cannot be denied that in the weeks leading up to the assassination: (1) the CIA was meeting with a man close to Castro and providing him with an instrument to kill Castro; (2) the CIA had engaged in a week-long campaign of sabotage against Cuba, in a campaign approved in a Special Group meeting attended by RFK: (3) was planning a second invasion of Cuba (and again RFK was very active in these plans); and (4) under the AMTRUNK plan the CIA was actively encouraging an internal coup against Castro. Indeed, on November 19, the CIA had notified one of its assets in Cuba that it would be broadcasting radio messages into Cuba encouraging a revolt against Castro. You and others point out that JFK had authorized the possibility of peace negotiations with Castro. However, all the other activity directed against Castro and Cuba certainly gave Castro reason to doubt the sincerity of the so-called peace initiatives. What is important is not what JFK really wanted but rather what Castro thought he was up to.

I am convinced to a moral certainty that certain Mafia figures were deeply involved in the assassination, including Marcello and Trafficante. No doubt Trafficante held his cards close to his chest, as the saying goes, but Trafficante could very well have been acting, at least in part, at the request of Castro or Castro's intelligence agents. Fueling this belief is the close connection between Trafficante and Cubela and the fact that Trafficante felt the association of such importance that he perjured himself before the HSCA in denying it. And there is also the several reports of pro-Castro Cubans in Dealey Plaza.

But all Castro arguably had to do was encourage Trafficante to kill Kennedy to make Cuba a sponsor of the assassination.

That I think is the scenario in a nutshell. Not really THAT hard to understand.

Edited September 27, 2005 by Tim Gratz

[Tim Gratz]

John wrote:

I am still waiting for a logical account of the Castro/KGB/Mafia theory.

In one sense, one could argue that any scenario that proposes the assassination was planned or sponsored by someone with the MM&O is a "logical" scenario, even in the absence of evidence to support that the scenario is close to the truth.

(Unlesss the scenario is "off the wall" such as Ron Ecker's theory that aliens did it. (I assumed he was being serious.) The mere fact that there is a life form walking around Dealey Plaza in a trench coat and that the life form looks more like an alien than like E. Howard Hunt is insufficient, in my opinion, to prove alien involvement.)

Kidding aside, my point is that any alleged sponsor that had MM & O is "logical". The question, IMO, is what evidence if any exists to make the scenario more than simply logical,

[Greg Parker]

I don't have a unified theory as such, but here is what I believe explains various aspects of the case based on my own research.

OSWALD'S INTELLIGENCE CONNECTIONS

Oswald's life lends itself to easy suspicion that he was working for at least one intelligence agency. No document however, is ever likely to come to light proving that he did.

One need look no further though, than Oswald's own family for an intelligence connection. John Pic was working for the Port Security Unit of the Coast Guard when Oswald and his mother moved in with Pic and his family in NYC. According to Naval historians, the PSU was formed to rid the docks of subversive elements. It did so by using existing networks of FBI and ONI informants. Pic took two weeks off from this work to show young Lee around the city. Lee's introduction to intelligence may have started here. Pic's later career included work as head of Pathology in two military hospitals which, in the 1990s, the DoD was forced to admit had been involved in human radiation experiments.

The 1962 Oswald Thanksgiving Day family reunion was no ordinary reunion. Pic testified that his notebook was used primarily to record mileage when he traveled. The usual reason for doing this is to claim a tax deduction on business related travele expenses. As the mileage for the trip to the reunion was recorded, it is reasonable to surmise that it was a work related task, rather than the family get-together it was purported to be. The notebook itself contains evidence that Pic and Marina swapped information related to covert activities. Pic's explanation that they used his notebook to discuss medical matters due to the language barrier, and medicine being their common language is borderline ridiculous. They could have discussed any subject verbally, using Lee as an interpreter. One reason for writing the conversation down would be to avoid electronic listening devices. The WC aided and abetted the cover-up of the true nature of this "conversation" by allowing Pic to lie about what Marina had written. Here is that exchange with Jenner:

Mr. PIC - She used Latin phrases, some of which were familiar to me.

Mr. JENNER - Just what was that writing, some medical terms?

Mr. PIC - Yes; I think these are names of drugs she was writing down. I wouldn't know.

Now look at Pic Exhibit 60. What was written is perfectly legible. Only the first one was the Latin name of a drug (morphinum). The other two are a mispelling of "deceive", followed by "heroics". The WC published only certain pages of this notebook, and it would be extremely interesting to know if the remainder of it still exists.

The words Pic wrote are also interesting. They strongly indicate he was telling Marina about the type of bloodwork done during the radiation experiments.

Whilst there is no shortage of other circumstantial evidence to link Oswald to various agencies, Pic's involvement with young Lee in NYC in my opinion, shows where it all started. I believe it is also possible he came to the attention of various key people through the comic book hearings held by the Senate Subcommitte on Juvenile Delinquency held in New York City soon after Lee had been in Youth House. Recall that this is the same subcommittee that in 1963 was investigating mail order guns.

