Historical Kennedys Assassination - Essay Example

JFK Assassination s 27th November Introduction John F. Kennedy’s assassination of second November, 1963 created a tumultuous period within the United States of America. Many conspiracy theories concerning his assassination came up, but the two most headlining results were the Warren commission’s findings and the U.S House Select Committee on Assassination’s findings. These two investigations were separated by 15 years, and they managed to come up with wide conflicting conclusions. Both investigations and subsequent findings added more information to the knowledge that was already in the public domain, for instance, the major actors in the assassination. Each of the two findings from the two investigations introduced new questions for every one that had been answered. Warren Commission It was created just after the assassination of John F. Kennedy and was overseen by Earl Warren, the then United States Chief Justice. After carrying out its investigations, they published their findings the following fall. They stated conclusively that it was Lee Harvey Oswald, acting as a lone gunman who made three shots from his vantage point at Texas School Depository in Dallas, 22nd November, 1963. Lee Harvey Oswald, according to the report also shot and murdered J. D. Tippit, a police officer as he attempted to make his escape some forty minutes later (Porter, 2014). Warren commission’s conclusions were based on the “Magic Bullet” theory which claimed that one bullet went clean through the president’s throat, struck Texas Governor John Connally on the chest cavity region, then his wrist and later lodged in his thigh. Within this commission, there consisted many opinion differences on this issue but they all agreed that indeed, three shots emanated from the Texas Schoolbook depository. On the issue of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, who was shot and killed by Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner at Dallas two days later, the commission findings stated that the two individuals never met before. They did not find any evidence to make the conclusion that neither Lee Harvey Oswald nor Jack Ruby was part of a conspiracy, foreign or domestic to kill the president (Porter, 2014). United States Select Committee on Assassinations It was formed in the mid 1970s after revelations concerning the activities of the C.I.A that floated after the Watergate scandal. It brought about new information regarding the agency’s anti-Castro efforts which were not considered in the Warren Commission. Its findings were astonishing; they stated that John F. Kennedy was gunned down as the result of a conspiracy. Their investigations were unable to pinpoint the extent of the conspiracy of identify the second gunman. They ruled out the possibility of involvement by various agencies that were thought to have played a key role in the assassination. They included the Soviet and Cuban governments, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Secret Service and the Criminal Intelligence Agency (Porter, 2014). House select committee did not rule out possible involvement by organized criminal groups, Castro-Cuban groups or individual members. Their findings were highly based on the sound impulses recorded by a microphone stuck at a cop’s motorcycle placed at Dallas’ Dealey plaza. Sound and acoustic professionals found that the microphone had recorded four shots that included a shot from the grassy knoll that missed its target. Evidence from the acoustic is heavily challenged and until now, it remains unsolved. House Committee on Assassination faulted the Warren Commission for its failure to investigate the possibility of a conspiracy thoroughly. They highlighted the failure of the Warren Commission to obtain all relevant data that was held by other agencies and government departments (Porter, 2014). The Last Three Conspiracy Theories Involvement of the CIA Central Intelligence Agency is thought to have played a vital role in the assassination of President John. F. Kennedy. Doctrine of plausible deniability gave the highest sanction within the United States government green light of covert operations, economic warfare, propaganda and sabotage as ways of winning the communist war. In the year 1950, plausible deniability became the green light of the CIA to carry out assassinations of national leaders, overthrow governments and carry out secret operations by the military. Plausible deniability meant that the U.S intelligence agencies could play a role as paramilitary groups and cover their tracks of any involvement to remove all tracks that could lead back to the United States government (Zirbel, 1991). Regrets over the creation of the CIA and the authorization of the doctrine of plausible deniability were started by President Harry Truman, who was head at the time of CIA’s inception back in 1948. After the CIA bag of pigs’ disaster came to President Kennedy, he learned the plan to set him up and also their plan of killing Cuban president Fidel Castro. He was furious and stated his wish of disintegrating the CIA into one thousand pieces and blowing them into the wind. He ordered investigations of the whole incident under Attorney General, Robert Kennedy, his brother. John F. Kennedy fired the CIA director Allen Dulles, his deputy Richard Bissell Jr together with General Charles Cabell, a deputy director at the agency. He later started steps of reducing the CIA’s budget starting from 1962 and 1963. He aimed at reducing it by 20 percent by the year 1966. These were very huge decisions that did not sit well with the agency. CIA could have planned to assassinate President John F. Kennedy, who had threatened to weaken their activities and disintegrate them with time (Zirbel, 1991). Oswald’s Role in the Shooting Taking a nearer look at the proceedings of that fateful day shows that there was more than one shooter. Eyewitness and photographic evidence clearly paint the picture that shots were fired from a different location other than the Texas school depository (Zirbel, 1991). It is also clear that there were too many shots that could not have been possible to originate from one rifle. Lee Harvey Oswald was not one of the gunmen according to eyewitness and factual evidence. Only his gun that was found on the sixth floor of the school forms the only evidence against him. Each and every other evidence that was brought up indicates strongly that Oswald was not involved in the shooting. Evidence that was collected from eyewitness accounts shows that; Lee Harvey Oswald did not have a rifle