The JFK Assassination, The Conspiracies And Consequences

By
Marcus Lowth
Published Date
November 23, 2019
Last Updated
August 27, 2020
Estimated Reading Time
33 min read
Comments
1
Posted in
Conspiracy Theory Analysis, Government

The vast majority of us are aware of the basic conspiracy surrounding the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, in Dallas in November 1963. And most of us, to varying degrees, accept parts of those conspiracies as all but true – despite the official version of events.

And it is perfectly understandable, and in this case reasonable, as to why. While there are most certainly dubious, questionable, and suspicious happenings in the worlds of politics, military, intelligence, and everything else that comes in between throughout history, the JFK assassination still manages to stand alone on a plateau reserved for it only.

JFK in presidential car with blended image of gun target and Lee Harvey Oswald

The JFK assassination still intrigues people around the world.

Such phrases as conspiracies wrapped in mysteries cloaked in enigmas and tied together with riddles perhaps truly sums up the nuance and complexity of the death of JFK. And we should also remember, this is simply the one event, as public and horrifying as it was, that was catapulted into the public arena by the likes of Jim Garrison and because of such key evidence as the Zapruder Film, both variables that even the best-placed plans simply can’t account for.

Remember too this was before the Internet, with only limited media platforms to control. With that in mind, then, we should perhaps question the recurring narrative to curb and tightly control the freedoms of the superhighway today in our contemporary setting.

So, while we will not delve too deep into the events, claims, and conspiracies of the tragic events themselves that fall day in north Texas in 1963 – although we will certainly examine them in appropriate thoroughness for the space we have – we will look at a lot of the reasons and consequences behind the assassination. And just how far-reaching – right into our own modern age – such events actually go.

Contents

The “Resetting” Of Dominance On The World Stage

Following the Second World War, whether by design, opportunism, or a combination of both, the United States began to assert itself as the dominant power on the planet. And it did so, perhaps rather chillingly when we recall the outgoing speech of President Eisenhower warning of the unchecked powers of the “Military Industrial Complex”, through joining and more specifically, arming one favored side of various conflicts around the world throughout the 1950s.

Of course, these conflicts, as they had been during the Second World War, were to some, worth a literal fortune. Even during the forties and fifties, billions of dollars were tied to the Military Industrial Complex.

By the time the 1960s was upon America, a truly contradictory time was unfolding. On the one side, the “average” citizen had more money, business was good, and America was collectively on top of the world. On the other, the Civil and Equal Rights movements were (rightly) positioning themselves for real change, with many on the far right, particularly in the southern states, resisting such change.

To say the times were murky and nuanced would be an understatement.

Indeed, as we shall see, right down to the number of individuals, organizations, and groups who were present in the very vicinity of the president’s murder in Dallas that afternoon in November 1963, the waters of all aspects of the Kennedy assassination, seemingly right from the very beginning are a blurred, muddy, and often contradictory mess.

This should perhaps be the biggest clue that something truly monstrous and seismic across the spectrum of spectrums, was taking place. To paraphrase many researchers, it was “a coup d’état”, right in the heart of America, right under the noses of not only the American people but the population of the world.

The Opportunism Of The Second World War

One of the discreet lasting consequences of the Second World War – if such measures were not already in place to one degree or another previously – was the use by the United States’ government of recruiting many people who were more at home with the “criminal underworld” setting. They were, in effect, spies who were to seek out and report Germans spies attempting to infiltrate American interests.

However, this would bring people from such underground operations as bootlegging and racketeering, at the very least, into such intelligence organizations as the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), and in turn, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the CIA. One such figure was Meyer Lansky, who would work alongside one Guy Banister at the ONI.

By the early-1960s, with Lansky’s involvement largely unknown but his apparent criminal activities very much public and the target of Kennedy’s war on crime, Bannister was running a “private investigator” business in New Orleans – that just happened to have premises right in the heart of the Intelligence services, including the ONI, the FBI, and the CIA. What is also interesting, as we will examine shortly, is that Lee Oswald would rent an office in the same area, at a different address to Banister, but at a location that was essentially the back door of the same building.

In short, then, Lansky was but one of many such career underworld figures, many of whom would relocate to Cuba following the end of the war to carry out their gambling businesses “safely” away from the American authorities. However, the events of New Year’s Eve 1958 and into January 1959, would not only pull the rug out from such underground operations, they would set in motion a chain of events that would change the course of history.

The “Fight” Against Communism

Whether real, imagined or outright manufactured, there was a combination of hatred and fear concerning the apparent spread of communism in various places around the world in the United States throughout the 1950s. Especially in such nations where American business interests were prevalent. And despite the clash of ideologies, the bottom line was simply the potential choking off of the money supply these business interests provided for America. And more specifically, shadowy departments of the military and intelligence community.

However, when communism moved in relative terms, next door to the United States in Cuba, with the apparent full backing of the Soviet Union, such concerns became instantly more urgent.

This was very much the case with such underworld figures as Lansky, who along with many others had millions of potential revenues wiped away. Furthermore, most would have to return to the United States where they would have to operate much more covertly than they had been used to previously.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy speaking publicly

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

So, when they had the apparent assurances of the would-be president John Kennedy of no action for their activities (Kennedy’s father’s ties to underworld figures went back decades) such underworld figures believed not only would they be left alone to conduct their business as usual, but following the CIA’s eventual discreet invasion of Cuba, Kennedy would send in the military and they, in turn, would return to their monetary paradise.

Ultimately, although not in the way predicted and believed by many residents of the United States at the time, the coming to power of Fidel Castro and the entrenching of communism in Cuba, would have profound changes in America and indeed the rest of the world. And what’s more, these would be felt across generations.

