C. Douglas Dillon and the Assassination of JFK

[Tim Gratz]

Well, I had missed the part that Dillon was gay.

Must have been the "gays did it" scenario that Garrison envisioned!

[Mark Stapleton]

Well, I had missed the part that Dillon was gay.

Must have been the "gays did it" scenario that Garrison envisioned!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Tim,

No, as I said, Dallek was referring to McNamara not Dillon. The word had widespread usage before it was hijacked by the gay lobby (you weren't in on that hijacking too, were you?--joke)

Point is, if those few words I quoted from Dallek are the basis for your assertion that Dillon's involvement is an impossibility, you're really stretching it--again.

[Tim Gratz]

I've always considered McNamara more of a suspect than Dillon.

[Tim Gratz]

I gather that those who believe Dillon did it subscribe to the theory that JFK had committed acts so heinous and/or treasonous that they required his immediate removal by assassination rather than impeachment or being simply voted out of office?

If so, perhaps Mark or Shanet can list the acts committed by JFK that were so terrible that his friend Dillon was persuaded to join a conspiracy to murder him.

Edited June 17, 2005 by Tim Gratz

[Mark Stapleton]

I gather that those who believe Dillon did it subscribe to the theory that JFK had committed acts so heinous and/or treasonous that they required his immediate removal by assassination rather than impeachment or being simply voted out of office?

If so, perhaps Mark or Shanet can list the acts committed by JFK that were so terrible that his friend Dillon was persuaded to join a conspiract to murder him.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Tim,

What the.......?

[Tim Gratz]

If his friend Dillon killed him I assume he had some reason for it?

Or was Dillon a motiveless nut as the WC thought of LHO?

[Tim Gratz]

I wrote:

Actually, it would be easier to speculate on Dylan than Dillon because Dillon was a friend of JFK.

Robert Charles-Dunne responded:

If so, AJ Weberman would have found some evidence in Bob Dylan's garbage, surely.....

My goodness, Robert and I finally agree on something!

Had Dylan done it, weberman would have caught him!

Actually it is a good point that intelligence agents used to search through people's trash. In fact, wasn't Marita Lowrenz doing that for someone in NYC?

Edited June 17, 2005 by Tim Gratz

[Mark Stapleton]

If his friend Dillon killed him I assume he had some reason for it?

Or was Dillon a motiveless nut as the WC thought of LHO?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Tim,

You seem to think I'm accusing Dillon of masterminding the assassination. You know I'm doing no such thing. The issue is why can't any questions be asked about Dillon's possible involvement or foreknowledge, given the currently established facts?

[Tim Gratz]

DILLON AND THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

From Reeves: "President Kennedy: Profile of Power" (Paperback edition 1994):

[words or sentences in brackets are mine; I capitalized one paragraph for emphasis.]

Robert Kennedy was pushing for blockade. The word now was "quarantine". It was being used because it had no precise meaning, as opposed to "blockade", which was an act of war under international law. The Attorney General pushed ahead as if there were now a consensus on the blockade, although Taylor, Acheson, Bundy and Dillon continued to argue for an air strike, the sooner the better. . .

[RFK argued surpise attacks were not and could not be part of the American heritage. He said a sneak attack would leave thousands of Russians and Cubans killed.]

McCone and Paul Nitze [who recently died] still favored bombing, as did Dillon. Bundy said: "It comes down to this: a blockade will not eliminate the bases, an air strike will."

. . .

DILLON HAD BEEN STARING AT ROBERT KENNEDY DURING THE MEETING, A LITTLE UNNERVED BY HIS OPEN EMOTION. HE WAS FINALLY IMPRESSED BY WHAT HE THOUGHT THE PRESIDENT'S BROTHER WAS TRYING TO SAY. DILLON WAS THINKING: "HE'S RIGHT. WE FOUGHT WORLD WAR II FOR IDEALS AND WE SHOULD NOT CHANGE NOW." WAVES OF BOMBERS APPEARING OVER THE HORIZON AT DAWN BEGAN TO REGISTER WITH HIM, TOO, AS SOMETHING WRONG--IF NOT MORALLY WRONG, HISTORICALLY SELF-DESTRUCTIVE.

So, Dillon switched sides. He was willing to try blockade first; then, if it did not work, we could still bomb, there would be nothing sneaky about it by then.

. . .

Robert Kennedy had concluded that Dillon's shift made it possible to put together a blockade or "quarantine" consensus. Sorenson had left the meeting with instructions to write two speeches for the President. But he was writing only one--the quarantine speech [because Dillon was persuaded by Bobby Kennedy's moral arguments against a sneak attack].

Pages 385-387.

* * * * * * *

May I rest my case that a man who would oppose a sneak attack on our nation's enemies would not authorize a murder against his friend the President?

Frankly, this Dillon argument is so ridiculous I don't want to waste any more time on it. I am convinced that if JFK knew someone was accusing his friend C. Douglas Dillon of killing him, Kennedy would be anguished.

