The Conspiracies Surrounding the Assassination of John F. Kennedy - Research Paper Example

The Conspiracies Surrounding the Assassination of John F. Kennedy Introduction President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963. Two bullets were fired, one in the head and the second in the neck. Kennedy at that time was passing through Dealey Plaza in Dallas in an open-topped limo. Lee Harvey Oswald was accused of killing Kennedy. The presidential commission led by Chief Justice Earl Warren found that Oswald had no accomplice while shooting the President. Public at large does not believe that Oswald assassinated the President on his own. It is evident from the opinion poll conducted by ABC News in 2003 wherein 70 percent of the people did not approve of the fact that Oswald planned the assassination by himself, and no outside forces were involved in the plotting. Their argument was that bullets aimed at from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository could not have succeeded in aiming at the President. They felt the presence of another gunman, possibly aiming at from the Grassy knoll of Dealey Plaza. There were still others who felt that President Kennedy was assassinated under a greater conspiracy. Doubt has been expressed over the role of CIA agents who might have shown their anguish over the Bay of Pigs or at the provocation of Vice President Lyndon Johnson. KGB functionaries were also under the scanner besides mobsters who were annoyed at Kennedys brother for prosecuting organized crime rings. Thus, the assassination of President Kennedy was one of historys most famous political assassinations whose cause and culprits are still not confirmed. Amid rumors, 32 percent of those polled by ABC think that Oswald acted on his own (Time Specials par. 1-2) Facts There are numerous conspiracy theories doing the rounds around the assassination of President Kennedy. After being arrested, Oswald was shot at and murdered by Jack Ruby not long after being arrested. General opinion was that it was Oswald who assassinated the President but he was not alone. People had doubts over the KGB, the FBI, and the American underworld. Most of the witnesses were not sure as to from which direction the bullets came, strengthening the theory that there were more than one shooter. There was no unanimous view over the number of shots fired and position of the shooters as well (Kennedy Assassination par. 1-2). Motive No single motive for killing the President could be established because of various theories. Some people were of the view that President Kennedy wanted to put a full stop to the Cold War, which was the cause of his killing while others view Kennedy’s support to the aggression of Cuba a reason of his killing. Many other motives of his killing have been established, all covering his individual and political perspectives on issues of importance (Kennedy Assassination par. 3-4). Discovery Channel took the initiative of re-enacting the scene of assassination with the help of experts in 2008 to find out the direction from where shots were fired. The experts employed latest blood-spatter analysis, new artificial human-body surrogates, and 3-D computer simulations in their examination. A mock drama of the scene of assassination was recreated with all the surrounding buildings, positioning an artificial surrogate of Kennedy in a car and shots were fired from the model depository, the grassy knoll and other ranges. The computer graphics expert Doug Martin expressed his finding with the Discovery News thus: “We might never know if Oswald pulled the trigger, but when you look at the wind pattern, the spread of the debris, the angles and distances involved, its consistent with a shot from the sixth-floor depository.” Findings of Discovery Channel were not taken as truthful, which could be because of time factor (Kennedy Assassination par. 5-6). Mystery surrounds the involvement of more than one person in the killing of President Kennedy because there is evidence indicating links of Oswald with each group wanting to kill the President. Oswald was working as radar operator at U-2 spy plane bases before Kennedy’s death, changed party to the KGB and also married the niece of a KGB colonel. He had connections with an ex-FBI agent involved in the overthrow of Castro. He also worked for this cause from a building in New Orleans. Later, in the fall of 1963, Oswald shifted place to Dallas where he had links with FBI, found employment in a Texas Book Depository and was charged of assassinating the president (Anders par. 3). Doubts were raised on Oswald capability of getting posted in Dallas from where the President’s open motorcade was bound to pass. How could this lonely man get associated with violent and insurgent groups like the Cuban revolutionaries, the K.G.B. and F.B.I.? Wasnt it made easy for the future Mrs. Onassis to pass through the ordeal of a trial when Oswald was killed the next day by Jack Ruby, a dachshund-toting strip-club owner linked to the Mafia? Questions were also raised over the presence of Richard Nixon in Dallas on the morning