The Bay Of Pigs Invasion – Lighting The Touch Paper To Assassination

By the early 1960s, the Cuban situation was reaching crisis point, perhaps no more so than the famous Cuban Missile Crisis of 1961. And while privately the intelligence agencies and various known and unknown but influential individuals with “interests” in Cuba were virtually chomping at the bit to invade, Kennedy had so far held off. Perhaps not least as doing so would wreck his desire for peace with the Soviet Union while also risking outright war with it, whether by proxy or directly.

Indeed, these stances had many people across America throwing accusations that Kennedy was a “communist sympathizer”. We should remember, for all of his popularity, the election of 1960 was the closest in American history with (figures vary) 49.7 percent in favor of him, and 49.3 percent backing his rival Nixon. Although the victory went to Kennedy, America was a divided nation. Except on one thing – communism.

When a secretly led CIA-financed invasion took place in early April 1961 using US-trained Cuban exiles, as well as a disguised American presence at the Bay of Pigs, there was an understanding, whether a spoken one or simply through misplaced presumption, that Kennedy would send military reinforcements from the air – an “umbrella of protection” as it would become known. However, the invasion was not only repelled by Castro’s army, the American presence was laid bare in front of the world.

With this in mind, when Kennedy refused to provide the air cover for the apparent action – something that some believed was almost an attempt to “trick” or “trap” him into declaring war on the communist nation – it would ultimately be one of two key decisions that it would appear to seal his fate.

The short video below looks at the Bay of Pigs Invasion a little more.

Threats To The Invisible American Power Structure

Kennedy would take full responsibility for his decision not to provide air cover and essentially begin a full-scale military conflict, not only with Cuba but very likely with the Soviet Union who was almost certain to come to their communist ally’s aid. Surprisingly, especially to Kennedy himself, many Americans appeared to support his rational thinking.

He would declare that he would end the interest of special interest groups, particularly those concerning foreign policy, as well as the unchecked influence of the CIA.

Furthermore, his desire to “splinter this (influence) into a million pieces and scatter it to the wind” signaled to many familiar with the inner workings of the world’s governments, and in particular the apparent shadow government of the United States during that time, that such talk and action was a direct threat to the invisible power structure of the United States. A power structure that many American citizens, at least at the time, were completely ignorant although unwittingly supportive of.

Kennedy in the Oval Office at the White House

Kennedy in the Oval Office at the White House

The notion of an American government acting in any way against its own people and with a lack of transparency was simply not tolerated or even considered at the time by the average citizen. With American patriotism still very much in line with the post-World War Two American mindset and geared toward the “real enemy” of communist ideology.

By the time it was clear that Kennedy was not going to endorse the potential war in Vietnam, and with those who felt wronged and betrayed by the such fiascos as the Bay of Pigs and the subsequent arrests that came after waiting for their chance to take revenge for such actions, unspoken and unwritten plans were put in motion.

Oswald – Heavy Signs Of Intelligence Operative Training

Unbeknown to most at the time, the person who would be blamed for the murder of John Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald (himself gunned down by Jack Ruby, which we will come to later), was most likely working for the intelligence agencies of the United States during the late fifties and early sixties. In reality, however, it would seem that a cover story was discreetly being laid down, most likely through the previously mentioned Banister who once worked for the ONI. One that would be used against Oswald several years later.

It would appear one of the main drives of his work was to cause the peace talks between the United States and the Soviet Union to break down, which they ultimately did. It is thought that Oswald, posing as a spy for the Soviet Union who had turned against the United States, (possibly on the orders of the intelligence agency), disclosed details of an American spy plane the U-2.

When the plane came down following an explosion over the Soviet Union in May 1960, the peace talks were essentially canceled. We will come back to this later, as well as the fate of the pilot of the U-2.

Lee Harvey Oswald under arrest

Lee Harvey Oswald

This is a chilling example of the government within the government conspiracies that are still uncoiling today two decades into the twenty-first century. That an agency would essentially work against its own people and interests in order to set up a specific environment for their own ends is to some people outlandish.

The fact is, though, we need to remember that underlying all of this are those two extremes and sides of the same coin, perhaps demonstrated most clearly by the East-West paradigm of the Cold War.

David Ferrie – The Connection Between Oswald And The Intelligence Community?

Of course, Oswald was, if we accept the claims to be true, one of many “intelligence assets” of the time. And most likely not the only one who it would appear was used for the agencies’ own needs. As far as Oswald in particular, there appears to be ample evidence of these secret intelligence missions, as well as intelligence training of various kinds. Jim Marrs demonstrates this extensively in the book Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy.

It is likely that Oswald first began taking steps into such a murky world after he joined the Civil Air Patrol. There, his superior was David Ferrie, who was perhaps one of the most crucial people in the Kennedy assassination plot in that he appeared to be one of the few that knew at least parts of most aspects of it.

David Ferrie mugshot

David Ferrie

He was an airline pilot who also worked as a private detective. Ferrie was also very anti-communist and said to have had outspoken right-wing views. He further had connections to leading underworld figures, many of whom, as we will examine briefly, also appear heavily involved in the apparent plot to assassinate Kennedy.

It was after this meeting that Oswald began publicly declaring his belief in communism and Marxism. This was certainly at odds with someone who desperately wanted to join the Marines (which he did) and was completely at odds with all who knew him personally at that time, including fellow marines who completed training and duty with him.

“Oswald Was No Communist!”

We should remember, America was not even a decade past executing husband and wife, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for apparently selling secrets to the Soviet Union (which some believe was a controversial and unsafe conviction). To think that military personnel would not only put up with, but wouldn’t report such open displays of approval for communism is surely not realistic. In fact, several people who knew him have stated publicly that “Oswald was no communist!”

Furthermore, from what we know now of Oswald’s dealings with Ferrie and people such as Guy Banister, and ultimately Clay Shaw – all of whom were known to have right-wing, anti-communist views – this again seems at odds with reality. However, when we know that all of the previously mentioned characters all have connections with the intelligence agencies, this behavior makes more sense. Especially if you are about to conduct an espionage mission for those agencies.

