Book Review: JFK and the Unspeakable
I've just finished listening to an audiobook of the latest of the JFK assassination conspiracy theory books, James W. Douglass' 2008 book JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters. The title of the book is a reference to theologian Thomas Merton's The Unspeakable which he describes as "an evil whose depth and deceit seemed to go beyond the capacity of words to describe." Douglass tells the story of President John F. Kennedy's conversion from a Cold Warrior to an altruistic leader whose goal is to avoid an impending nuclear war.
Douglass also spends a large part of the book telling the story of Lee Harvey Oswald, who Douglass describes not as an assassin but as a scapegoat, a pawn in a plan to set up the Soviet Union as the evil empire behind the assassination, along with its satellite Cuba. The author also traces the history of the CIA, first as intended by President Harry Truman as a central security clearing house for the President, but never as the independent body it became. According to Douglass, President Dwight Eisenhower fell out of favor with the CIA when he planned a summit meeting with Soviet Premier Khrushchev. The meeting was cancelled after a U.S. spy plane crashed in Russia. Eisenhower had reportedly ordered such flights cancelled and had his suspicions about who had ruined his peace plan. He subsequently issued his warning about the "military industrial complex" in his farewell address.
The author theorizes that the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba was planned by the CIA to regain control of the island and to re-open the casinos for organized crime. But Douglass tells the reader that Kennedy refused to provide air support for the Cuban brigade because he knew that he had been lied to by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and by the CIA. He argues that the invasion had been designed to fail without U.S. support but they hadn't told this to JFK who refused to fall into their trap. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK once again enraged the CIA and the Joint Chiefs by resisting their tremendous pressure on him to take military action which would have led to nuclear war.
Following that crisis, Douglass argues that JFK became intent on ending the Cold War by establishing a peaceful relationship with the Soviet Union. However, many CIA and Pentagon personnel believed that it was better to be "dead than red" and that it was preferable to destroy civilization rather than let the Communists rule. They also knew that war generated billions of dollars into the arms industry. As a result, they would repeatedly subvert the President's policies and isolate him within his own government. Ironically, Douglass says that JFK learned to trust Khrushchev more than people within his own government.
At American University on June 10, 1963, JFK spoke about his desire for world peace. He communicated his desire to form a new relationship with Khrushchev. He spoke about the necessity of a pursuit toward disarmament. He related his intentions to establish a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. He acknowledged his country's past faults and recognized the Russian people as wanting peace as much as the American people. Though the speech was ignored in the United States, it was disseminated throughout the Soviet Union. Douglass concludes that with so many powerful enemies opposing his policies and hating him, JFK didn't have a chance as he was being maneuvered into the crossfire in Dallas.
Douglass points out that Kennedy mandated that all U.S. personnel would be withdrawn from Vietnam and was determined to never send in combat troops even if this meant defeat. He also refused to intervene militarily in Laos. He exchanged private letters with Khrushchev, which infuriated the CIA, and secretly initiated plans to open relations with Cuba, which further incensed the Agency. In fact, Fidel Castro was meeting with a JFK representative when the President was murdered.
Douglass concludes that : (1) The CIA coordinated and implemented he assassination of President Kennedy, (2) The Warren Commission was created to conceal the truth from the American people; (3)There has been a continued cover-up by successive administrations; (4)The murder of JFK is related to the current control of government by an elite military and industrial shadow government that will continue to insist that only sustained war can keep the country safe from its enemies.
Is this book solid journalism and fact finding that sheds light on this 50 year old mystery, or more paranoid conspiracy theory? I'll leave that conclusion to the reader. For me, my visit to Dealey Plaza and a viewing of the Zapruder film has convinced me that Kennedy was not assassinated by a lone gunman, and that the Warren Commission report severely distorted the real facts. As for who killed John F. Kennedy and why, is something we'll probably never know.
Douglass also spends a large part of the book telling the story of Lee Harvey Oswald, who Douglass describes not as an assassin but as a scapegoat, a pawn in a plan to set up the Soviet Union as the evil empire behind the assassination, along with its satellite Cuba. The author also traces the history of the CIA, first as intended by President Harry Truman as a central security clearing house for the President, but never as the independent body it became. According to Douglass, President Dwight Eisenhower fell out of favor with the CIA when he planned a summit meeting with Soviet Premier Khrushchev. The meeting was cancelled after a U.S. spy plane crashed in Russia. Eisenhower had reportedly ordered such flights cancelled and had his suspicions about who had ruined his peace plan. He subsequently issued his warning about the "military industrial complex" in his farewell address.
The author theorizes that the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba was planned by the CIA to regain control of the island and to re-open the casinos for organized crime. But Douglass tells the reader that Kennedy refused to provide air support for the Cuban brigade because he knew that he had been lied to by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and by the CIA. He argues that the invasion had been designed to fail without U.S. support but they hadn't told this to JFK who refused to fall into their trap. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK once again enraged the CIA and the Joint Chiefs by resisting their tremendous pressure on him to take military action which would have led to nuclear war.
Following that crisis, Douglass argues that JFK became intent on ending the Cold War by establishing a peaceful relationship with the Soviet Union. However, many CIA and Pentagon personnel believed that it was better to be "dead than red" and that it was preferable to destroy civilization rather than let the Communists rule. They also knew that war generated billions of dollars into the arms industry. As a result, they would repeatedly subvert the President's policies and isolate him within his own government. Ironically, Douglass says that JFK learned to trust Khrushchev more than people within his own government.
At American University on June 10, 1963, JFK spoke about his desire for world peace. He communicated his desire to form a new relationship with Khrushchev. He spoke about the necessity of a pursuit toward disarmament. He related his intentions to establish a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. He acknowledged his country's past faults and recognized the Russian people as wanting peace as much as the American people. Though the speech was ignored in the United States, it was disseminated throughout the Soviet Union. Douglass concludes that with so many powerful enemies opposing his policies and hating him, JFK didn't have a chance as he was being maneuvered into the crossfire in Dallas.
Douglass points out that Kennedy mandated that all U.S. personnel would be withdrawn from Vietnam and was determined to never send in combat troops even if this meant defeat. He also refused to intervene militarily in Laos. He exchanged private letters with Khrushchev, which infuriated the CIA, and secretly initiated plans to open relations with Cuba, which further incensed the Agency. In fact, Fidel Castro was meeting with a JFK representative when the President was murdered.
Douglass concludes that : (1) The CIA coordinated and implemented he assassination of President Kennedy, (2) The Warren Commission was created to conceal the truth from the American people; (3)There has been a continued cover-up by successive administrations; (4)The murder of JFK is related to the current control of government by an elite military and industrial shadow government that will continue to insist that only sustained war can keep the country safe from its enemies.
Is this book solid journalism and fact finding that sheds light on this 50 year old mystery, or more paranoid conspiracy theory? I'll leave that conclusion to the reader. For me, my visit to Dealey Plaza and a viewing of the Zapruder film has convinced me that Kennedy was not assassinated by a lone gunman, and that the Warren Commission report severely distorted the real facts. As for who killed John F. Kennedy and why, is something we'll probably never know.