of November 22 (Anders par. 4). Warren Commission’s findings silenced various viewpoint holders’ voices over the involvement of outside agencies in the killing of President Kennedy. The report offered the findings in summary format in September 1964, stating the cause behind Oswald’s killing as his misguided communist viewpoint and wayward thought to be in the limelight by any possible way. Warren Commission provided proof of this fact in 26 volumes to create a one-volume report besides ignoring crucial leads that brought the findings under suspicion (Anders par. 5). Reviewing the proofs stated by the Warren Report, one can feel the liberties taken by the Commission in reaching the conclusions by ignoring opposing information and not considering proof indicating that Oswald had accomplices. The Commission did not pay heed to the evidence and went on proceeding with the beliefs it held true. One opposing proof in the report was the Commissions skimp-over of the shots most witnesses stated hearing from in front of the motorcade as "echoes." There were many contradictions on which the Commission did not take any lead (Anders par. 6). The Warren Report ignored innumerable oversights, which writers like Mark Lane, Jim Garrison and others have pointed out quite well. The Report dwells on many coincidences and links, leading certain stakeholders to find their own answers to the mystery-shrouded killing of President Kennedy. Considering innumerable theories based on some interest and purpose served by the killing of Kennedy, not all can be waived away as figment of imagination. Some theories hold enough ground to be examined for becoming the staples of Kennedy assassination lore (Anders par. 10). Opinions may vary but some opinions hold value, such as that of Jackie Kennedy, who remarked when she came to know that a leftist had been brought to the book for the killing of her husband: “He didnt even have the satisfaction of being killed for civil rights . . . . Its — it had to be some silly little Communist” (McAdams par. 1). Assassination -- Logic, Witnesses and Context Any analysis of “conspiracy” cannot rule out the concepts on logic, possibility and crucial figures. Questions have been raised on the presence of too many coincident and links in the “lone assassin” theory, indicating the probability of the Single Bullet Theory. Witnesses play a significant part in proving who the culprit is. In this case, as in any actual criminal justice case, witnesses’ testimony was crucial but solely depending on the witness testimony cannot be acclaimed to be dependable enough, as witnesses have many-a-times been proved false. Likewise, the context of assassination can not be made without considering it in historical aspect. Were the government officials wrong in suppressing the facts when they came to know the radical roots of Kennedy could pose a threat to the system? Should we take the FBI and CIA not disclosing truth, as accomplices of the conspirators, thus helping them? (McAdams par. 15-18). Witnesses’ deaths created suspicions on the theory based on the assumption that assassination was the outcome of sheer and instant rash-mindedness of Oswald, giving inkling to the notion that deaths were caused to suppress the truth that the assassination was the result of any of the groups, which could have connections with Cuban militants or FBI or CIA. This fact cannot be denied that the death of witnesses could have helped those not wanting the truth come out before the public (JFK assassination conspiracy par. 1). An important question was raised by former U.S. Marine sniper Craig Roberts and Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, the senior instructor for the U.S. Marine Corps Sniper Instructor School, who said: “We reconstructed the whole thing: the angle, the range, the moving target, the time limit, the obstacles, everything. I don’t know how many times we tried it, but we couldn’t duplicate what the Warren Commission said Oswald did. Now if I can’t do it, how in the world could a guy who was a ‘non-qual’ on the rifle range and later only qualified ‘marksman’ do it (JFK Assassination Conspiracy par. 2).” The report submitted by the HSCA (1979: 3) has also not ruled out the probability of two shooters firing at President Kennedy, as based on scientific acoustical proof although it is not sure who the other shooter was or the limit of involvement of a conspiracy behind the assassination. Works Cited Anders, Pat. “An Introduction to JFK Conspiracy Theories.” Stayfree Magazine. 21 November 2011. . Conspiracy Theories: JFK assassination conspiracy. Theories of Conspiracy. 2010. 21 November 2011. http://theoriesofconspiracy.com/2010/06/jfk-assassination-conspiracy.htm>. HSCA Report. Union Calendar No. 962. Final Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations U.S. House of Representatives., 2nd session. Washington: GPO, 1979. . Kennedy Assassination. ID Investigation Discovery. 2011. . McAdams, John. Home page. The Kennedy Assassination. 2010. 21 November 2011. . Time Specials. “The Conspiracy Theories 2011.” 21 November 2011. . Read More