Whether intentional or through sheer opportunism, this backstory for Oswald’s seemingly legitimate mission for American intelligence would seemingly be used against him following the assassination of Kennedy as proof of his communist leanings and “traitorous” actions against his country.

A Grim Blueprint For Control

It would appear, at least according to some researchers, that Lee Harvey Oswald, a CIA asset, was under the impression that he was to carry out a “fake-failed assassination” of Kennedy, after which, the hope was that Kennedy would renege on his refusal to invade Cuba (who would be blamed for the assassination attempt) as well as being closer to sanctioning full-scale war support in Vietnam against the communist insurgents.

Indeed, while this is speculation it is perhaps quite possible that the plot to assassinate Kennedy began in just such a way, with the genuine plan to simply fake the attempt.

However, given the many people of influence who believed Kennedy had double-crossed them to get into power (and essentially, right or wrongly, he had certainly done this to certain “crime families” as well as those with interests in American influence abroad) there were plenty of people who could have hijacked such a plan so only the very few who had to know, did. Essentially, those at the top and crucial to the plan as well as those who were to actually pull the trigger.

Ferrie and Oswald CIA training in the 1950s with revolutionaries

Picture showing Ferrie and Oswald together years before the Kennedy assassination

As we have mentioned several times already, this apparent intentional plethora of activity and cacophony of motives swirling around leading up to that fateful day in Dallas was most likely very purposeful.

And while those who most claim carried out the attack – essentially a shadow government with people positioned in almost all parts of the governmental structure including the police, the military, and on political and even media platforms – most likely believed their plan was foolproof, they nevertheless created such a maze that even those involved don’t know every last detail.

In many ways, it is truly a grim blueprint for control.

The Far-Reaching Importance Of Jim Garrison

To anyone who has watched the movie JFK, which as the name suggests revolves around the assassination of the one-time president, Jim Garrison will be a familiar name. In reality, he remains one of the most important figures in exposing the ugly truths of the killing on Elm Street in Dallas in November 1963.

Not only is Garrison important to the uncovering and exposing of the conspiracy of huge proportions that took place as part of the plot to assassinate the 35th President of the United States, he is subsequently important in shining an (albeit cautionary) light on others who have since exposed similar conspiracies so that they are at least listened to by a small, but increasing portion of society.

Without people such as Jim Garrison, who put his career on the line, being able to dismiss any questioning of official accounts and narratives of any situation would be infinitely more difficult. And although he didn’t secure a conviction (following several witnesses disappearing or “committing suicide”), he did indeed lay bare the sickly inner workings, at least at the time, of the shadow government.

And it is important to remember, that such measures are not a reflection of America or American society in any way. It is really a stark warning of what can happen when a small number of individuals assume power and then use such power purely for their own ends. Indeed, perhaps what is one of the bitterest pills for all of us to swallow is the fact that many elements of such actions are often carried out by people who have no knowledge or even suspicions that such elements and agendas exist.

The short video below is the trailer to the award-winning movie JFK.

A Few Loose Ends

Before we move on to the events in Dallas in November 1963, we should perhaps examine the story of the pilot of the U-2 plane, Francis Gary Powers who, following an explosion on board his spy-plane, was forced to crash it inside the Soviet Union.

He was captured a short time later. There is reason to believe, as mentioned briefly above, that this incident was planned to interrupt a scheduled peace summit between the two Cold War superpowers only weeks later in Berlin, which it ultimately did when Eisenhower was forced to admit that he was aware, and officially ordered the spy plane on its mission.

Powers would perish less than 24 hours after speaking on a radio show in 1977 about his feelings that a bomb had been planted on the U-2 plane on the day of the crash before it had even left the ground, when his helicopter apparently ran out of fuel and fell from the sky.

In short, he was insinuating an intentional plot by people operating outside President Eisenhower’s desire for peace to break up the peace arrangements between the United States and the Soviet Union. Statements and insinuations that several other whistleblowers have claimed, and many other researchers have arrived at. Perhaps we should think again of Eisenhower’s warning upon leaving office of unchecked military spending and the influence of private contractors.

Incidentally, David Ferrie, another key figure in the plot would “commit suicide” only a day after being released from a protective program of Jim Garrison and after having agreed to testify against Shaw in court. It was Ferrie’s sudden death that was the biggest blow to Garrison’s case.

The video below features Jim Garrison speaking of his reasons for believing a cover-up in 1967.

Dallas, 22 November ‘63

In the book Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy by the late Jim Marrs, a very definite and detailed timeline of the fateful morning of the assassination of President Kennedy is put together. And while we do not have space to replicate such detail here (although we thoroughly recommend Marrs’ work), we will highlight some of the most intriguing and outright suspicious anomalies of that grim and bloody afternoon in Dallas on 22nd November 1963.

Most of us are familiar with the “official version” of that afternoon. After the presidential motorcade began down Houston it reached a turn in the road directly in front of the Texas School Book Depository before slowing down to almost 10 miles per hour (something security would consider a risk) and then beginning down Elm Street where it was to head under the Triple Underpass and arrive at the newly opened Dallas Trade Mart at around 12:30 pm. Indeed, we will come back to this location shortly.

Picture from the other side of the car, looking at the Grassy Knoll

Picture from the other side of the car, looking at the Grassy Knoll

Shortly after starting down Elm, however, a shot rang out which people at first believe to be a firecracker. However, a second a so later another shot, then another, the third, striking the president in the head, coming from the sixth-floor window of the Texas School Book Depository. A short time later after arriving at a Dallas hospital, he was declared officially dead.

