LBJ Wanted to Avoid a Nuke War-1963

[Benjamin Cole]

AI Overview             

Yes, President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) strongly persuaded Chief Justice Earl Warren to head the commission investigating President John F. Kennedy's assassination by arguing that a thorough, trusted report was necessary to prevent a potential nuclear war with the Soviet Union or Cuba.

LBJ used this fear to overcome Warren's initial reluctance to serve, arguing it was a matter of national security and patriotism.

Key Details of the Conversation:The Fear of War: Newly released White House phone transcripts and accounts from Warren show that LBJ was deeply concerned that wild conspiracy theories or rumors suggesting Soviet or Cuban involvement in the assassination could escalate into a conflict."40 Million Americans":

In a telephone conversation with Senator Richard B. Russell, who was also reluctant to serve, LBJ stated that such a war could "kill 40 million Americans in an hour".

The Pressure on Warren: According to a 1972 interview with Earl Warren, LBJ invited him to the White House and argued that "conditions around the world were so bad at the moment that he thought it might even get us into a war — a nuclear war".

LBJ mentioned to Warren that he had received estimates from Defense Secretary Robert McNamara suggesting 60 million Americans could be killed in a nuclear attack.

The Goal: LBJ wanted to avoid a "three-ring circus" of multiple investigations and ensure that the public believed Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, thereby mitigating tensions with foreign powers.Earl Warren ultimately agreed to chair the commission, putting his concerns about the separation of powers aside to serve in what he saw as a moment of national crisis.

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Seems like the WC was more or less told to stay away from findings that would start a nuke war. Such finds would be that LHO had links to KGB (which he did) or G2.

In fact the US Ambassador to Mexico, Thomas Mann, and the State Department staffer in Mexico Charles Thomas, both thought there was a lot to the Cuba-LHO connection, and they were both shut down, and both lost their jobs in short order.

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Charles William Thomas was a U.S. State Department foreign service officer stationed in Mexico City who became a key, yet suppressed, witness regarding Lee Harvey Oswald's activities before the Kennedy assassination.

After his efforts to report evidence of a potential conspiracy were rebuffed, he was forced out of the State Department and later died by suicide in 1971, with his family and congressional investigators suspecting his, death was linked to his pursuit of the truth about the JFK assassination.

Here is what happened to Charles Thomas:

Evidence Regarding Oswald: In the mid-1960s, while serving at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, Thomas investigated allegations from Elena Garro de Paz, a well-connected Mexican writer. She claimed to have seen Oswald at a party in Mexico City in late 1963 with Cuban diplomats and Mexican leftists who spoke of wanting Kennedy killed.

Attempted Whistleblowing: Thomas believed this intel indicated that Oswald—who visited the Soviet and Cuban embassies in Mexico City weeks before the assassination—had accomplices. He reported this to his superiors at the embassy, including the CIA station, but his efforts to open a new investigation were ignored or rebuffed.

"Selected Out" (Fired): In 1969, Thomas was forced out of the Foreign Service through an "up-or-out" policy. It was later determined that a glowing evaluation of his work in Mexico had been intentionally or mistakenly misfiled, leading to a false "clerical error" justification for his dismissal.Death by

Suicide: Despondent over the destruction of his 18-year career, Thomas committed suicide in his Washington home on April 12, 1971.

Posthumous Findings: Congressional investigators later found that Thomas had been forced out due to his persistent, unwelcome efforts to bring attention to the Mexico City intelligence, which conflicted with the "lone assassin" theory. His family received a formal apology signed by President Gerald Ford.

Ambassador Mann's career came to end also.

I have reasonable doubts that LHO's connections to KGB and G2 are benign.