Finally, other conspiracy theories even linked then Vice
President Lyndon B. Johnson to the assassination plot, at least in terms of having been made aware of the operation in advance if not necessarily as a co-conspirator (Galanor,
1998).
Several specific individuals later emerged, providing information of their claimed involvement in the assassination conspiracy, including James Files and David Morales
(Benson, 1998). Files was linked to both the CIA after working as a former covert military operative in Laos as well as to organized crime through his association with Charles Nicoletti, a Mafia hitman operating in the Illinois area. Files specifically claimed to have been recruited by Nicoletti to act as a backup shooter positioned in the vicinity of the grassy knoll and that he fired the headshot, not Oswald (Benson, 1998).
Morales was also a CIA operative who had been involved in several high-level operations to depose foreign leaders in South America as well as in the Bay of Pigs.
According to some accounts (Benson, 1998), he may have been photographed with Oswald and he was reported to have made statements indicating that he had been involved in the assassination of both J.F.K. In 1963 and R.F.K. In 1968 at the democratic national convention in Los Angeles (Benson, 1998).
Modern Significance:
It is difficult to overstate the significance of the assassination of President John F.
Kennedy. In all likelihood, the President would have withdrawn U.S. Armed Forces
from Southeast Asia by the end of his (first) presidential term, which would have changed the entire course of American history for decades to follow, in terms of both domestic concerns and international and geopolitical relations. Even greater than the speculation as to what Kennedy might have accomplished in those areas is the legacy of civil rights that his work actually achieved, although its most dramatic accomplishments occurred in the decades since his death (Scott, 1996).
Needless to say, the assassination fundamentally changed the approach of the U.S.
Secret Service and is largely responsible for the great lengths to which the agency goes to protect American presidents, presidential candidates, and heads of state today (Walsh,
regard, and irrespective of the precise nature of the truth of what happened in Dallas in
1964, substantial evidence remains strongly implicating various law enforcement agencies in including the FBI, the Secret Service, and the CIA (respectively), in deliberately concealing relevant information, destroying and/or mishandling crucial evidence, and refusing to cooperate in the congressional investigations (Galanor, 1998).
Personal Beliefs:
In my personal opinion, it is difficult to come to a responsible conclusion as to the specific nature of the conspiracy to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. On the other hand, it is even more difficult to ignore the cumulative weight of all the evidence that
Oswald probably did not act alone, including but hardly limited to the conclusions of the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1979. Granted, many the accounts of various purported eyewitnesses, co-conspirators, putative hitmen, and other ancillary figures with supposed first-hand relevant knowledge interviewed in connection with the suspicions of conspiracies suffer from inconsistencies. However, in many cases, those conflicting accounts still suggest that some form of conspiracy involving multiple entities is more likely than the conclusion reached by the Warren Commission in 1964, that Lee
Harvey Oswald acted alone.
References
Benson, M. (1998). Who's Who in the JFK Assassination: An a to Z. Encyclopedia.
New York: Citadel.
Galanor, S. (1998). Cover-Up. New York: Kestrel Books.
The President's Commission on the Assassination. (1992). The Warren Commission
Report: Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President
John F. Kennedy. New York: St. Martin's.
Scott, P. (1996). Deep Politics and the Death of JFK. Los Angeles, CA: University of Californian Press.
Walsh, K. (2003). Air Force One: A History of the Presidents and Their Planes. New York: Hyperion.
John F. Kennedy was the youngest individual elected American president and the first Roman Catholic to serve in that capacity. His election as president came in the aftermath of the Second World War and is considered as an initiative that came to reflect the ascendance of youthful idealism during this period. However, the promises of the youthful energetic president were not fulfilled following his assassination near the end of his
John F. Kennedy: A Biography by Michael O'Brien The purpose of writing this report is to critically analyze and interpret the biography of John F. Kennedy written by O'Brien in his book "John F. Kennedy: A Biography by Michael O'Brien." John F. Kennedy is one of the well-known Presidents of America who proved to be a legend in the American history and was assassinated four decades back in Dallas. The writer of
Memories of John F. Kennedy The Kennedy's When I got up that day, the most important thing in the world was the test scores we were going to receive. By the end of the day they seemed irrelevant, and in fact I didn't even open my envelope for another four days, even though they would help determine my future." It was the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. My aunt was in the
WALKING a MILE IN JOHN F. KENNEDY'S SHOES John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) was a tremendously important figure in modern American history despite the fact that his presidency was cut short after less than three years by his tragic assassination in 1963. Born into a wealthy and politically influential family, Kennedy served in the U.S. Navy during World War II after which he served as a U.S. Congressman from 1946 until his
Assassination of President John Kennedy Why was the assassination of President John Kennedy considered a turning point in history and not just another event? In the first place, the election and inauguration of John F. Kennedy (JFK) was in itself a dramatic turning point in American history. Americans had never had a president who made such eloquent speeches, who was so young and handsome, and who had such a beautiful, classy wife
Kennedy and Brinkley President John Fitzgerald Kennedy is an important figure in American history and was instrumental in shaping the American identity in the second half of the twentieth century. His personality and optimism, as well as his heroism in the Second World War helped the country to formulate a hope that the 1960s could be a time of renewal and rebirth in the United States of America. In recent years,
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now