A pandemonium followed by a numbing silence hit Dallas, which then spread out across the nation. Soon, however, it became apparent to anyone watching that something was amiss. Especially when the apparent lone-gunman, one Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested that same afternoon. And even more so when he was himself gunned down by Jack Ruby, a person with “connections” in several directions, while in custody in a Dallas police station.

The Grassy Knoll Witnesses

Perhaps the first place of intrigue, indeed as Marrs states “the most famous patch of land in America”, is the area to the right of the motorcade known as the Grassy Knoll. It is here where most people ran following the shooting, with multiple claims of hearing shots and sensing movement behind the 5-foot fence at the back of the knoll.

Furthermore, several puffs of white smoke were reported (some of which would show up in enhanced photographs decades later) as well as the distinct smell of gunpowder (which would not have traveled down from the sixth floor of the depository to the left of the knoll, had the shots come from there).

What’s more, a railyard worker, which ran behind the knoll, witnessed several suspicious people behind the fence, one of whom was dressed in a Dallas police uniform. Furthermore, he noticed several cars with out-of-state license plates circling around the car park behind the knoll. One of these drivers even appeared to be speaking in his hand as if he had a walkie-talkie.

Just after the first shot rang out, the worker recalled seeing a “flash” and “commotion” behind the fence. The men then seemingly walked back to the train cars.

What is perhaps interesting about this is that the account of the Kennedy murder in the Gemstone Files (which we will come to shortly) is very similar to many of the details that would eventually surface in the public arena through both public and private investigations.

What’s more, it is possible that the assassins of Kennedy, or certainly those heavily involved in the actual plot, were briefly in police custody immediately following the incident. Many investigations, as well as the files, speak of several arrests at the time but of which there are no records.

Retrospective Signs Of A Cover-Up In Real Time

There were also other signs that something was amiss. To some who had experience in intelligence and security work of such magnitude, these signs were glaring as they occurred. Although we will come on to the route the motorcade took shortly, the general lack of security and of telling all local police officers to stand down on the day in question is perhaps one of the most obvious.

There were also other discreet signs, though. Perhaps one of the most trivial but in retrospect important was the moving back of the press car as far back as possible in the motorcade line-up. This is particularly interesting as they would normally be near the front to capture the moment for history and for the world’s media. However, moving their car back meant that no such photographs or footage would exist of what it would appear some people knew was going to happen.

Frame showing Kennedy reaching for his throat

Frame showing Kennedy reaching for his throat

When we consider that there was an effort within hours to have the killing pinned purely on Oswald, from one location (the Texas School Book Depository) despite the wealth of contradictory claims that came in the immediate days following the incident from witnesses, this moving back of the press car looks decidedly ominous. Even more so when we discover that within seconds of the shooting, plain-clothed operatives were confiscating any cameras, films, or videos they suspected been taken.

However, as we will come back to shortly, several such pictures and pieces of footage would get through. There were also other signs of high-ranking, intricately cold planning.

Why Did The President’s Car Slow Down?

Perhaps one of the most confusing, and indeed suspicious aspects to the Kennedy case was the fact that upon the shots first being heard, the vehicle carrying the president appears to slow down, almost, and quite possibly, to a stop.

This is against one of the first protocols of security in such situations. That if such a situation arose as did in Dallas that afternoon, the driver of the car would simply speed away as fast as possible. Why on this occasion, then, did the driver of the vehicle not only not press down the gas, but actively apply the brakes?

The picture that appears to show the shot that killed Kennedy came from the front

The picture that appears to show the shot that killed Kennedy came from the front

Might this be a simple human error, albeit a truly costly one? It is possible. We know since that many members of the security team around the president’s car had spent the previous evening at a local Dallas club. Coincidentally or not, the same club that was owned by one Jack Ruby, who would make headlines two days later when he murdered another person who also frequented the club on several occasions – “Lee Oswald”.

Of course, the one piece of footage that would appear to be the true smoking gun would not only put the official explanation in doubt, it would seemingly prove it was completely false.

The Zapruder Film

One of the most important pieces of footage in history is that taken by Abraham Zapruder. It was one of, if not the first piece of footage he had taken on his new 8mm video camera.

In total, the footage – at least officially, which we will look at in a moment – is 22 seconds long and to many clearly shows that not only were more than three shots fired but that at least one of those shots came from in front and to Kennedy’s right. The bullet that essentially turned his head into a “halo of blood”, most likely killing him instantly.

It is this last bullet that, according to many, including Jim Garrison who would argue as such in a Louisiana court of law, that proves the shot came from the front of the president and not behind. Aside from the entrance wound being around the upper left side of his head, the force of the impact clearly sends him, in the words of Garrison, “back and to the left!”

Anyone who has seen the footage can see how clear this is. That the bullet hit from behind but caused an exit wound at the top left of the skull is perhaps plausible, but not so the clear backward momentum caused by the bullet entering his head.

You can check out that footage below.

The “Other” Unedited Zapruder Footage

Intriguingly, a French investigative journalist, William Reymond, would make claims that he had seen an “unedited version” of the Zapruder Film.

Apparently, a wider than expected turn onto Elm had caused the first shot to hit the throat of the president. This is perhaps a crucial error that essentially caused the watertight plan to unravel somewhat. If this first shot that hit the throat was actually intended to be the one and only fatal headshot, the blame could easily be laid at the feet of a lone wolf gunman (Oswald).

However, not only were several other shots required, the commotion now made such a clear shot much more difficult, not to mention the number of people seemingly witnessing this barrage of shots as they looked around them in fear and panic as to where the bullets were coming from. And what’s more, it brought the presidential vehicle much closer to the actual gunman.

Essentially, it would appear that what the footage demonstrated was up “8 or 9 shots” were apparently fired that afternoon. And perhaps most importantly, that the presidential vehicle came to a complete stop for approximately two seconds – essentially, it would seem, to allow for the final kill shot.