THE USSR

Lee's application to the Albert Schweitzer College (ASC) shows the strong possibility the trip was made on behalf of the US government. Percival Brungage, Ike's director of the Bureau of Budgets, was heavily involved in this college -- a fact avoided, missed, or hidden by the FBI and the WC in their investigations. There were a number of backchannel and overt programs dealing with scientific and cultural exchanges between the West and the Soviets. Lee was likely involved in one of the backchannel operations dealing with radar. Further, a letter he wrote to the ASC after arriving in Russia shows at that stage, he still planned to attend. This means the chance to stay was a last minute opportunity. The ASC for its part, had a relatively benign Cold War purpose -- spreading "The American Way", and attending may well have originally been intended as payment-in-kind to the young Marine.

THE TEXAS SCHOOL BOOK DEPOSITORY

Joe Molina's continued employment - indeed, the position he rose to - in the TSBD, despite being the President of the local chapter of the GI Forum -- a group listed on the DPD watchlist as a "subversive" group -- indicates that the TSBD had intelligence assets at its highest level. Two or three of the original local members of the Forum were FBI informants, one of whom appears to have been running Molina. Another was involved with a militia group associated with Edwin Walker at the same time has being involved with Molina's group of "communist dupes". If I am right about at least one director of the TSBD being an intelligence asset, it is not difficult to see how Oswald obtained his job there - despite it being the slow season (see the WC testimony of Bonnie Ray Williams. Williams told the WC that he was told that the floor laying was being done so that noone had to be laid off whilst things were slow).

THE GREAT ESCAPE

I have read every scrap of evidence I can find on what happened just before during and after the assassination within an inch of its life. Without going into all the citations here (I am working on something else which will give all of that), here is a brief overview of what I believe happened:

Oswald's alibi was rock-solid - whatever else he may have been, he was not a sniper that day.

Baker did not have an encounter with Oswald on the 2nd floor - and perhaps, not at all.

Baker did have an encounter on the 3rd or 4th floor with perhaps, the real shooter. Baker's same day description did match the description given by Rowland and was also very similar to those broadcast for the Tippit murder.

Oswald probably left later than the record shows, and was not on the bus. The confusion about that arose because of a young man who apparently laughed at news of the assassination, and it was believed he was the killer. In fact, bus driver McWatters thought it was this person he was being asked to identify.

This leaves open the possibility that Roger Craig's testimony shows how Lee really "escaped".

OFFICER MCDONALD

Again, without without getting into the nitty-gritty, McDonald lied about virtually everything. He did not, for instance, clear Elm St as he was ordered to do. Instead, he took off for Oak Cliff on a hunch that he would catch the killer of Tippit. He was not at the library sorting out that false alarm as claimed in Myers book. Nor did he search any houses. What then, was he doing? I believe he was meeting the real killer in the "Church" basement. His other lies, of course were in regard to the arrest. Oswald never attempted to kill him. On the contrary, a stronger case can be made that McDonald was attempting to force the gun onto Oswald as an excuse to shoot him.

RUBY

Ruby's whereabouts are not totally accounted for during the assassination. There is a period of about 20 minutes which in fact, is unnaccounted for. I believe it is possible the "Mr Payne" he met in Tony Zoppi's office that morning may have been Robert Payne, legal rep to a number of the high-flyers who paid for the "Black Border" ad. Ruby's connections to organised crime are now well known, but his seemingly out-of-character connections to underground medical experiments has been totally missed. Ruby lived with a John C Jackson for a couple of years in the 1950s during which time Jackson was carrying out experiments on degenerative diseases. He told the FBI he worked for a company called The National Research Corporation. A company by that name did exist in 1950s. It's president was Richard Stetson Morse whose bio indicates the company had USG contracts to research biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. Jackson's experiments on degenerative diseases certainly has a "bio-war" feel about them. Ruby and Jackson were last together in may 1958 - busted in New Mexico driving an overdue rental car. Whilst in the local lockup, they were visited by the FBI. Seth Kantor's book adds that local rumour had it that drugs were also involved in the bust.

WHODUNIT?

Elements of army intel (who I believe put together the "Hidell" identity), individuals/groups involved with Edwin Walker (here I include Cuban exiles), and at least one member of CUSA - Larry Jones -- who I think double-crossed Schmidt and Weissman by spilling the beans on their takeover agenda of right-wing groups before joining the plot. Weissman's Dallas employer told the FBI that Jones called the office just before or just after the assassination to meet at the usual place. Jones however, was supposed to have already left Dallas. Panicked by news of the call, Weissman's immediate reaction was denying he knew anyone by that name.

WHY?

Main reason would be to blame Castro and force an invasion.

HOW?

Oswald was either set up as total unsuspecting patsy, or by being led to believe he was involved in something else. Either way, he was to be taken out of the country and killed, with evidence left linking him to the weapons, to Castro, and to a flight to Cuba. Tippit was to provide transport to Red Bird and regardless of success in that, was also earmarked for extinction because ( a ) he could not be trusted not to talk about what little he may have known and ( b ) as an opportunity to plant evidence, whilst simultaneously showing Oswald as desperate killer.

Edited September 27, 2005 by Greg Parker

[Guest Stephen Turner]

Steps tentitively up to the plate..

SOME QUESTIONS.

1, How much of a threat did the Kennedy administration pose to powerful vested interest groups?

2, Did individuals within this group have the means to arrange a coup-detat and cover up?

3, Did these individuals have reason to believe that Kennedy was acting against their best interests. Would they have viewed him as a traitor in this light?.

