History or Hoax 9: Kennedy Assassination

Now, don’t let the title deceive you – there is no doubt as to whether or not John F. Kennedy was assassinated. There is video proof that he was shot. But by whom? It is widely accepted that John F. Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, however, it is also widely believed that Oswald was wrongly convicted, or at least was not the only man or woman involved in the assassination of the young president. But why would people think this? It must be just another crazy conspiracy with no proof, right? Well, no, not necessarily. While you probably associate the word ´conspiracy´ with crazy extremists and lack of evidence, some are actually somewhat grounded – and some have even proven to be true. Whether or not John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald and him alone is actually a valid debate topic.

Letś begin with the facts of the day that it all went down. On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was accompanied by his wife and Texas governor John Connally for a 10-mile motorcade. At the time, they were riding in an open-topped convertible, waving to the adoring American citizens who were lining the streets, craning their necks to get a look at the president. As the presidentś car passed the Texas School Book Depository he was shot. It was approximately 12:30PM Central time. 30 minutes later, the president was pronounced dead at 46.

Dave Perry, who has spent minutes upon hours upon years researching conspiracy theories relating to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He has easily debunked several theories, but there is one that he can´t seem to debunk. It is related to the CIA – the source of hundreds of conspiracy theories. If you weren´t aware, the CIA is short for Central Intelligence Agency. At the time of Kennedyś presidency, the CIA were plotting to kill Fidel Castro, this is a fact. However, Kennedy did not approve of this plan, according to Perry, he was ¨fed up with the CIAś shenanigans¨, and according to the conspiracy theory, was considering disbanding the CIA. So, this theory points to the idea that the CIA orchestrated the assassination. But what evidence points to a CIA cover up?

Well, for starters, the head of the Johnson-appointed committee in charge of investigating the assassination, was Allen Dulles – the former head of the CIA. This committee ruled that Oswald was the lone perpetrator. Now, the last thing that the former head of CIA would want is for his friendś names and profession to be tarnished – and Allen, being the leader of the committee, wouldn’t want his own name tarnished. Not to mention, that the president Kennedy made the comment that he wanted to “splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the wind”. This could have made him a potential target for the organization.

There are lots of theories as to what could have happened on that fateful day in 1963. Some involve the alleged assassinator, some involve the CIA, and some involve spectators in different locations. There are countless of books, articles, and videos on this assassination and theories that come along with it. It’s up to you to decide whether or not you are satisfied with the FBI’s findings, or if you think the whole situation is corrupt.