with him as he arrived at Texas School. He could only have delivered it to work on that fateful day of the assassination. Three individuals saw him before and during his arrival at the school that day. All of them clearly stated that he had no rifle with him. Lee Harvey Oswald was nowhere near the sixth floor when shots were fired. Two eyewitnesses claim to have seen him on the second-floor moments after the final shot was fired. It means that there is no way he could have descended from the sixth floor that fast. Also, none of the eyewitnesses heard or saw him descend. Oswald was not on the sixth floor 15 minutes before shots were fired; this is based on the account of an eyewitness who claims to have seen two individuals, one of them holding a rifle. Other eyewitnesses place Oswald on the first and second-floor at this time. He did not fire a weapon that day, on account of the paraffin tests that were conducted to test for gunpowder residue; they found no evidence on his cheek (Zirbel, 1991). Lyndon B Johnson’s Involvement It is claimed that Lyndon B. Johnson who was the vice president at that time was the one to gain the most after the murder of John F. Kennedy. According to Zirbel (1991), Lyndon B. Johnson did not pull the trigger but he was mixed in the conspiracy of killing Kennedy. He also asserts that Lee Harvey Oswald was just the fall guy, for instance; the one to take all the blame. After carefully studying the report forwarded by the Warren commission that had come to the conclusion that Oswald was alone in carrying out the shooting, he found many errors. Conclusions that tie Oswald as the shooter have become the official finding but still many conspiracy theories have continued to come up. According to Zirbel (1991), vice president Lyndon B. Johnson and his well-known Texas connections played a key role in the shooting of John F. Kennedy. He states that anyone who has in interest in the case knows the events and scenarios. It includes; the CIA who was upset by the many changes being implemented in the agency following the botched Bay of Pigs invasion that aimed to overthrow Fidel Castro as leader of Cuba. Organized criminals like the mafia who had been heavily targeted by the law enforcement under the Kennedy administration. Anti-Castro Cuban groups who might have been closely working with the CIA and the mafia. Others are; military industrial complex, FBI, Soviet Union, America Conservatives and Southern segregationists. Johnson had every motive, opportunity and the means to carry out a conspiracy against the president. According to Zirbel (1991), his motive was political gain noted by the many political differences between him and the president coupled with personal issues. Johnson was also involved in various scandals, and his desire to become president before he became too old was evident. Opportunity, Kennedy’s visit to Johnson’s home town, could have created the perfect opportunity. Johnson and his close associates ran and controlled the trip detail around Texas. Means, shots fired by multiple gunmen firing from the direction of the grassy knoll owned by associates related to Johnson, who controlled the oil business. These oil business individuals were tied to the mafia. There were at least two shooters; he could also stop any meaningful investigations towards the assassination after taking the presidency seat. What mostly surprises Zirbel (1991) is the awkward turn that altered the direction planned by the secret service. It saw the route changed to go directly past Texas Schoolbook depository and the Dealey plaza near the grassy knoll where many believe shots were fired. He also notes that John Conally, who was wounded in the attack, had insisted on that arrangement, and he was a close ally of Johnson. Importance on Today’s World John F. Kennedy’s assassination, as tragic as it was has led to major improvements in the presidential security detail. Some of the Wallace commission findings highlighted lapses and certain shortcomings that should not occur in the area of presidential protection. No individual thought to check the buildings that were close to the motorcade route. No procedure had been identified for working with local police and law enforcement agencies (Naylor, 2013). It is noted that the secret service had not encountered a president like John F. Kennedy who mixed up with the public. It leads to immediate changes such as; the abolishment of the open limousines, they also started to take more aggressive approaches to security work. Financial support towards the secret service has been upgraded from a mere $5.5 million of 1963 to $ 1.6 billion in 2013. It has facilitated to the creation of an assault team, counter-sniper and surveillance units. Today metal detectors and bag checks are carried out on people hoping to get close to the president. An armored vehicle known as “the beast” is the presidential limousine. It is not easy to alter the route; the secret service comes up with a thick manual with data concerning relocation contingencies and sites. Also, plans of diverting the motorcade and counter events in case of a chemical attacked are contained in the document (Naylor, 2013). Conclusion After studying the events that occurred during the fateful day, there must have been more than one shooter. According to the Warren commission who settled on the “magic bullet” theory, I believe that their findings were meant to cover the “real” truth. Also, the findings by the United States Select Committee on Assassinations created an avenue for the creation of more conspiracy theories. I do not believe that Lee Harvey Oswald shot John F. Kennedy; he was the fall guy of the conspiracy that was led by the then deputy president Lyndon B. Johnson. It is clear that he is the only one with a motive, opportunity and means to carry out the operation. References Naylor, B. (2013). How Kennedys Assassination Changed The Secret Service. NPR.org. Retrieved 27 November 2014, from http://www.npr.org/2013/11/07/243769588/how-kennedys-assassination-changed-the-secret-service Patterson, T. (2014). One JFK conspiracy theory that could be true. CNN. Retrieved 27 November 2014, from http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/16/us/jfk-assassination-conspiracy-theories-debunked/ Porter, D. (2014). JFK Assassination: 2 Probes, 2 Different Conclusions. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 27 November 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/11/jfk-assassination_n_4256666.html Zirbel, C. (1991). The Texas connection. Scottsdale, Ariz.: Texas Connection Co. Publishers. Read More