4, Were these individuals complicit in the murders, either planned or actual of others they percieved in this light.?

5, What would they have expected from a second term of this administration, did they have reason to fear for example, a withdrawal of the "advisors" from Vietnam, removal of tax breaks from big oil, major challenges to the banking industry, attempts at detente with the Soviets, overtures to Castro, a moritorium om ICBM's how would they have viewed this accomodation with the Communists, could they have viewed Kennedys removal as a constitutional act?

So, who benifited from the assassination? Some names of interest to me, Dulles, Bisell, Cabell, Lansdale, Lemnitzer, Walker (and men loyal to him, Shooters) LBJ, Hoover, Ford, (the last three only in the cover up) The Hunts, and other Texas oil interests. PLANNING, FINANCE, DEED, COVER UP. Same faces, same groups, same methods, same naked self interest, the rich and powerful, and their payed lackeys and henchmen.

So how did the various groups benefit?

Financial----Big Oil, Big Banking, MIC, Organised crime.

Career-----LBJ, ( also prevented criminal charges being brought against him) Hoover( No retirement) Nixon, Various people in MIC, CIA.

Settling scores dept, CIA, JCS, Groups, organisations operations under the anti-Castro banner.

[Harry J.Dean]

Kennedy's several enemies were mainly the result of a well planned scheme aimed at first for his political destruction, along with that which he 'supposedly' represented, ie; Liberalism/Socialism/Communism.

During the following years this successful, pseudo anti-Communist campaign for the minds of Americans in leadership positions, both political and economic 'at several effected levels', had also reached a majority of fearfully concerned average citizens. As a result, Kennedy's popularity {according to a Gallup Poll} was at it's lowest point by September 1963'

Using the name of Conservatism, the dire plan was to seize complete and continuous political control over the U.S. government, and to forever neutralize any future political opposition.

One quote from this internal subversive, and now all powerful, combined religio/politic juggernaut; "people think of us as wholly or primarily an anti-Communist organization. This causes many misunderstandings. The truth is that our fight with the Communists is purely incidental to our long range objectives".

A last minute loss of faith in their own extreme and costly efforts to destroy Kennedy's chances for re-election brought about a final desperate opportunity to seize power via their radical actionaries, in a shock-force assassination of the president.

[Mike Regan]

Hi all,

I spent a bit of time trying to condense my theory on the assassination previously posted on a thread I started a while back but finally decided to simply re-post the entire scenario. I believe it covers the Who (?), What (?), When (?), Where (?) and How (?). Please forgive it's length.

About all I can add is a hope that researchers give thought to the residual effects of the coup d'e-tat (?). On a personal note, what continues to disturb me is the rise of ethnic leadership in this fine country. Such as bullies like Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan (Who has just claimed that the levee breeches in New Orleans were purposely caused by explosives utilized by the U.S. Government), Al Sharpton, etc. who play the race card at any given chance with the sole purpose of inflaming any viable chance for constructive race relations.

And the "Congressional Black Caucus". An institution whose members salaries are paid by the American tax payers. It's formation, along with what I believe is a hidden agenda, is a slap in the face to the hundred and some odd other ethnic groups who put their faith in the Constitution formulated by our fore fathers. A Constitution which guarantees equal rights to ALL.....

Thanks,

Mike Regan

____________________________________________________________________

The enclosed pages of material examines specific facts of which have been overlooked during the course of these past thirty eight years which eliminate, quite clearly, any possibility that Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

This material also presents the extreme probability of events that actually did occur that afternoon in Dealey Plaza. Primarily based on Warren Commission testimony, including statements made by the actual assassin, the examination presents a summary of minor events, beginning on the Wednesday afternoon of November 20th, 1963 and concluding with the catastrophic event of the firing of the three shots by James Jarman, Jr. from the assassin's lair of the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository at 12:30 P.M. on Friday, November 22nd, 1963.

POINTS OF FACT WITH REGARD TO THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY WHICH INDICATE THAT IT WAS NOT LEE HARVEY OSWALD WHO PULLED THE TRIGGER THAT AFTERNOON IN DEALEY PLAZA

Point #1 - Eye-witness, Amos Euins, put special emphasis on the fact that the assassin had a "white spot" on the back of his head as he sighted down the rifle barrel. Judging a position indicating that the back of the man's head could have been visible to a person on the street below, as the third shot was sighted and fired, strongly suggests that the assassin was left-handed. Eye-witness, Arnold Rowland, testified before the Warren Commission that just prior to the assassination he saw a man standing in the far left window (south-west corner) of the Texas School Book Depository's sixth floor. The man, according to Rowland, held what he thought to be a high-powered rifle in a military port-arms position. The barrel is pointed over the man's right shoulder, as he faced Rowland, toward the nearest wall (west). Further indication that the gunman was left-handed.

Two of the three expended rifle shells were found against the wall, immediately below the south-west window from which the shots were fired, thus indicating that as the hulls were ejected from the rifle they struct the left-handed assassin's chest and dropped to the floor parallel to his body. If the gunman had been right-handed, the hulls would have ejected with a clear path off to the right. The third expended shell, more that likely the last to be fired, was found some distance off to the right. This suggests that the assassin had unshouldered the weapon, stood, and ejected the final round as he left the scene.