It is Reymond’s belief that the unedited version of the Zapruder Film was owned by Harold Hunt, who will come to shortly. If his claims are accurate, the footage could be some of the most explosive in history. And certainly evidence of cover-up of one kind of another of the official version of events regarding the death of John Kennedy.

You can check out a short interview with William Reymond below.

“Texas Oil (and) Renegade Intelligence Bastards In Washington!” To Blame

Harold Hunt is an intriguing character. Perhaps not least due to the claims of advertising executive Madeleine Duncan Brown. Brown would not only claim to have had an affair with the Vice President who would take over from Kennedy upon his death, Lyndon Johnson, but also that they had a son. She would further claim to know the names of several of those involved.

She would claim that on the night before the assassination, in Dallas at the home of Clint Murchison Sr. (whose son was perhaps more famous as the owner of the Dallas Cowboys) she attended a party which included the previously mentioned Johnson, as well as Edgar Hoover, Richard Nixon, diplomat John McCloy, one of Lyndon Johnson’s ultimate financial backers, George Brown, and Harold Hunt arguably the leading oil tycoon in Texas.

Lyndon Johnson being sworn in as President following Kennedy's assassination

Lyndon Johnson being sworn in as President following Kennedy’s assassination

Brown would claim that during the evening, a discreet out-of-the-way meeting took place (which she did not see) but which Johnson made reference to afterward during a conversation with her. She would claim that Lyndon Johnson would tell her that:

After tonight those goddamn Kennedys will never embarrass me again. That’s no threat! That’s a promise!

She would elaborate that although Johnson was not involved in the plot to kill the president (he was there, allegedly, to provide assurances that he would reverse Kennedy’s policies, most specifically direct action in Vietnam), he did nothing at all to stop it taking place (remember the saying that such assassinations are not so much carried out as they are “allowed to happen”). This was, according to Brown, due to Johnson’s personal desire to be President of the United States, as well as his apparent hatred of Kennedy.

It was, Johnson, informed Brown, “Texas oil (and) renegade intelligence bastards in Washington” who were directly to blame.

The Suspect Location

Even the location that Kennedy was traveling to is at least a little suspect, not least as it forced the motorcade to take the highly unusual bend from Houston on to Elm Street which, in turn, forced the vehicle to slow down to almost 10 miles per hour before heading into the “triangular” ambush area.

The destination was the newly opened Dallas Trade Mart, which was on a part of the underpass only accessible from Elm. Had the motorcade been going to almost any other destination, they would have had no reason to make the sharp turns on Houston and specifically Elm and would have simply carried on down Main Street, perhaps making the assassination impossible.

While this detail might sound trivial when we learn that the company behind the Dallas Trade Mart’s construction was Permindex, which had on its board one Clay Shaw, the same Clay Show who the previously mentioned Jim Garrison took to a Louisiana court charged with involvement with Kennedy’s murder, it suddenly becomes a little more intriguing. In fact, Shaw and the state of Louisiana would appear to have been decisively important in the Kennedy killing.

Guy Banister

Guy Banister

Shaw, it would ultimately be revealed, had links with David Ferrie and Guy Banister. And almost certainly, whether directly or indirectly, with leading figures in America’s underworld. He was also revealed as a CIA asset following his death in the early 1970s proving the previously mentioned Jim Garrison correct. Perhaps interestingly, no autopsy would go ahead following his demise.

A Recurring Theme In The Kennedy Plot – Right-Wing Anti-Communist Anti-Castro Sentiment!

Clay Shaw, in a similar, although drastically different path to the previously mentioned Meyer Lansky, would seemingly find himself in the world of intelligence operations during the Second World War. Specifically, with the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner to the CIA. As Jim Marrs writes:

Although there is precious little reliable information on exactly what Shaw’s wartime experiences included, he did retire from the US Army in 1946 as a major – later he was made a colonel – with the Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit, France’s Croix de Guerre, and Belgium’s Order of the Cross!

A decorated and distinguished individual indeed. And one who returned to his native Louisiana as a state hero, as well as a wealthy businessman and investor. It was around this time that Shaw would form the International Trade Mart, whose business was “permanent industrial expositions” which interestingly enough had connections to Permindex, the same company behind the newly opened Dallas Trade Mart that Kennedy was on his way to visiting when he was killed.

Interestingly or not, many of those involved with connected companies under the Permindex umbrella were discovered to have right-wing anti-communist sympathies. Exactly the same as people such as Ferrie, Banister, and Shaw himself.

Many also believe that Shaw, along with Ferrie and Banister, as well as a more uninformed Oswald were part of the COINTELPRO (the Counter Intelligence Program of the FBI) which looked to infiltrate groups and organizations regarded as against American interests and, according to some, simply groups Edgar Hoover himself personally disliked.

There is every reason to believe, at least in theory, that almost identical methods from the same people, only using different individuals, were involved in some of the high-profile assassinations that would scar the rest of the 1960s, including John Kennedy’s brother, Robert.

A Group “Outside Of Agency Control!”

Before we examine some of the other anomalies on the day of the assassination, given what we have just examined above, it is perhaps also worth mentioning the claims of a one-time CIA operative, Robert Morrow.

Morrow would claim in his book Betrayal that during his time working for the CIA he received orders prior to the Kennedy assassination to purchase four 6.5 mm Mannlicher-Carcano rifles from his superiors. This was exactly the same weapon that the official verdict of the Kennedy assassination claimed killed the president.

However, according to Morrow, it is his steadfast belief that the purchase of these weapons was to ensure that the Dallas police would find the evidence they required to frame Oswald for the killing of Kennedy.

Clay Shaw

Clay Shaw

Further according to Morrow, Oswald was a legitimate intelligence operative and asset, who partly through age and being impressionable, was seen as useful to the causes of “right-wing CIA operatives and anti-Castro Cubans…operating outside Agency control (and) manipulating events to ensure Oswald (was) named as the assassin”.

