You may already be aware of my personal feelings on this subject but, in the interest of fairness, I will give you an unbiased explanation for JFK's assassination. Many people are convinced that an elaborate conspiracy was behind Kennedy's murder, and, through the course of my own investigation, I have concluded that they would be correct. Following is the real story behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Be warned, this may get complicated.
On April 17, 1961 a group of CIA sponsored Cuban exiles attempted a hostile takeover of Fidel Castro's Cuba. This coup attempt was known as the Bay of Pigs (CIA code name: Operation Zapata). This attempt failed miserably for one reason and one reason only; President Kennedy's eleventh-hour withdrawal of promised vital air support. This resulted in the death and/or capture of thousands of men and an enormous humiliation to the Central Intelligence Agency. There were many people who vowed that day to get even with Kennedy for his last minute lack of support.
Sam Giancana (real name: Momo Salvatore Guingano) was a Chicago Mafia boss involved in CIA plots to kill Fidel Castro. Giancana was also the target of attacks by then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, despite the fact that the Attorney General's own brother, John Kennedy, had been having an affair with Giancana's paramour, Judith Exner, starting in March 1960. Further infuriating Giancana, Robert Kennedy ordered the FBI to shadow his every move so closely that other mob figures kept their distance from him, effectively isolating him from business and social associates. Later, out of desperation, Giancana went to court and obtained an injunction against the FBI. Giancana would later play a key role in the conspiracy behind President Kennedy's assassination.
In September 1963, CIA agent E. Howard Hunt arranged a meeting with several powerful men including Sam Giancana to arrange for the assassination of President Kennedy during his upcoming trip to Dallas Texas. Marita Lorenz, a former mistress of Fidel Castro, who was later recruited by the CIA, confirmed that in November 1963, she accompanied several men who belonged to a group known only as "Operation 40", a CIA-organized and funded group of anti-Castro Cubans whom she described as an "assassination squad", to Dallas just before Kennedy's assassination, and that they brought with them a small arsenal of weapons with them to the city.
The plan was laid out and very organized; The first shooter was to be Eugene Hale Brading. A Mafia courier sent by Sam Giancana, Brading was to hide in a second floor room of the Dal-Tex Building. As the motorcade went past the Dal-Tex Building, Brading would be only 145 feet from the President and would have a clear and easy shot. If his attempt was unsuccessful, Brading was to contact the other shooters, via walkie talkie, that they needed to proceed until the job was a success. After the assassination, the Dal-Tex Building was sealed off by police and Brading was arrested and gave his name as Jim Braden. He was later released when police could find no reason to detain him. It wasn't until much later that they learned his real identity.
The second shooter was to be CIA hitman Roscoe White. Sent by CIA agent E. Howard Hunt (who had a personal vendetta against Kennedy for the Bay of Pigs fiasco), White was to be stationed on the roof of the Dallas County Records Building. He too was in radio contact with the other shooters and would be notified if it was necessary for him to take a shot at the President. If the first shot was an obviously fatal head shot then White and the remaining two shooters would not make any further attempts on Kennedy's life.
Charles Harrelson, (who happens to be the father of actor Woody Harrelson) was designated as the third shooter. Disguised as a hobo, Harrelson would place himself behind the famous grassy knoll awaiting a signal from a Mr. Louis Steven Witt. (A Polaroid taken by Mary Moorman at the precise moment of the fatal head shot shows Mr. Harrelson hiding in the bushes behind the grassy knoll.) Harrelson was instructed to shoot at Kennedy as the motorcade went by only if he received a signal from Mr. Witt to do so. The signal was simple; Witt would be holding an open umbrella. Standing next to him was a yet to be identified black man who, being in radio contact with the first and second shooters, would tell Witt if a third shot was necessary. If a third shot was indeed required, Witt would thrust his open umbrella a foot and a half into the air. Witt has since been known to assassination conspiracy buffs as "The Umbrella Man".
The forth and final shooter was to be James Simmons. Disguised as a railroad worker, Simmons would be only 35 feet away from Kennedy as the motorcade passed under the triple overpass heading west out of Dealey Plaza. His would have been a last ditch effort to kill Kennedy and was virtually a suicide job due to the fact that he would most certainly been caught red handed.
So, the scene was set. There were to be as few shots fired as possible. If the first shooter misses then the second shooter takes over until Kennedy is dead. There. Are you happy? There's your stinkin' conspiracy. Oops, I failed to mention one small thing. It didn't work out quite like they planned. Right before Brading (stationed in the Dal-Tex building if you'll recall) fired the first (and probably fatal) shot, a shot rang out from the 6th floor of the Dallas School Book Depository. Some wacko (we'll call him Lee Harvey Oswald) was firing out of sequence. Brading thought perhaps White (stationed on the roof of the Dallas County Records Building) got jumpy and fired too soon. Brading yelled into his walkie talkie that he never shot and White took that to mean that he should shoot. However, before he took a shot, a second shot rang out, again from the man on the 6th floor of the Depository Building (This one missing Kennedy completely and slightly injuring a Mr. James T. Tague after hitting the curb near Mr. Tague).
The black man standing next to Mr. Witt (a.k.a. "The Umbrella Man") surely must've inquired into his radio what the hell was going on. The first shot seemed to have injured Kennedy but the second shot missed him completely. A bit of confusion followed but one thing was obvious; Kennedy was still alive. Witt was told to give the signal to Harrelson to take a third shot. Harrelson, stationed behind the grassy knoll took aim and....BOOM! The instant before he pulls the trigger a third shot comes from the wacko on the 6th floor of the Depository. At almost the exact same moment Oswald takes the third (and fatal shot) Harrelson's gun fires into the air and misses the motorcade altogether. Dozens of witnesses will later testify that they saw smoke rise from the grassy knoll. Harrelson somehow ditches his gun and is later temporarily detained by police.
So, there you have it. You wanted a conspiracy and you got one. But the fact still remains that Oswald acted on his own and he fired the two shots that hit Kennedy and he had no part whatsoever in any grand conspiracy. Don't believe it? Tough luck. You're wrong and I'm right so there.
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