Point #2 - Dallas police officer, M.N.McDonald, testified that Lee Harvey Oswald punched him with his left fist during the fracus at the movie theator and grabbed for a pistol in his belt with his right hand. In addition, the published photograph of Oswald taken by his wife, Marina, in the back yard of their New Orlean's home indicates a pistol, holstered, attached to Oswald's right hip. Other photos show that Oswald parted his hair on the left and wore his wristwatch on his left wrist. Lee Harvey Oswald was right-handed.

Point #3 - Though it is a proven fact that five of the Depository's employees moved the boxes into position and which formed a shield in front of the south-east corner window of the building's sixth floor, not a single one of their finger prints was found on these boxes when analyzed by the FBI. The suggestion is strong that special care was taken by at least some of these employees to eliminate detection of the fact that they had handled the boxes.

Point #4 - These five employees, including one named Bonnie Ray Williams, had spent the morning of November 22nd, 1963 placing a new plywood floor on the sixth floor of the TSBD. The "white debris" which became such a point of concern, bordering close to paranoia, for Williams and two other employees, James Jarman, Jr. and Harold Norman (not associated with the floor construction), during testimony before the Commission in which they unanimously stated had fallen on their hair from the fifth floor ceiling and caused by the cartridge shell explosions taking place on the floor above was, in actuality, bits of white plaster which had accumulated in their hair from the ceiling of the sixth floor as the new plywood was being hammered into place.

Though Jarman and Norman were not members of the construction crew, it has been testified by Norman, himself, that he made regular visits to the sixth floor for the purpose of "shooting the breeze". According to Williams testimony, however, Norman did more that simply "shoot the breeze". Norman would "help us move stock around". Based on Warren Commission testimony, it is not possible to place James Jarman, Jr. on the sixth floor during the morning prior to the assassination but the events that would occur, just after the crew would break for lunch will suggest strongly that he was present on the floor. At least for a period of time long enough for "white debris" to accumulate in his hair.

Point #5 - James Jarman Jr., though consistantly mentioned by various reports, including the Warren Commission's, as having been on the fifth floor with Norman and Williams at the time of the assassination, and even referred to when the Dillard photograph is discussed (he is NOT in the picture, though it was snapped by Tom Dillard within seconds of the shooting), in extreme probability, committed the assassination.

The added fact that he was employed at the Texas School Book Depository as a wrapper and regularly utilized paper and tape, exact in make-up, as the paper and tape used to package the murder weapon indicates, again quite strongly, that it was he who prepared and provided the make-shift bag for Oswald when Oswald returned home on the evening of November 21st, 1963. Probably under the pretext that Jarman would purchase the weapon on the following day. It being known that Oswald, after being taken into custody had $13.87 on his person and shortly before had spent $1.00 on a cab ride and about .40c in loose change for a bus ticket and a coca-cola, presents the strong possibility that Jarman actually did purchase the assassination weapon from Oswald on the morning of the 22nd far an agreed upon price of $15.00. Oswald's own frame of mind at this point in time was likely to be that he was glad at the opportunity to rid himself of a weapon, and evidence, which easily tied him into his own attempt to take the life of General Walker some months earlier.

Point #6 - The "white spot" seen on the back of the head of the assassin by eye-witness, Amos Euins, was, in reality, the bits of white plaster in the hair of James Jarman, Jr. Jarman's paranoia before the Warren Commission when testifying about the plaster was simply due to the fact that he had forgotten to bruse the powder from his hair before pulling the trigger.

Point #7 - The appearance, two weeks after the assassination, of a hand made paper bag, similar to the one used to package the murder weapon, at the dead-letter office of the Post Office near Dallas suggests that one of the conspirators attempted to guide investigators toward the appropriate direction. Perhaps in fear for his own life. *NOTE* The assassination was most likely the result of circumstances which existed in Dallas on the afternoon Of November 22nd,1963 including the following;

Point #8 - The arrival, of course, of the presidential motorcade to the front of the Texas Schoolbook Depository on Elm Street (Jarman had read the papers and testified to his previous knowledge of this fact). The presence of a high powered rifle in the hands of a minimum of three employees of the TSBD on the morning of the assassination. The existence of a combined group mentality of a six year old child ("I dare ya'!!", "Oh Yeah!?", "Yeah!!", "OK, Watch Me!!")

Point #9 - The presence of a man fully capable (Jarman's eight years military experience, alone, indicates familiarity with weapons. His testified use of the word "action" when describing the metalic sounds he heard from the weapon, in addition, suggests his capability. It is a word commonly used among rifle enthusiasts), of sighting down the barrel of a Mannlicher-Carcano, pulling the trigger three times and ending the life of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

SUMMATION

Sadily, the series of small events that would lead up to the catastrofic event which would take place in Dealey Plaza began on Wednesday afternoon, November 20th, 1963. Warren Caster, an assistant manager for Southwestern Publishing Company, with offices at the Depositroy's 411 Elm Street address had purchased two rifles during the noon break. A Remington, single shot, .22 caliber rifle, to be given his son for Christmas and a .30odd.06 sporterized Mauser, intended for his own use in hunting.

