James Fetzer, a retired Philosophy of Science professor from the University of Minnesota, discussed the cover-up surrounding the assassination of John F Kennedy (JFK) with me.
The official story, he argues, is nonsense.
What actually happened
James believes that the operation was orchestrated by top US government agencies, including the Pentagon, CIA, National Security Council and the Secret Service.
He also implicates J Edgar Hoover and Lyndon B Johnson who received financial support from Texas oil magnates.
It’s a common belief in American culture that lone individuals were responsible for the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and Robert F Kennedy (RFK).
Lone killer narrative
It’s always a lone killer.
Or a lone gunman.
Have you noticed?
Do you remember Sandy Hook and the Christchurch massacre?
However, history shows us that multiple individuals were involved almost every time.
- Lincoln’s assassination involved four conspirators.
- RFK was likely not shot by Sirhan Sirhan and his assassination was part of a wider conspiracy.
- King was killed, not by James Earl Ray, but by multiple individuals on behalf of a Memphis businessman and government agencies.
Nevertheless, for some reason, many people still believe that the US is immune to conspiracies (or cover-ups).
Contrary to this belief, conspiracies – driven by economics or politics – have been a big part of American history. Conspiracies are all too common, with extra thanks to the CIA.
Warren Commission
Why does the phrase ‘conspiracy theory’ unsettle a lot of people, notably journalists and academics?
Effective propaganda.
Since the 1960s, proaganda has been effectively used to discourage discussion or investigation into numerous events.
Following public doubt over the Warren Commission’s conclusions on JFK’s assassination, the CIA issued a comprehensive directive to its stations. The Warren Commission, set up by President Lyndon B Johnson on 29 November 1963, was tasked with investigating the assassination of President John F Kennedy, which occurred on 22 November 1963.
Titled Countering Criticism of the Warren Commission Report, this memo significantly contributed to the use of ‘conspiracy theory’ as a term to discredit those who question the government’s secretive operations and policies.
Ironically, the Warren Commission’s namesake, Chief Justice Earl Warren, likely knew about the coverup.
In other words, the CIA did not want people questioning the assassination of JFK, and wanted, instead, to control public discourse, which led to the implementation of Operation Mockingbird.
Even Lee Harvey Oswald’s lawyer suspected foul play.
CIA directive
The directive, known as Document 1035-960, was released by the CIA in 1976, after a FOIA (Freedom Of Information Access) request by the New York Times, in which it details a series of actions and techniques for “countering and discrediting the claims of the conspiracy theorists, so as to inhibit the circulation of such claims in other countries.”
One example was to remind “friendly elite contacts (especially politicians and editors)” about the accuracy and soundness of the Warren Commission Report, and that “further speculative discussion only plays in to the hands of the [Communist] opposition.”
Basically, if one challenged the government’s story, then one was an evil commie.
The CIA also told its members “[t]o employ propaganda assets to [negate] and refute the attacks of the critics. Book reviews and feature articles are particularly appropriate for this purpose.”
Here’s my conversation with James.
I want to splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds.
John F Kennedy
