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Author Topic: Inner Circles  (Read 2569 times)

Online Charles Collins

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Inner Circles
« on: February 20, 2020, 02:14:54 PM »
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On pages 115 and 116, in his book "Inner Circles - How America Changed the World - A Memoir," Alexander M. Haig, Jr. writes:

For reasons of my own, I think that President Johnson's suspicions in regard to Castro's role were amply justified. Very soon after President Kennedy's death, an intelligence report crossed my desk. In circumstantial detail, it stated that Oswald had been seen in Havana in the company of Cuban intelligence officers several days before the events in Dallas, and that he had traveled there by way of Mexico City, where, as the Warren Commission later established, he had been received at the Soviet embassy. The detail - locale, precise notations of time, and more - was very persuasive. I was aware that it woild not have reached so high a level if others had not judged it plausible enough to merit the consideration of high officials. As I read the report, I felt a sense of physical shock, a rising of the hair on the back of my neck. I walked it over to my superiors, some of whom had attended that Sunday-morning meeting with President Johnson. Reading it caused their faces to go ashen.

"Al," said one of them, "you will forget, as from this moment, that you ever read this piece of paper, or that it ever existed." The report was destroyed. Notwithstanding the order I was given, I have found it impossible, over the course of the last thirty years, to forget the report as I was ordered to do or to banish from my mind the many unanswered - and now, perhaps, unanswerable - questions that it raised.



Why would Al Haig write this if he had not seen such a report? To sell his book? I don't think so, his section on the JFK assassination is relatively short compared to the rest of his story.

I have looked at the possibilities of LHO traveling to Cuba during the "several days before the events in Dallas," and LHO's whereabouts appear to be in the Dallas area with the exception of Sunday 11/17/63. LHO didn't call Marina that day, and so she asked Ruth Paine to call the number of LHO's rooming house. And of course, since LHO had used a fake name at the rooming house, they were unable to reach LHO. When questioned by Marina later, LHO reportedly told her he was at the rooming house watching television. However, I believe that it might be possible that LHO lied to Marina and wasn't really at the rooming house, but in Havana, Cuba that day.

I don't have any idea why the Cubans would have wanted LHO to be in Havana. In fact I think that, if they were involved in an assassination plot, that they would want to avoid having him there. And therefore, the report that Al Haig said he saw would appear to me to most likely be a false sighting of LHO,  and Haig's superiors might have just wanted to avoid having to explain it, so they destroyed it (similar to the destruction of the LHO note that the Dallas FBI destroyed).

I would like to know if anyone has seen any evidence that the report actually existed. If anyone else has ever said that they saw such a report, etc. Also, if there is any evidence (other than what he told Marina) that LHO actually was at the rooming house on 11/17/63.
« Last Edit: February 20, 2020, 02:17:25 PM by Charles Collins »

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Inner Circles
« on: February 20, 2020, 02:14:54 PM »


Offline Steve M. Galbraith

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Re: Inner Circles
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2020, 05:22:21 PM »
Charles: I have this from Gus Russo's "Live by the Sword." After quoting the above from Haig's book, Russo follows with this:

"It is possible that Haig was reading the report filed by "Jeremy Ryan" (pseudonym), a CIA Chief of Station posted in Latin America. Recently, Ryan recalled to the author the day Kennedy was killed - a day when Ryan was attending a pre-arranged lunch meeting with a communist source he had developed. "This man was the best recruitment I had made in my thirty years with the Agency. He was very close to both Fidel and Che [Guevara]." As the recruitment was reconstructing recent conversations with Fidel and Che, in broke a Ryan intermediary with the news of Kennedy's murder. "On hearing the news from Dallas, he [the source] broke down in tears and said, 'Oh, my God. They said they weren't going to do that."

Ryan immediately filed a report of this conversation with headquarters. "When I reported that discussion, everything came down on me like a thunderstrom. Headquarters wanted me to develop more information. The most I got was that my source had met Oswald in Cuba. Based on this source's know reliability, I'm convinced to this day that Oswald was in Cuba.

The reliability of the Oswald-in-Havana allegation was further bolstered by sources for the CIA's Miami JM/WAVE station. According to one source, Oswald was seen in Havana sometime during the first week of October in the company of "Commandante Miranda", cited as an officer in the Cuban Navy."
(Source: JMWAVE to CIA Director, member memo, 4 February 1964; CIA segregated file, JFK Collection)

As noted above, Russo cites as his source for the Ryan interview a firsthand interview with the man.

Russo also mentions several other claims/speculations about Oswald visiting Cuba such as the "two suitcase question" - I.e., Oswald was seen leaving New Orleans with two suitcases; but he was seen with just one when he arrived in MC.
« Last Edit: February 20, 2020, 06:25:29 PM by Steve M. Galbraith »

Online Charles Collins

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Re: Inner Circles
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2020, 05:54:11 PM »
Charles: I have this from Gus Russo's "Live by the Sword." After quoting the above from Haig's book, Russo follows with this:

"It is possible that Haig was reading the report filed by "Jeremy Ryan" (pseudonym), a CIA Chief of Station posted in Latin America. Recently, Ryan recalled to the author the day Kennedy was killed - a day when Ryan was attending a pre-arranged lunch meeting with a communist source he had developed. "This man was the best recruitment I had made in my thirty years with the Agency. He was very close to both Fidel and Che [Guevara]." As the recruitment was reconstructing recent conversations with Fidel and Che, in broke a Ryan intermediary with the news of Kennedy's murder. "On hearing the news from Dallas, he [the source] broke down in tears and said, 'Oh, my God. They said they weren't going to do that."