On a counter just outside supervisor Roy Truly's office, Caster proudly displayed the two rifles to fellow employees . According to Caster's testimony, present were, "Mr. Shelly was there ---and Mr. Roy Truly". Additionaly, "There were workers there at the time, but I'm not sure how many. I could'nt even tell you their names. I don't know the TSBD workers there in the shipping department". Also present, however, was Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald mentioned the incident to Dallas Police after his arrest.

As Caster displayed the rifles, Oswald, probably in an attempt to relate to fellow employees (along with ridding himself of incriminating evidence), mentioned to one of the shipping department employees present that he, too, owned a rifle and that it might be for sale. This employee, in extreme likelyhood, was James Jarman, Jr., the shipping department's wrapper. Jarman's probable suggestion to Oswald was that he bring the rifle in the following day.

That he would be interested toward the purchase of the weapon. When Oswald appeared the following day without the rifle, he indicated to Jarman that he lacked the carrying case necessary to transport the rifle. Jarman, quick to oblige because of a sincere interest in the weapon, walked to his wrapping station, un-rolled a long sheet of wrapping paper and, utilizing tape at the same table, constructed the paper bag. He then gave it to Oswald. Oswald folded the hand made sack (FBI analysis would later uncover eight fold indentations on the paper) to a size suitable to either hip pocket or toward placing the bag into his belt and went on his way. Having returned home that evening with fellow worker, Buell Wesley Frazier, Oswald would package the Mannlicher- Carcano and return the following morning, again with Frazier, and complete the sale with Jarman.

Oswald's frame of mind at this point was that he was glad to be rid of the rifle. It is even possible to conclude that he was attempting to pull his life together. Fearful of losing his wife and family because of his eratic and demented behaviour of the previous months (including his attempt to shoot General Walker, of which Marina was aware), he responded to his wife's complaints about hand washing the laundry by leaving all his cash, $170.00, on the dresser before leaving for work on Friday, the 22nd.

As the motorcade approached Dealey Plaza that afternoon, Oswald sat in the first floor lunch room in a semi-state of bliss. After spending some six months living with fear that, at any day, police detectives could show up at his door, handcuffs at the ready, and haul him off for the attempted murder of General Walker, he was now free of the single piece of evidence that would convict him. The Mannlicher-Carcano.

Oswald's state of bliss, however, would soon be shattered. Having just left the first floor lunch room to purchase a cola from a vending machine in a lounge on the second floor, he would be confronted by Dallas Police officer Marrion L Baker. In all reality, Oswald had'nt even known as he was being challenged by Officer Baker that shots had been fired at the motorcade and would not know until a moment later. Mrs. Reid, a secretary for the TSBD, would comment to a confused Oswald as they passed each other and just after Oswald had left the lounge, "Oh, the President has been shot, but maybe they did'nt hit him!". Upon learning this, something bordering on phychotic probably snapped within Oswald. Common sense had told him, especially since an armed police officer had rushed into the Depository, that the Mannlicher-Carcano he had sold to Jarman only hours earlier was involved in the shooting. All hope was lost. From this point on, Oswald was running from the furries and would culminate, some forty minutes later, with his fatal shooting of Officer Tippit on a residential street in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas.

Just when and where James Jarman, Jr. acquired the Mannlicher-Carcano from Oswald is difficult to determine, but in light of the surprisingly candid elements of testimony by Jarman, the exchange may have taken place in the morning hours of the 22nd on the first floor. When asked by Warren Commission attorney, Joseph A. Ball, when he had met with Oswald on that day, Jarman replied, "I had him correct an order. I don't know what time it was". When pressed by Ball, Jarman said, "It was around, it was between 8 and 9 I would say". Concerning a second meeting he had with Oswald that morning Jarman replied, "It was between 9:30 and 10:00 o'clock, I believe". Responding to Joseph Ball's question as to where this meeting took place Jarman said, "In between two rows of bins. On the first floor". It is between these same two rows of bins, near the front windows, that Jarman will eat his lunch, alone, just before noon. He will be shortly joined at this same location by Charles Douglas Givens (a member of the floor construction crew) and Harold Norman. What is quite possible is that the rifle had been concealed within this same general area for much of the morning hours. Together, they will leave the building, stand for awhile out in front and begin to walk toward the intersection of Elm and Huston Streets. Here, they separate. According to the Depository's Supervisory, Roy S. Truly, "I noticed them there on the corner and starting across the street, but whether they completed it, I don't know". Given's did, however, complete the trek across the intersection, continue east up Elm to eventually join with James and Edward Shields to observe the motorcade from the intersection of Main and Records streets.