Furthermore, this “renegade” organization was based in two southern cities, Dallas, which came under the control and running of Jack Ruby (another possible CIA asset with genuine underworld connections), and New Orleans, which came under the control of Guy Banister. Overseeing the entire operation, and essentially one of the leaders and drive behind the assassination plot, at least according to Morrow, was Clay Shaw.

“Other” Oswalds Spotted “All Over Texas!” In Late 1963

Going even further, “an Oswald lookalike” was also used by this group to gun down police officer Tippit when he “failed to go along with the group’s scheme” to make the short journey to the Texas Theater and instead of apprehending Oswald, shooting him dead on site. This in itself is an interesting detail, perhaps suggesting that Oswald was told to meet a contact at the theatre, possibly if something went wrong.

Ultimately, apparently believing that the murder of Tippit combined with the assassination of Kennedy would see Dallas’ finest open fire on the apparent assassin, when this did not come to pass, it was decided that he was an urgent liability and was gunned down by Jack Ruby two days later.

Jack Ruby shoots Oswald at point blank range

Jack Ruby shoots Oswald at point blank range

Ruby himself is a controversial person. Officially he was a local Dallas nightclub owner, but many people believe he had connections to both the intelligence agency and organized crime, most likely in a similar way to such people as Meyer Lansky and Clay Shaw.

Many witnesses placed Ruby at the Texas School Book Depository that afternoon. And given his ultimate actions of assassinating Oswald, while he was in police custody no less, his presence there that day is intriguing to say the least. Was he acting as a “contact” for Oswald right up until the very last moment? Was he there to ensure Oswald was killed in the aftermath by Dallas police officers?

Incidentally, whether intentional on the part of those who were behind the alleged plot or not, sightings of “Oswalds” were apparently made “all over Texas” in the run-up to the assassination of John Kennedy. Make of that what you will.

Jack Ruby Was Likely Used In The Same Way Oswald Was?

Whatever the reasons, his decision to shoot Oswald dead is very likely one carried out upon instruction. And Ruby, like Oswald, likely realized he too was to be cast aside by his superiors when he wasn’t released from prison and was ultimately facing a first-degree murder charge. He was initially convicted of the murder of Oswald and sentenced to death. However, this was ultimately overturned as it was deemed an unsafe conviction for inadmissible evidence.

However, rather than be released he was to face a retrial for the crime. During this time, Ruby would make repeated requests to speak with members of the Warren Commission, and even to be moved to Washington DC as he believed his life was in danger due to what he knew regarding the Kennedy assassination. His requests were all refused, which given the gravity of what he potentially had to say is highly suspicious.

He would die while awaiting trial on 3rd January 1967. According to official records, doctors had “suddenly discovered” he was riddled with cancer less than a month earlier. We have to think that Ruby was counting on being released on bail and then using his contacts to “disappear” or even to sit out the charge and challenge it in court with the backing of high-ranking figures right up to the White House. Officially, he was never convicted of Oswald’s murder as that conviction was overturned.

The Umbrella Man And The Unknown “Raised Fist” Individual!

Perhaps one of the most intriguing and mysterious people unintentionally captured on film that day was The Umbrella Man who was seen opening a black umbrella at the time of the motorcade heading down Elm Street.

There are several possibilities according to researchers. One is that the umbrella was symbolic of the “umbrella of air cover” that Kennedy ultimately refused to authorize for the Bay of Pigs invasion. This is perhaps corroborated by the sighting of another mystery man, a dark-skinned individual who appears to raise his fist into the air very shortly after the umbrella is opened.

Might this, as the late author Jim Marrs asks, be a Cuban freedom fighter, who raised fist was symbolic of their struggle? And more specifically, was this some kind of macabre admission to Kennedy, who very well may have been aware of both the individuals and the symbolism of their gestures, that an imminent death awaited him for (to them) his betrayal?

Or is it possible, especially given that we know that the intelligence agencies had just such a weapon in the form of an umbrella available to them, that the opening of the umbrella fired a dart into the president’s neck (a wound that a doctor discovered but was not allowed to record, no less) that rendered him paralyzed and essentially prevented him from speaking or moving.

This truly sounds outlandish. We know, for example, that Kennedy reached for his throat after a bullet struck there. How quick such an agent might act, however, varies. Some statements from those in the car speak of a “nothingness” in his eyes, and of falling stiffly to his left before the final headshot took his life. Was he in the grip of paralysis in these final moments?

The Gemstone Files – Fabrication? Elaboration? Or Outright Truth?

We have examined in detail The Gemstone Files previously, but they are very much worth looking at again briefly here. At least the parts that relate to the Kennedy assassination.

According to The Gemstone Files, Oswald was indeed the “fall guy” for the entire operation and had been groomed to be so without his knowledge for some time by his employers.

Everything, right down to his apparent “communist sympathies”, his time in the Soviet Union, and the many sudden sightings of “Oswald” all over Texas, even at rifle ranges, no less amid claims he “thought he was aiming at Kennedy” were played out ready for the cover story that was put in place with the national and international media within hours of the killing.

The Three Tramps being led away by police

The Three Tramps

As a side thought, and something we will come back to shortly, is that very similar movements were seemingly recorded for Sirhan Sirhan, the person eventually convicted of the murder of Robert Kennedy by intelligence services in the weeks leading up to the killing. Including “independent” witnesses who had allegedly heard him express his desire to kill the would-be president. If we accept that there was a conspiracy to kill John Kennedy, then the almost identical circumstances surrounding the killer of his brother should alarm us at least a little.

Oswald was at the School Book Depository that morning, he believed, to take part in a “failed assassination” of Kennedy that would then cause a climbdown on policy. However, by the time he was aware that Kennedy had been killed, he is likely to have realized his position was as the scapegoat.

Many Matching Details That Can’t Be Simply Dismissed!

