Was there a Larger Purpose of the Conspiracy?

[Nicholas Turner]

Some wanted an escalation in Vietnam. Some wanted a confrontation with the Soviets. Some wanted an invasion of Cuba.

All those things were on the table but ultimately, Johnson only escalated US intervention in Vietnam despite his suspicions about a Communist conspiracy in Kennedy's assassiantion.

So if that was the purpose of a conspiracy it failed, so how was Oswald the perfect patsy? His unstable background made the conclusion that he was an unstable character and a lone nut the most likely one surely. An unexplained assassination with leaked evidence of Russian involvement would seem a better approach to me.

[Jon Banks]

So if that was the purpose of a conspiracy it failed, so how was Oswald the perfect patsy?

Sometimes good plans fail.

The conventional wisdom was probably that Johnson would retaliate against Cuba or the Soviets if Oswald was linked to the Communists.

It was Johnson who used the possibility of war with the Soviets to convince Earl Warren to join his Commission.

Johnson and Hoover did the unexpected by suppressing conspiratorial loose ends and declaring before all evidence could be analyzed that Oswald acted alone.

His unstable background made the conclusion that he was an unstable character and a lone nut the most likely one surely. An unexplained assassination with leaked evidence of Russian involvement would seem a better approach to me.

You need a fall guy to keep the investigation from taking unexpected turns.

[Nicholas Turner]

Sometimes good plans fail.

The conventional wisdom was probably that Johnson would retaliate against Cuba or the Soviets if Oswald was linked to the Communists.

It was Johnson who used the possibility of war with the Soviets to convince Earl Warren to join his Commission.

Johnson and Hoover did the unexpected by suppressing conspiratorial loose ends and declaring before all evidence could be analyzed that Oswald acted alone.


You need a fall guy to keep the investigation from taking unexpected turns.

Makes no sense to me. Oswald as a lone gunman makes a lot more sense.

[Steve Taylor]

So you believe these very powerful forces (FBI, CIA, Pentagon, Justice) that murdered JFK - and framed Oswald and then covered their tracks - didn't have the ability and resources to frame JFK for something?  Their only course was to shoot him in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded street and then frame someone for it? Then cover all of this up?

This is what is odd about the conspiracy claims: these forces can do anything but yet are quite limited at the same time.

BTW: LBJ "escalated" US involvement because the North's attacks on the South increased. The South, after Diem's death, was increasingly incapable of defending itself from the North's increased activity. LBJ was faced with the problem of either abandoning the South to the North or trying to prevent that by increasing the US role. The South simply couldn't do it by themselves.

I believe that after JFK became President he became aware of the extreme immorality and illegal actions being exercised by the national security apparatus.  Any attempt to blackmail him, would have ended in disaster for the perpetrators.  Eventuaully South Vietnam did fall and communism didn't take over the world.  But many made billions of dollars, including LBJ's friends.  I would point back to my original post in that if the killers knew LBJ's stance on Vietnam, there would be no need to blackmail anyone.

[John Iacoletti]

And, arguably, Oswald was likely resigned to being shot or captured, despite certain CT 'ring-a-ding' piecemeal protestations hereabouts.

There's nothing like attaching the word "likely" to baseless conjecture and then pretending like that actually makes it likely.

[Duncan MacRae]

There are plenty of all-conspiracy/dominant-conspiracy JFK sites and blogs out there. Things are a bit more even-handed here, despite the CT trolls and spammers.

McGaw, his real name, has been deleted and is permanently banned from the Forum.
He joined the Forum using three different names, they have been deleted too, and I suspect they voted three times for the same answer in the poll.