As for Jarman and Norman they will, according to Jarman's own testimony, turn left on Huston, head north along the side of the Book Depository and disappear back into the building through a rear entrance. If the Manlicher-Carcano had not been on the sixth floor at this point, the weapon was most likely retrieved from between the two rows of bins on the first floor by Jarman and Norman and carried, via the west rear frieght elevator, and on up to the sixth floor assassin's lair. Having already surveyed Dealy Plaza and satisfied themselves that most of the Depository's employees, especially the supervisors, were in front of the building anxiously awaiting the arrival of the motorcade, Jarman's and Norman's movements about the building were done quite freely. They would even take a moment to insure that Oswald was out of the way. Oswald, sitting in the first floor lunch room eating a cheese sandwich and a piece of fruit at the time, would later mention the encounter to the Dallas Police. Now on the sixth floor, Jarman will familiarize himself further with the weapon by dry-loading rounds into the chamber (FBI later concluded that at least one shell had markings indicating that it had been loaded and reloaded within the chamber a number of times) and moving from window to window to determine the clearest shot. Soon, he will be standing, with rifle in a military port arms position, at the south-west corner window. Observing from the street below is Arnold Rowland. About Norman's movements as Jarman peers from the south-west window, Rowland will later testify to Warren Commission counsel member, Representative Gerald R. Ford that, "At the time I saw the man in the other window, I saw the man hanging out the window first. It was a colored man, I think". Questioned further by Ford, who wanted Rowland to be more clear about the man hanging from the window, Rowland responded, "The east, south-east corner". Harold Norman was making a final survey to insure that their activities on the sixth floor went on un-disturbed.

Bonnie Ray Williams, quite possibly an unwilling participant also enters into the conspiracy at this point. Where and when is difficult to determine, but he could very well have stumbled accidently onto the scene when he went up to the sixth floor to meet with Danny Arce and Billy Lovelady, two fellow members of the floor laying crew he had pre-arranged to meet for the purpose of viewing the motorcade. Without informing Williams, however, Arce and Lovelady had joined most of the Depository's employees outside the building and when Williams arrived on the floor, lunch in hand, he found himself alone. The time was about noon. When counsel member Joseph Ball, asked him how long he stayed on the floor, Williams replied, "I was there from 5, 10,maybe 12 minutes". Upon hearing window movement on the floor immediately below him, Williams will descend to the fifth floor in the east elevator to find Jarman and Norman near the south-east corner. Up to this moment, it is easy to conclude that Williams had no prior knowledge to the events that were about to take place on the sixth floor but, whether he wanted to or not, he now became a part. Otherwise he would not have backed up Jarman's testimony that he (Jarman) had been on the fifth floor with Norman and himself (Williams) at the time of the shooting.

Since the bulk of testified time elements place William's on the sixth floor before Jarman and Norman, it is highly likely that these two prime players in the conspiracy, after becoming aware of William's presence on the sixth floor, created a rouse that would draw William's away from the sixth floor assassin's lair. Both Jarman and Norman testified that before leaving the first floor aboard the west elevator, they had "peered up the elevator shaft" and observed that the east elevator was on the sixth floor.

At the very least, they knew that someone was up there. The rouse they would use simply amounted to making their presence known by sliding windows just below where Williams was sitting. It worked, and William's joined then on the fifth floor.

Events would now escalate to a near frenzy. With adenaline flowing, Jarman and Norman will ascend to the sixth floor assassin's lair. Considering that Williams had been on the same floor from noon to "5, 10, maybe 12 minutes", Jarman and Norman had more than fifteen minutes to complete final preparations for the assassination. As the motorcade made it's turn onto Huston from Main Street, Jarman was probably already in place as Norman descended back down to rejoin William's on the fifth floor. Most likely, if Williams was unaware of the plot, to keep him occupied as Jarman completed his task on the floor above. What would follow next can best be explained in Jarman's own words.

As Warren Commission counsel, Joseph Ball,questioned Jarman about the three shots, Jarman would dismiss the first shot as, "A back-fire or an officer giving a salute to the President".

It is Jarman's referral to the second shot, though which would set a wheel turning in the mind of another counsel member. As Jarman replied, with reference to this shot, "And then the second shot was fired, and that is when the people started falling on the ground and the motorcade car jumped forward ---", Representative Gerald R. Ford would listen, allow that single statement to sink in and sit in silence as a full five pages of testimony would continue to be recorded. About fifteen minutes. In Ford's mind, he knew that something was amiss.

Having been privy to a film of the presidentail limousine taken by Abraham Zapruder as the assassination took place, a film that had not been made public and would not for many years, Ford knew that the car did not "Jump forward", as Jarman had indicated, after the second shot. Agent William Greer would not accelerate the car until after agent Clint Hill, having just leaped from the follow-up car to assist Mrs. Kennedy (who was attempting to retrieve a portion of her husband's skull) back into the rear seat after the third shot, had a secure hand hold on the rear-left portion of the automobile. It was then, and only then, that the car, and to use the words of agent Roy Kellerman, "Just literally jumped out of the god-damned road!!".

As Representative Ford continued to sit in silence, a suspician that may have begun to formulate is that a target may give the illusion of "Jumping forward" to an assassin peering through a scope. The car did not jump forward. The rifle and assassin, because of recoil, had jerked backwards. Ford's suspicion was probably confirmed minutes later after hearing Jarman's response to another question by council member, John J. McCloy. McCloy had asked, "Did you see the President actually hit by the bullets?". Jarman's reply was, "No sir, I could'nt say that I actually saw him hit, but after the second shot, I presumed that he was, because I had my eye on his car from the time it came down Huston until the time it started toward the freeway".

Again, any suspicion that Ford had that Jarman was describing events as viewed through a high-powered scope were confirmed at this point as he heard Jarman use the word "eye", not in the plural sense, but in the singular sense. After hearing Jarman respond to McCloy"s question, "You saw him crumble, you saw him fall, did you?", by saying, "I saw him lean his head", Representative Ford had had enough.

