Gary Underhill

[Paul Brancato]

1 hour ago, David Boylan said:

Hey Paul!

I did. The guy was Jose Casas? If so, he was a very interesting guy. He was AMOT-106. An asset of Tony Sforza and Emilio Rodriguez. Casas was also a friend of Cuban Counsel Eusebio Azcue. Azcue was the object of a major recruiting effort during the summer of 1963. Azcue was scheduled to be recalled to Havana Oct 4, 1963 and Casas was tasked to try and make his pitch to Azcue before he went back to Cuba. Winston Scott was putting on the pressure Tony Sforza to get this done. Casas would make his last pitch in September (if his boss would let him go). And in that world of coincidences, Oswald met with Azcue September 27, 1963.

It was Casas, though the link is broken. However, the key excerpt is still on the thread - Interesting CIA Interview With a Cuban Exile

[Larry Hancock]

Paul, if  you have SWHT you will find Underhill's experience described in some detail - including the fact that the unusual weapons transfers that he was investigating were the arms sales going from Europe via Interamco to the new Artime/Amworld project.  I cover that in even more detail in Shadow Warfare including specifics on various purchases and shipments and who was involved with them (much of that thanks to the research of Gary Murr on Interarmco). 

If Underhill had caught specific wind of CIA officers involved in those transfers he could well have triggered his remarks about a SE Asian element being involved as one of the CIA officers most directly involved with the weapons transfers was actually in the process of coming back from Viet Nam to participate in AMWORLD - although he would not become directly involved until early 1964. And of course Henry Hecksher was in charge of the overall project and Hecksher had a lot of baggage coming from having been involved as Station Chief in Laos and then working some covert projects involving recruiting and work with anti-Communist factions in the Golden Triangle who had a legacy of drug smuggling including the early networks running though Nationalist China. 

[Paul Brancato]

I do have SWHT and read it at one time, but don’t have access to it now. I read an excerpt from Shadow Warriors about Guatemala. Is it your basic contention that these Shadow Warriors, men like Morales, Hecksher, Robertson, Phillips, are at the core of the conspiracy against JFK? It seems that their assassination operations were outsourced to paramilitary and soldier of fortune types. Do I have this right? 

[Larry Hancock]

I recommended Shadow Warfare because it gives details on the AMWORLD operation which would relate to the gossip Underhill was picking up on Interarmco and weapons sales - and a connection to SE Asia and drugs.

As to your characterization of the attack on JFK in Dallas being "outsourced", no I really would not describe it that way - not at all something one would think of as a contract.  Tipping Point offers the scenario I think fits best - which does involve some but not all of the characters you mentioned. 

 

[Ron Bulman]

13 hours ago, Larry Hancock said:

Paul, if  you have SWHT you will find Underhill's experience described in some detail - including the fact that the unusual weapons transfers that he was investigating were the arms sales going from Europe via Interamco to the new Artime/Amworld project.  I cover that in even more detail in Shadow Warfare including specifics on various purchases and shipments and who was involved with them (much of that thanks to the research of Gary Murr on Interarmco). 

If Underhill had caught specific wind of CIA officers involved in those transfers he could well have triggered his remarks about a SE Asian element being involved as one of the CIA officers most directly involved with the weapons transfers was actually in the process of coming back from Viet Nam to participate in AMWORLD - although he would not become directly involved until early 1964. And of course Henry Hecksher was in charge of the overall project and Hecksher had a lot of baggage coming from having been involved as Station Chief in Laos and then working some covert projects involving recruiting and work with anti-Communist factions in the Golden Triangle who had a legacy of drug smuggling including the early networks running though Nationalist China. 

That's where I first read about Underhill!

[Larry Hancock]

Underhill's story and his fears feel pretty compelling even though he clearly did have some problems to go along with him.  Its pretty amazing that we have learned so much in successive years that thee actually seems to be a pretty solid context for them when  you consider the fact that his interest at the time was tracking major weapons sales through distributors such as InterAmco - and we can now even track the sort of serious weapons and ammunition that was being bought for the AMWORLD project in Europe through that network.   The SE Asia / drug connection was the wild card, but knowing Hecksher's background in Laos and the Golden Triangle that certainly explains why Underhill might have heard rumors about a SE Asia connection for the people involved in the weapons traffic.