DEPARTMENTS
ANTI-WAR
DEATH PENALTY
ELECTIONS
ENVIRONMENT
GLBT ISSUES
HEMP
INTERNATIONAL
NATIONAL
REVIEWS
|
Departments National Issues National security state still killing John F Kennedy Thom Hartmann tells us that the Mafia orchestrated the assassination in a way that “the National Security State would cover for them for years, maybe decades, maybe centuries.” Clearly, the National Security State is still distorting the facts of the assassination, giving me the title of this article. “Did the Mob Kill JFK” starts with emphasis on mobster Carlos Marcello's alleged prison confession to FBI informant Jack Van Lingham, a character not prominent in the book. It features talking heads G. Robert Blakey, Chief Counsel and Staff Director to the U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations from 1977 to 1979, who has been blaming the assassination on the mob for years. Blakely has acknowledged that the CIA lied to him but that was not revealed on this show. The show follows Waldron's book, but the narrative is interspersed with commentary by Gerald Posner, author of “Case Closed” who claims Oswald along killed President Kennedy, despite the evidence. This has the effect of creating confusion and presenting two possible scenarios....Oswald as the lone nut, or the Mafia did it. The possibility that the National Security State itself eliminated Kennedy is not presented as a possibility, but that is no surprise. The guts of the show correctly point out that the Mob was working with the CIA in an attempt to assassinate Cuba's Fidel Castro, and that the mob had lost their casino business in Havana and so wanted Castro eliminated. Also accurate is that John and Robert Kennedy were pressing the Mafia hard, including deportation of Carlos Marcello, and that the mafia would have considered the Kennedys as major threat. The show agrees that the Warren Commission was tasked with convicting Oswald rather than finding the truth, with the well worn reason of preventing another World War. The conclusion that the Mafia did it has long been problematic, since it does not explain the subsequent coverup. This is what Waldron's book seeks to do...explain the cover up as a result of a web of deceit and secrecy surrounding another plot to kill Castro. The show accurately depicted the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis, without mentioning that Kennedy's actions here could have been a motive in his murder. In fact, James Douglass' book “JFK and the Unthinkable” describes in excellent detail Kennedy's firing of CIA leadership following the Bay of Pigs, his refusal to engage in nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and his refusal to fight the Vietnam War. Douglass documents off channel communications between Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and Castro. Kennedy threatened the military industrial complex in his quest to end the cold war. According to “Did the Mob Kill JFK” this intrigue spiraled into another Kennedy lead coup plot against Castro called AMWORLD, which was outside of the CIA/Mafia plotting but was learned by the mafia. The allegation that AMWORLD was outside CIA/Mafia control is false, but it is stated in the show. At this point, the mafia decided that they could kill Kennedy and that the National Security State (again, Thom Hartmann's words) would cover the event, because if the world learned that the Kennedy brothers were working to kill Castro, then World War III would erupt. The tenuous conclusion that a failed Castro assassination plot would somehow lead to war is simply not explained. The reasoning so far is somewhat plausible, but now we must believe that the mafia, who with the CIA had tried and failed to kill Castro 17 times, would give up their goal of regaining their business in Havana via support of the newest coup initiative AMWORLD, and instead would assassinate Kennedy because he was a direct threat. The mafia would have needed to wait only one week for the AMWORLD plot to unfold. Although the mafia wanted Kennedy dead we are supposed to believe that their knowledge of the Castro plot was enough to grant the mafia a get-out-of-jail card for killing a President. A get-out-of-jail card which is still being used, 46 years later. The show accurately linked Marcello to Jack Ruby, noting that Marcello used him to silence Oswald. This is believable and well documented, but this conclusion is challenged the subsequent Discovery Channel show, “JFK: The Ruby Connection” leaving any viewer of both shows confused, which is the point of this type of presentation. It went on to describe a very tenuous link between Marcello and Oswald, without any mention of Oswald's connections to the CIA, the FBI, or his defection to Russia, among other details. The show briefly regains some level of credibility by allowing forensic pathologist and Warren Commission critic Cyril Wecht to forcefully demonstrate the fact of two shots, two shooters, and a fatal head shot from the front. The frontal shot is evident for all to see on the Zapgruder film, which was kept from the public for 7 years.. Posner then points out that he believes all shots came from behind but that Oswald still could have been part of a conspiracy. If you are not confused yet, it is not because they did not try. But that did not prevent the show from concluding with Posner noting that people want to believe in a Kennedy conspiracy, not because the evidence is overwhelming but instead because “it is hard for people to balance the importance of Kennedy's unfinished Presidency with a “sociopathic loser with a $12 rifle”. A more meaningless utterance is difficult to imagine. I suspect that Waldron and Hartmann were not pleased by the constant disruption of the flow of their misleading narrative and conclusion with Posner's lone-nut ramblings, or by the heavy reliance on FBI informant who was not prominent in their book. The show could have been misleading and dishonest without being confusing at the same time. If the reader is interested in learning more about the Kennedy assassination, read “JFK and the Unspeakable” by James Douglass, or view his comments at http://vimeo.com/7768119. His presentation at least makes sense. Douglass concludes that Kennedy was killed because he pushed back against the military and the cold warriors. His American University speech in June of 1963 represented a change in US foreign policy and an attempt to end the cold war. For this, the military-industrial-Congressional complex (President Eisenhower's words) or the National Security State (Hartmann's words) executed the American President in broad daylight at high noon, forever limiting the power of the President to resist war and violence. |