He interrupted with a question concerning the statement Jarman had made much earlier. The following exchange took place between Gerald Ford and James Jarman, Jr. Representative Ford: "You actually saw the car lurch forward did you?"

James Jarman: "Yes sir"

Representative Ford: "That is a distinct impression?"

James Jarman: "Yes"

Representative Ford: "And you followed it as it turned from Main onto Huston and followed it as it turned from Huston onto Elm?"

James Jarman: "Right, sir".

Representative Ford: "Had your eye on the car all the time?"

James Jarman: "Yes, sir"

Representative Ford: "Where did you think the sound of the first shot come from? Do you have a distinct impression of that?"

James Jarman: "Well, it sounded at first it had come from below. That is what I thought"

Representative Ford:" As you looked out the window and you were looking at the President's car"

James Jarman: "Yes, sir"

Representative Ford: "Did you have a distinct impression as to whether the sound came from your left or came from your right?"

James Jarman: "I am sure it came from the left"

Representative Ford: "But your first reaction, that it was from below?"

James Jarman: "Yes, sir"

Representative Ford: "When the second shot came, do you have any different recollection?"

James Jarman: "Well, they all sounded just about the same"

Representative Ford: "You distinctly recall three shots?"

James Jarman: "Yes, sir"

Representative Ford: "And at what point did you get up from where you were on your knees in the window?"

James Jarman: "When the motorcar picked up speed"

Representative Ford: "Was this after you thought was the third shot?"

James Jarman: "The third shot; yes".

Representative Ford: "Have you ever been in trouble with the police or did you ever have any disciplinary troubles in the army?"

James Jarman: "No, sir".

We can only speculate as to just where Representative Ford's questioning would have eventually led if fellow councel, Joseph Ball, had not interrupted at this point to lead Jarman into a completely different line of questioning that would concern the style of clothes worn by Lee Harvey Oswald on the day of the assassination. Obviously, Ford was quite suspicious of this 34 year old shipping department employee. Speaking in terms of boxing it can be said that Ford had Jarman on the ropes just before Joseph Ball's untimely interruption. Further, it is plausable to conclude, that if Representative Gerald R. Ford had been allowed free reign, he may have ended his questioning, in his own time, with, "Mr. Jarman, did you shoot President John Fitzgerald Kennedy?". James Jarman, Jr., considering the amazing level of candor possessed by this assassin, would have answered simply, "Yes, sir".

"Was the man seen by Euins James Jarman, Jr....?"

Notes:

To the reader- I felt it necessary, in order to provide a steady flow while describing escalating major events unfolding within and outside the Depository, to speculate with regard to minor events. For this, I apologize. Hopefully, simple tesimony, time frames and fact will out-weigh all.

Two final notes

1st -Though not mentioned in the above scenario of the events which unfolded that afternoon in Dallas, a journalist and Assistant News Director of Dallas's KRLD Television & Radio, James R. Underwood, was riding with fellow journalists in a limousine which had just turned off Main Street onto Huston Street as the salvo of shots rang out. Jumping from the limo and running to the front of the Depository, he met briefly with Amos Euins, an African American teenager. Amos Euins, who later turned out to be the only viable witness who actually watched the assassin aim and fire the rifle, responded to the journalist's question as to whether the gunman was white or black, Euins responded, "It was a colored man". I said (Underwood), "Are you sure?". Euins responded, "Yes, sir".

2nd - Last, but definately not least, the stenographer, an unnamed and unsung hero of the Warren Commission, is worthy of mention. If someone, whether it be council or witness, paused in speech with the same audible sound we all utter from time to time, she would record the word "Uh". Movements not pertaining to testimony she would record between a pair of parenthisis. Seconds after Representative Gerald R. Ford was interrupted in his questioning of James Jarman, Jr., he was approached by someone, whispered too, and than left the room. Returning shortly (also recorded by our hero), he returned to his seat and sat silently for quite a length of time. The question no longer is who shot President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The Warren Commission Report, in reality, was a glamourized version of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI Report to President Johnson and the Commission, simply put, was a collaboration of both men. The burning question now appears to be, "Who, within the upper echelon, knew the actual truth ?".

Warren Commission Testimony

Roy S. Truly - Depository Superintendant

Vol.#7-Pg.380, 591

Warren Caster - Employee

Vol.#7-Pg,386

Arnold Rowland - Eyewitness

Vol.#2-Pg.165

Amos Lee Euins - Eyewitness

Vol.#2-Pg.201

Bonnie Williams - Possible Co-Conspirator

Vol.#3-161

Harold Norman - Co-Conspirator

Vol.#3-Pg.186

James Jarman, Jr. - Assassin

Vol.#3-Pg.198

James R. Underwood - Witness

Vol.#6-Pg.167, 170

Stenographer - GOD BLESS HER

I've enclosed (below) a copy of Jarman's signed affidavit to the Dallas Police on Nov. 23rd, 1963. Hopefully, you will pick up on his strong insinuation, "before" he was aware of photographic evidence being in play, that he watched the motorcade from curb-side.