Much of what The Gemstone Files claims concerning the details of Oswald’s movements are reflected in such investigations as those by Jim Garrison, as well as the witness statements, some of which we have detailed above, perhaps most intriguing are the “three tramps”, who it would increasingly appear to have been at least some of the gunmen involved in the murder that day.

According to the files, two of the shooters (named as Brading and Frattiano) were arrested that day but released without charge and with no record of their arrest (as were several others). The other shooter, Roselli fled the area, apparently wearing a hat with an “X” marked on it, which Dallas police had been briefed to mean was a member of the secret service.

The Gemstone files suggest that the three tramps were, in fact, the back-up men of the shooters. They would remove the shells and quickly break up and dispose of the weapons before waiting in one of the boxcars near the railyard. Remember, the employee who watched the scene from his office near the back of the knoll claimed to see several men walk over to this boxcar area in the immediate aftermath of the commotion of the shooting.

Picture of Howard Hunt and the third tramp

Were these men involved in the Kennedy assassination?

The records suggest that these tramps were very animated and seemingly happy for the attention. In reality, at least according to the Gemstone Files, this was because they were purely tying up police time and attention. No record exists of their arrests.

Maybe the revelations in the files of the shooters having timers giving signals also stands up to scrutiny when we factor in The Umbrella Man and the man with the raised fist. Each of whom were acting in such a manner that could be seen as giving a sign or signal.

Constantly Swirling Muddy Waters Of The Invisible War

As we expressed earlier, this muddying of the waters was seemingly set in motion before the plan to even have Kennedy killed was. Had it not been for the number of witnesses who not only saw these anomalies with their own eyes but also the several people who photographed or videotaped them, we might not even be aware of that much.

Indeed, it is the belief of many conspiracy researchers that there is an “invisible war” taking place behind the scenes. One that is not necessarily fought “on the battlefield”, but through politics, cultural change, and ultimately assassination and coups. And it would seem, rather than a moral reason, if indeed such a moral reason could be found to justify such action, the bottom line is essentially mass profit and control.

Plaque for John F. Kennedy on the ground

Plaque for John F. Kennedy

However, for those that did notice something amiss about the incident, both at the time and with the benefit of decades of subsequent events, the world appeared a very different place in the years that followed.

Lyndon Johnson – An Accomplice? And If So, Before Or After The Fact?

While there is perhaps little doubt as to the questionable dealings of Richard Nixon, who we will come to next, those of Lyndon Johnson remain in doubt, at least to some. Was he an accessory to the death of John Kennedy?

And if so, at what point did he become embroiled in the cover-up? Was he aware before the “hit” or did he learn of it after the fact? Or was he indeed completely ignorant of any conspiracy and merely stepped in as vice president as his role called for him to do?

That could quite possibly be easier to fully believe if quite literally in the immediate aftermath following Kennedy’s death, Johnson hadn’t signed executive orders that basically reversed his political wishes, desires, and ideology.

And crucially, gave the discreet green light for military action in Vietnam – a conflict that would be worth billions upon billions of dollars to many unknown, faceless people who seemed to be at the heart of the inner workings of the American government, while also costing the deaths of millions of people, including almost 60,000 American soldiers, most of them drafted into the conflict and barely out of their teens.

Furthermore, over 300,000 soldiers were injured during the conflict that would end in a stalemate in 1975, over a decade after Kennedy began making plans to withdraw American troops from the area.

Richard Nixon – Another (Political) Patsy?

As for Richard Nixon, who ran against Kennedy in the 1960 US election (and many believe would have won if it hadn’t been for the behind-the-scenes influence of various groups, including many organized crime families) he would be involved in the Watergate scandal that would see him forced to resign. Interestingly, many of the individuals involved in this scandal were the same names that would crop up in investigations around the Kennedy assassination.

Furthermore, one of the people who made the transition into frontline politics after his appointment as the chairman of the Republican Party National Committee during the Watergate scandal was a “young” George Bush Sr., who would be Vice President under Reagan from 1980 to 1988 and then president himself from 1988 to 1992.

We will come back to the Bush family shortly. However, George Bush Sr. was highly involved with the intelligence agencies at the time of the Kennedy assassination, with some researchers even naming him as being actively involved.

It is perhaps a sobering thought, particularly if we bring back that phrase “coup d’état”, that one individual could be at the center of such historic changes, decade after decade after decade. And when we add in the connections between the Bush family and the Clintons, which we have examined before, as well as the fact that George Bush Jr spent almost another decade in the White House, it makes, at the very least, extremely intriguing thinking.

There were, however, several more political assassinations during the 1960s. Many of them extremely suspicious. Before we move on to those, however, check out the short video below. It looks at the Watergate scandal in a little more detail.

Connections To The Assassinations Of Martin Luther King?

While it might be simplistic to automatically assume there is a connection between the Kennedy assassination and the killings of Martin Luther King in 1967 and Robert Kennedy in 1968, the fact is there is surely enough coincidence to make such a notion a little more credible.

The fact is, however, at least in retrospect and with the benefit of the many extensive investigations and research of many people over the years, the 1960s was much more than simply a “hippy free love” era. Behind the scenes of this counterculture was a bizarre invisible war taking place. One that in many ways is still unfolding today.

One of the leaders of these times was Martin Luther King, who was instrumental in the Civil Rights movements of the times, as were the Kennedy brothers, coincidentally or not. Many details such as changing of last-minute plans – in this case, the room in which King was staying being changed placing him directly opposite the room where the alleged assassin – James Earl Ray – was claimed to have shot him from. While the finer details are perhaps the subject of another article, evidence would appear to suggest that King was shot from the ground.

The video below examines the basics behind the murder of Martin Luther King a little further.

The Murder Of Robert Kennedy Blamed On Another Public Patsy?