Edited June 17, 2005 by Tim Gratz

[Mark Stapleton]

DILLON AND THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

From Reeves: "President Kennedy:  Profile of Power" (Paperback edition 1994):

[words or sentences in brackets are mine; I capitalized one paragraph for emphasis.]

Robert Kennedy was pushing for blockade.  The word now was "quarantine".  It was being used because it had no precise meaning, as opposed to "blockade", which was an act of war under international law.  The Attorney General pushed ahead as if there were now a consensus on the blockade, although Taylor, Acheson, Bundy and Dillon continued to argue for an air strike, the sooner the better. . .

[RFK argued surpise attacks were not and could not be part of the American heritage.  He said a sneak attack would leave thousands of Russians and Cubans killed.]

McCone and Paul Nitze [who recently died] still favored bombing, as did Dillon.  Bundy said:  "It comes down to this: a blockade will not eliminate the bases, an air strike will."

. . .

DILLON HAD BEEN STARING AT ROBERT KENNEDY DURING THE MEETING, A LITTLE UNNERVED BY HIS OPEN EMOTION.  HE WAS FINALLY IMPRESSED BY WHAT HE THOUGHT THE PRESIDENT'S BROTHER WAS TRYING TO SAY.  DILLON WAS THINKING: "HE'S RIGHT.  WE FOUGHT WORLD WAR II FOR IDEALS AND WE SHOULD NOT CHANGE NOW."  WAVES OF BOMBERS APPEARING OVER THE HORIZON AT DAWN BEGAN TO REGISTER WITH HIM, TOO, AS SOMETHING WRONG--IF NOT MORALLY WRONG, HISTORICALLY SELF-DESTRUCTIVE.

So, Dillon switched sides.  He was willing to try blockade first; then, if it did not work, we could still bomb, there would be nothing sneaky about it by then.

. . .

Robert Kennedy had concluded that Dillon's shift made it possible to put together a blockade or "quarantine" consensus.  Sorenson had left the meeting with instructions to write two speeches for the President.  But he was writing only one--the quarantine speech [because Dillon was persuaded by Bobby Kennedy's moral arguments against a sneak attack].

Pages 385-387.

                                          * * * * * * *

May I rest my case that a man who would oppose a sneak attack on our nation's enemies would not authorize a murder against his friend the President?

Frankly, this Dillon argument is so ridiculous I don't want to waste any more time on it.  I am convinced that if JFK knew someone was accusing his friend C. Douglas Dillon of killing him, Kennedy would be anguished.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Are you asking me to believe this is the sum total of your case?

[Tim Gratz]

Dillon was Kennedy's friend, really a "fast friend" because I assume JFK first got to know him after he selected him as Secretary of the Treasury.

I do not have time to post the references now but Dillon was one of the Cabinet members JFK most admired and respected. In part, according to Sorenson, Dillon (and McNamara) had assembled the best staff.

Dillon and JFK were sailing buddies and friends. As stated above, besides his brother and the McNamaras, the Dillons were the only Cabinet family JFK socialized with.

Dillon had no policy differences with JFK.

To posit Dillon as Kennedy's assassin is about the most ludicrous idea I have ever encountered. You have offered not one shred to evidence to inculpate him nor have you ascribed to him a motive.

Shame, sir! I hope you shall one day have to apologize to both JFK and Dillon (if you believe in an after-life). In the here and now, you owe his descendants an apology!

[Mark Stapleton]

Dillon was Kennedy's friend, really a "fast friend" because I assume JFK first got to know him after he selected him as Secretary of the Treasury.

I do not have time to post the references now but Dillon was one of the Cabinet members JFK most admired and respected.  In part, according to Sorenson, Dillon (and McNamara) had assembled the best staff.

Dillon and JFK were sailing buddies and friends.  As stated above, besides his brother and the McNamaras, the Dillons were the only Cabinet family JFK socialized with.

Dillon had no policy differences with JFK.

To posit Dillon as Kennedy's assassin is about the most ludicrous idea I have ever encountered.  You have offered not one shred to evidence to inculpate him nor have you ascribed to him a motive.

Shame, sir!  I hope you shall one day have to apologize to both JFK and Dillon (if you believe in an after-life).  In the here and now, you owe his descendants an apology!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Tim,

"Shame sir!". Give me a break. Are you related to Dillon or something?

[John Simkin]

"Shame sir!". Give me a break. Are you related to Dillon or something?

No. Just a fellow member of the Republican Party.

[Tim Gratz]

John wrote:

No. Just a fellow member of the Republican Party.

Har-umph! Fine Republican he was, serving in the Kennedy Administration.

And had he not backed down during the negotiations over the Cuban missile crisis, JFK might indeed have invaded Cuba and solved the Castro problem in October of 1962, making him a hero. (Khruschev would never have gone to war over Fidel.)

And then, in my opinion, JFK would have lived and won re-election in 1964 (either because Castro did it and he would have been gone or because anti-Castro Cubans killed JFK and had JFK solved the Cuban problem in 1962 the anti-Castro Cubans would presumably have forgiven him for the BOP).

[Stan Wilbourne]