|
Recent National Issues Articles McCain could have meant Less War Healthcare mandate vs. the Constitution A healthy economy Apostle of our inner genius Wars or jobs: decide now Are Americans Too Broken for the Truth to Set Us Free? The school-to-prison pipeline Kucinich circulating privileged resolutions to end wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan National security state still killing John F Kennedy Richard Viguerie calls GOP litmus tests "Well intentioned," but urges replacement of Republican establishment leaders Craziest Obavietghanistan speech moments New civil resistance coalition formed to end the war Anti-Americans Why can't we do to DC what we did to Seattle? They should get a union KSM and MSM The two percent robustness Between hate speech and adoration Pelosi arrested us for asking for healthcare Over 2,200 veterans died in 2008 due to lack of health insurance Isolated incident Come together right now Joel Peresman of the Rock Hall Foundation says the time has come today Between hate speech and adoration Preview of Ramzy Baroud's 'My Father was a Freedom Fighter' Why I am risking arrest for Medicare for all Single-eye vision Did Obama/McCain choice matter? No one else will stop the killing -- Veteran's group to members: Multiply resistance by any peaceful means available Accepting the prize Glen Ford speaks in Columbus Heavy Traffic Who SHOULD Decide About War? Starting Another Year of War in Afghanistan Congress must pass single-payer health care now! U.S. Drug War Priorities in Need of Re-Evaluation Senator Kennedy visits then Cleveland City Councilman Govt-funded reporter urged lynching of Black Congresswoman HEALTH CARE WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE Oligarchy rules the health care debate Six months of immunity Grand theft auto: how Stevie the Rat bankrupted GM The perfect storm The Joint Public-Option Single-Payer United Front Breaking sarcasm: Holder Joins Conyers in Demanding Action If media were any good I've Seen 1,200 Torture Photos California should pay its people in pot How to trap a torture judge A Campaign Proposal for Progressives* Two Ways to Pay As You Go Declaration of Indictment Remove the filibuster from the Senate rules The Emperor's seven signing statements Letter to Obama from a dying friend Honor our hemp-raising patriot heroes Breaking: Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously finds Franken winner Why demand to prosecute torture will grow The Iron Triangle The rise of single-payer health care Trading press events for votes: What should press do? U.S. government threatens to prosecute waterboarding Gutting the health care plan: the scorpion and the Congress Darth Vader Cheney and the next attack Justice for the privileged The Omnibus CYA Act of 2009 We don't need the General Motors Corporation New report casts exclusion of single payer option as a question of democracy and human rights Peace rising Democratic Socialists? Dems Not Half That Good Give workers what they need! Priorities Never Again George & the Water Board 76 members of Congress oppose staying in Afghanistan forever Holder's plans as clear as Gonzales' memory Why isn't Obama turning to the Credit Unions? Connell's sister now doubts plane crash was accident Renters caught in squeeze face eviction Interview with Dr. Margaret Flowers, arrested Tuesday on Capitol Hill, part two Why we risked arrest for single-payer health care Not outraged about torture? Take your torture photos to church day The hounds of heaven Pay to play politics is unacceptable for health care reform It's national Nancy Off the Table Day President Obama's war budget: analyzing the numbers Give everyone healthcare by shutting down insurance companies Torture and treason The wrong torture question The prosecution of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney The prosecution of torturers Rule of law vetoed by President Obama Take heart and have courage Karl Rove still not arrested Hard times for African-American workers Forced patriotism Geo-insanity's latest mutation Changing the rules of the blame game War casualties at home Capitalism's self-inflicted apocalypse MoveOn is not new to supporting war Is this the best we can do? Happy Birthday, Cesar Chavez! Capitalist Incarnate: My interview with a vampire Baseball: More than a man's game Let's truly honor Cesar Chavez A modest proposal Breaking: Peace activists arrested at Pentagon Government stands in the way of financial security of small farmers: NAIS program is source of deep concern A New Deal for American Workers Bill Moyers Journal: Interview with Simon Johnson Join a union, get fired Oregon Plumbers Local Endorses HR 676 Appoint a special prosecutor Kids for cash Washington & Lafayette get stoned & talk marriage An RX for nurses -- and us, too Jobs may decline, unions won't Cross of irony Coffee entrepreneur brewing trouble for George W. Bush Perriello, peace and justice What President Obama should say Truth and healing The problem with truth, reconciliation, and commissions Sit down! Sit down! Abandoning torture, but what about war? ... No intelligent life down here Keeping the Bush era viable Bolsheviks in Seattle? New letter from Leonard Peltier: A hero’s welcome Holding Rove in inherent contempt Missing the train on the recovery package President Obama must free Leonard Peltier Dangerous executive orders Childish things A New Day The shirt off my mother's back Not to remain silent Be the peace For the health of all: Camp Hope Bill Richardson - Kissinger-American The future of civilization Camp hope holds Obama to "Change" pledge Read National Issues Articles by Year: |
FREE PRESS EMAIL UPDATE
Donate to the Free Press Election Protection Fund to help us investigate and monitor election fraud in this year's election.
FOLLOW US ON
twitter
facebook
SEARCH THE FREEPRESS
1021 E. Broad St. Columbus, OH 43205 | 614.253.2571 | truth@freepress.org
All content © 1970-2012 The Columbus Free Press
Disclaimer