By the summer of 1968, it was becoming increasingly apparent that the chances were John Kennedy’s brother, Robert, would be the next President of the United States come the elections in November of that year. It was, however, a race which was not permitted to reach it conclusion.

On the evening of 3rd June 1968 at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, Robert Kennedy was shot at point-blank range by an apparent lone gunman who was already apprehended and charged with his murder. He would be dead approximately 24 hours later following the emergency surgery to save his life.

There are many who have since claimed that the man arrested, Sirhan Sirhan, was set-up for the killing. Some believe there was another gunman present who actually killed the would-be president. Others argue, quite seriously, that Sirhan Sirhan was under some form of mind-control, which was a genuine CIA program at the time.

What is perhaps interesting are comments made in a BBC Newsnight documentary regarding the deaths of both of the Kennedy brothers. The comments suggested not only a CIA presence at the Ambassador Hotel that evening but also that at least some of the same people were in Dallas on the afternoon of the death of John Kennedy five years previously.

As speculative as it is, it would seem that an “invisible blueprint” was very much in place. And what’s more, it was a blueprint that was actioned on several occasions.

The video below looks at the Robert Kennedy assassination a more.

The Same Methods In The Modern Era

By the time Ronald Reagan was elected President in November 1980, it would seem that the very same unknown, faceless government was back in the White House once again. We have, for example, detailed the connections between George Bush and his time with the intelligence agencies, as well the many connections – in Texas, to boot – that stretched far and wide.

We should perhaps wonder if the real desire – if we assume the attempt on his life in the opening years of his time in the White House was not the work of a “lone wolf” but one of a deep operative under instruction, or even mind control – was for Reagan to succumb to the assassins bullet, giving George Bush Jr. free reign in from the White House. While such a notion is nothing but pure speculation, it is perhaps speculation worthy of our attention.

Jackie Kennedy attempts to leave the car moments after her husband was killed

Jackie Kennedy attempts to leave the car moments after her husband was killed

Much of Reagan’s presidency was marred by controversy. Much of which we have examined before, perhaps not least the Iranian Hostage crisis and the Contra weapons controversy, which incidentally enough, occurred from a landing strip in Arkansas whose governor at the time was one Bill Clinton. The same Bill Clinton who would become president for two terms in between Bush, the father, and Bush, the son.

We have examined some of the intriguing conspiracy claims between the Bush and Clinton families previously. And if true, it would indeed suggest, albeit with a huge amount of speculation and with the possible exception of the Carter administration, that the same hidden influence had been in charge of the White House, in one way or another, since the assassination of John Kennedy on 22nd November 1963.

Are We Living Through The “Vietnam” Of The Twenty-First Century?

Of course, by the time George Bush (Snr) was President of the United States in his own name and right, war was very much seemingly back in the sights of this cabal.

Not only would Bush launch the first Iraq War in January 1991 which would last but several weeks, within several years of the George Bush Jr’s first term, the second Iraq invasion was launched which, including Afghanistan has seen an American presence in the Middle East region for almost two decades. To say these conflicts are the twenty-first-century version of Vietnam would perhaps be quite accurate.

Is this yet another example of the same discreet organization having full control of the American system and people? The same control that Kennedy warned of several decades ago.

It is highly unlikely that “we” will ever know who killed John Kennedy. Only the assassin or the one who pulled the trigger on the final headshot will know his shot literally killed the president. But above that, it is unlikely that any one person gave the order to actually kill the president. It is likely such things were put in motion and then “allowed to happen”.

The Grassy Knoll today

The Grassy Knoll today

What the killing truly does demonstrate, however, is that claims of a shadow government operating on behalf of an agenda that goes beyond borders but whose loyalty and allegiance is to a power that is seemingly nameless but all-influencing, no matter how outlandish and bizarre, would appear to have more weight than many would have us believe.

Perhaps if we look around the planet at political events, conflicts, and waves of change taking place all over the world today, we might ask ourselves if such influence still holds power over us, albeit with different people using the same apparently tried and tested methods.

Unknown Names Exerting Very Real Influence

To say the murder of John Kennedy changed the world is most certainly an understatement. Just for one moment imagine history if the Vietnam conflict had not dragged on the way it had, with the thousands and thousands of American and Vietnamese lives lost in the process possibly saved.

Or if the Cold War had been brought to a halt in the early sixties the exploration of space been made a joint effort between the two superpowers on Earth. Might we have reached the Moon a lot sooner than 1969? Might we have managed to set up a human colony there, or even have reached Mars?

Perhaps more than imagining what the world might have looked and been like had John Kennedy not been murdered and had secured another four years in office in the 1964 election, maybe we should question the motives, mindset, and agenda of those who, at least according to the conspiracies, ensured that such a world did not develop around us. And instead locked humanity into decades upon decades of perpetual conflict, war, terror, and ultimately death.

And then, perhaps we should think of our contemporary era in which we all exist. How many of the events – whether it is tragic incidents, strange and sudden deaths, or catastrophic accidents – under the control of the same unspoken, non-existent, but seemingly all too real cabal of individuals whose names are not known but whose influence very much is, are really what they appear to be? How much of our history and our reality do we really know and understand?

Check out the video below. It is one of many documentaries looking at the assassination of John Kennedy.

Marcus Lowth

Marcus Lowth is a writer with a love for UFOs, aliens, and the Ancient Astronaut Theory, to the paranormal, general conspiracies, and unsolved mysteries. He has been writing and researching with over 20 years of experience.

Marcus has been Editor-in-Chief for several years due to his excellent knowledge in these fields. Marcus also regularly appears as an expert on radio talk shows including Troubled Minds and Unexplained Radio discussing these topics.

Read Marcus' full bio.

You can contact Marcus via email.

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1 Comment

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  • Jonas-Kahn Garanzuay says:

    We now know that it was a Secret Service agent that shot the President.

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