AFFIDAVIT IN ANY FACT

THE STATE OF TEXAS

COUNTY OF DALLAS

BEFORE ME, Patsy Collins, a Notary Public in and for said County, State of Texas, on this day personally appeared James Earl Jarman, Jr., c/m 33, 3942 Atlanta Street, Dallas, Texas HA8-1837 who, after being by me duly sworn, on oath deposes and says:

I work for the Texas School Book Depository, 411 Elm Street, as a Checker on the first floor for Mr. Roy S. Truly. On Friday, November 22, 1963, I got to work at 8:05 a.m. The first time I saw Lee Oswald on Friday, November 22, 1963 was about 8:15 a.m. He was filling orders on the first floor. A little after 9:00 a.m. Lee Oswald asked me what all the people were doing standing on the street. I told him that the President was supposed to come this way sometime this morning. He asked me, "Which way do you think he is coming?". I told him that the President would probably come down Main Street and turn on Houston and then go down Elm Street. He said, "Yes, I see". I only talked with him for about three or four minutes. The last time I saw Lee Oswald on Friday, November 22, 1963 was between 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 noon when he was taking the elevator upstairs to go get some boxes. At about 11:45 a.m. all of the employees who were working on the 6th floor came downstairs and we were all out on the street at about 12:00 o'clock noon. These employees were: Bill Shelley, Charles Givens, Billy Lovelady, Bonnie Ray (last name not known) and a Spanish boy (his name I cannot remember). To my knowledge Lee Oswald was not with us while we were watching the parade.

/s/ James Earl Jarman, Jr.

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN BEFORE ME THIS 23rd DAY OF November A.D. 1963

/s/ Patsy Collins

Notary Public, Dallas County, Texas

Shots From The West...???

With hope of dispelling, at least within the thoughts of some of you, many of the theories with regard to frontal shots (storm drains, grassy knolls, pickett fences, etc...), I deeply suggest a read of an excellant article by Jerry Organ.

There also appears to be a major level of research concentration on the autopsy and it's results. In consideration of the simple fact that numerous doctors and nurses were attempting to save a man's life, hopes for any evidence (after their heroic efforts) even remotely viable to the puzzle should be regarded as minimal. With special regard to the throat wound. Insertion of the tracheotomy tube shortly after the arrival of President Kennedy vertually insured the complete obliteration of that evidence and to take serious any of the speculation (which I believe is at about 50/50 concerning "exit" or "entrance") offered by these hospital personel, with extreme limitations in ballistic science, is a mistake.

With the above in mind, my own thought is that research concentration should be guided toward existing "physical" evidence within the TSBD. With a bit of emphasis on the construction of the assassin's lair.

Concerning these boxes, it is already an established "Fact" that they were placed during the course of the morning work hours by members of the floor-laying crew, an obvious "Prep" to assist the intention of an assassin. Not just a few minutes before the shooting.

What's left to debate is who, and how many, within the construction crew were involved in this prep and toward whom was the assist intended. There has been some suggestion that some sort of stranger, perhaps a member of a yet to be identified "Black Ops" performing for yet another unknown group of high level conspirators. Yet, with the exception of Danny Arce's guidance of an elderly man to a first floor toilet as the parade was getting under way (Observed leaving moments later after completing his call to nature.), no employee of the TSBD, and I mean nobody, ever testified about seeing any kind of "stranger" in the building that day.

Trying to keep this as objective as possible, the debate is whether the assassin fired the three shots, swiftly fled down the entire length of the east wall, turned left, and continued the entire length of the north wall (A diagonal run was impossible.), properly placed the rifle in an upright position near the N/W stairwell, not tossed, mind you, in a mad scramble to allude potential captors, and concluded his dash down four flights of stairs to be observed, in a cool, calm and collective manner, some ninety seconds (give or take thirty) later by a Dallas motocycle police officer.

Or as to whether the assassin did all of the above up until after placement of the rifle. And in this scenario, simply boarded an elevator or dashed down a single flight of stairs to join up with buddies (Norman & Williams) at the S/E corner of the fifth floor. But not before Tom Dillard, having just turned onto Huston from Main Street, had snapped the photograph of that same corner. A photographic image which would "EXCLUDE" evidence of his "testified" 5th floor presence at the time of the shooting.

So now you're left with a process of elimination. Dump one of these guys in your mind and you've hit on the culprit. Would any member of the crew risk facing accessory charges to the assassination of a world leader to satisfy the whim of some fellow they had been working with for a grand total of 38 days (Actually, it rings up to about 26 when weekends are omitted.)..?? By prepping up his "lair"..?? And have you ever lifted a box of books..!!?

Other than ridding himself of evidence linking him to his shot at General Walker the previous April, Oswald does'nt fit into the assassination scenario in any way, shape or form. He truly was what he declared to the national media. A "Patsy".

Jarman, on the other hand, had a well established working relationship with two members of the floor-laying crew. Both Harold Norman and Charles (Slim) Givens. These are the fellows who represent the "only" conspiracy which existed that day in Dallas. Bonnie Ray Williams probably represents the most fascinating witness. He, like Oswald, was a young and fairly new employee at the Texas School Book Depository, caught within the same escalation of events that were out of their control. And could, if he's still kicking around, provide the ultimate closure. If relieved of whatever fear may exist, and prodded by appropriate authorities in law enforcement.

Mike Regan

Edited September 28, 2005 by Mike Regan