There are books that entertain and there are books that change our way of thinking. JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters
After reading this well written masterpiece, I now have a greater respect for John F. Kennedy and his dear beloved wife Jackie. It is their family that suffered publicly and privately during the whole tragedy. The suffering must have been too much to bear for poor Jackie and her children.
Douglass captures the essence of the times, which includes the politics, the military agenda, the intelligence agencies, and the players moving behind the scenes. After the hoopla dies out and the sun sets in the evening, it is the details that are always important. Douglass has certainly left us with many clues and a very clear formulation of the assassination. The author has done his homework and then some.
The perspective on several topics need to be analyzed. The Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War are key points of reference. We quickly discover that the CIA is big part of our story and the proof is undeniable. The men in suits were for hire.
The reader should not be overcome with confusion in the first part of the book, because some of the ideas are blurry in the beginning. The picture gets more vivid as the reader gradually flips the pages. It is especially near the ending when the pieces of the puzzle start fitting together.
Not only was John Kennedy steered by the CIA during the Bay of Pigs incident, he was being pushed hard into the Cold War. Kennedy changes from a ‘cold warrior’ to a man of peace, after realizing the devastation that a nuclear holocaust would bring to humanity. After Kennedy finds his way and turns into a man of peace, the CIA and the dark forces behind it would make him pay dearly for it. These people were chartering a different course. They pursued war because war equals profits.
Those were complicated times and it seems that JFK was pressured from all sides. John and brother Robert were a team to be reckoned with and they encountered many enemies along the way. Robert would lose his own life for the same reasons that his brother did. The two stood up to the establishment and they paid for it. We are all mortal.
The author spends an entire section on Vietnam and this is very important to digest. It is my opinion that Vietnam was a big component to understanding the mystery behind the assassination. JFK wanted to de-escalate the Vietnam War as he understood that many lives would be lost and it was to be a war that could not be won. Kennedy knew this and was reminded by his advisors that the French had failed and the United States would find defeat also.
Prophetically, we now know what happened as was predicted. Kennedy’s enemies prevailed and they took America to war. The author informs us that it just wasn’t Kennedy that lost his life over Vietnam, it was approximately some 60,000 soldiers and many more Asians that fell victim to poor decisions. This is a war that should have never happened. It was a mistake that haunts America to this day.
John Kennedy knew he was a marked man and wanted to get out of the trip to Dallas. He was warned not to go and he himself had bad feelings about it. Yet John was not afraid to die. He battled with health problems all of his life and knew of mortality.
As the plot to kill Kennedy thickens, we grasp and measure the details. Lee Harvey Oswald was a patsy indeed, just as he claimed before being shot by Jack Ruby. Ruby was a very important player in the story and he was heavily involved in the assassination itself. This is often unchecked by the conventional side of the story, as are many other revelations. Both Oswald and Ruby were CIA assets.
I am quite shocked at the cover-up and the plausible deniability. There were numerous key eyewitnesses that mysteriously died before, during, and after the assassination. I believe this was a message to all future presidents. ‘If you stand in our way we will eliminate you as well.’
We should be fearful of this dark force, however, the fear should be a motive to demand more out of our government officials. Our weapon should be the one that John F. Kennedy chose. This is a message of hope and peace. Love is a much greater force than evil and hatred. We should never forget this.
The poem that daughter Caroline reads to John at a meeting is eery. “Rendezvous” was written by Alan Seeger, an American poet. It was one of John’s favorites and his daughter knew it by heart. One would have been amazed to hear her recite this poem.
Another inspirational quote cherished by the president was from another president, Abraham Lincoln. Both presidents shared a unique history in their deaths.
I know there is a God — I see the storm coming and I see his hand in it — if he has a place then I am ready — we see the hand. John F. Kennedy paraphrasing a statement by Abraham Lincoln; quoted in The New York Times (May 15, 1964). [Source: Wikiquote]
Douglass mentions another prolific author, Jim Marrs. Jim Marrs has a fascinating story in his book called “Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy.” This is another must read on the subject.
Jim Marrs covered the Ed Hoffman story. “Ed Hoffman had witnessed a critically important scene in the assassination scenario.”
I am quite intrigued with another mystery man the author mentions, a man named Richard Case Nagell. The book was called “The man who knew too much : hired to kill Oswald and prevent the assassination of JFK” and was authored by Dick Russell. By the way, this healthy mystery man died suddenly of an unexpected heart attack.
“The Man Who Knew Too Much” Is “one of the most exhaustively researched books on President Kennedy’s assassination.”
I can only advise anyone interested to read “JKF and the Unspeakable” to absorb the story that was explained in 380 pages, not counting the extra material provided. The unspeakable was complicated and horrific. To do justice one must read this book and others like it.
If corporate profits are more important than life itself, then we are in big trouble as a nation. Until we find peace in our hearts like President Kennedy did, we will reap the rewards of our destruction. The American Empire will fall, just as every other empire before it did in the past.
Thank you James W. Douglass for a most interesting read. “Now peace is up to us.”