Ryan immediately filed a report of this conversation with headquarters. "When I reported that discussion, everything came down on me like a thunderstrom. Headquarters wanted me to develop more information. The most I got was that my source had met Oswald in Cuba. Based on this source's know reliability, I'm convinced to this day that Oswald was in Cuba.

The reliability of the Oswald-in-Havana allegation was further bolstered by sources for the CIA's Miami JM/WAVE station. According to one source, Oswald was seen in Havana sometime during the first week of October in the company of "Commandante Miranda", cited as an officer in the Cuban Navy.
(Source: JMWAVE to CIA Director, member, 4 February 1964; CIA segregated file, JFK Collection)

As noted above, Russo cites as his source for the Ryan interview a firsthand interview with the man.

Russo also mentions several other claims/speculations about Oswald visiting Cuba such as the "two suitcase question" - I.e., Oswald was seen leaving New Orleans with two suitcases; but he was seen with just one when he arrived in MC.

Thanks Steve, so in Russo’s accounts, the “several days before the events in Dallas” of Haig’s recollections becomes more like “seven weeks before the events in Dallas.” It’s possible that Haig’s memory could be faulty with respect to that detail. And if LHO actually did go on a side trip to Havana during the time frame associated with his known trip to Mexico City it would tend to explain why LHO got upset when questioned about MC and denied even going there.

Do we have access to the source:

(Source: JMWAVE to CIA Director, member, 4 February 1964; CIA segregated file, JFK Collection)

???

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Re: Inner Circles
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2020, 05:54:11 PM »


Offline Steve M. Galbraith

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Re: Inner Circles
« Reply #3 on: February 20, 2020, 06:15:15 PM »
Charles: I'm doubtful that it'd be online but you could try the Mary Farrell site or the online JFK Collection. Probably would have to go in person to the National Archives to view it.

For me the dates on these allegations just don't add up. Besides, Castro had agents in the US; I would think they would meet Oswald somewhere in the US and not run the risk of having fly back and forth between here and Havana.

I think we make a mistake trying to "fit" Oswald into all of that Cold War intrigue that was going on. To be sure, he came across all sorts of "interesting" people - the CIA, the FBI, the KGB, DGI - that one is tempted to try and connect him with (or them with him). But I think those were always tangential and distant "crossings" that in the end were nothing. Someone may have been interested in who he was, what he was doing; but that was the extent of it.
« Last Edit: February 20, 2020, 07:45:25 PM by Steve M. Galbraith »

Online Charles Collins

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Re: Inner Circles
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2020, 06:38:43 PM »
Charles: I'm doubtful that it'd be online but you could try the Mary Farrell cite of the online JFK Collection. Probably would have to go in person to the National Archives to view it.

For me the dates on these allegations just don't add up. Besides, Castro had agents in the US; I would think they would meet Oswald somewhere in the US and not run the risk of having fly back and forth between here and Havana.

I think we make a mistake trying to "fit" Oswald into all of that Cold War intrigue that was going on. To be sure, he came across all sorts of "interesting" people - the CIA, the FBI, the KGB, DGI - that one is tempted to try and connect him with (or them with him). But I think those were always tangential and distant "crossings" that in the end were nothing. Someone may have been interested in who he was, what he was doing; but that was the extant of it.

I do agree with you. Just trying to figure out if there is enough smoke to be concerned about. Thanks.

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Re: Inner Circles
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2020, 06:38:43 PM »


Offline Michael Davidson

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Re: Inner Circles
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2020, 08:14:36 PM »
The whole Cuba did it theory is nonsense . Fidel was no dummy , he wasnt about to have Cuba crushed by an avenging Johnson administration .

Online Charles Collins

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Re: Inner Circles
« Reply #6 on: February 20, 2020, 08:16:54 PM »
The whole Cuba did it theory is nonsense . Fidel was no dummy , he wasnt about to have Cuba crushed by an avenging Johnson administration .

I used to think that way also. But after learning more about Castro, I am questioning that theory.

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Re: Inner Circles
« Reply #6 on: February 20, 2020, 08:16:54 PM »


Online Charles Collins

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Re: Inner Circles
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2020, 02:27:20 AM »
Charles: I have this from Gus Russo's "Live by the Sword." After quoting the above from Haig's book, Russo follows with this:

"It is possible that Haig was reading the report filed by "Jeremy Ryan" (pseudonym), a CIA Chief of Station posted in Latin America. Recently, Ryan recalled to the author the day Kennedy was killed - a day when Ryan was attending a pre-arranged lunch meeting with a communist source he had developed. "This man was the best recruitment I had made in my thirty years with the Agency. He was very close to both Fidel and Che [Guevara]." As the recruitment was reconstructing recent conversations with Fidel and Che, in broke a Ryan intermediary with the news of Kennedy's murder. "On hearing the news from Dallas, he [the source] broke down in tears and said, 'Oh, my God. They said they weren't going to do that."

Ryan immediately filed a report of this conversation with headquarters. "When I reported that discussion, everything came down on me like a thunderstrom. Headquarters wanted me to develop more information. The most I got was that my source had met Oswald in Cuba. Based on this source's know reliability, I'm convinced to this day that Oswald was in Cuba.

The reliability of the Oswald-in-Havana allegation was further bolstered by sources for the CIA's Miami JM/WAVE station. According to one source, Oswald was seen in Havana sometime during the first week of October in the company of "Commandante Miranda", cited as an officer in the Cuban Navy."
(Source: JMWAVE to CIA Director, member memo, 4 February 1964; CIA segregated file, JFK Collection)

As noted above, Russo cites as his source for the Ryan interview a firsthand interview with the man.

Russo also mentions several other claims/speculations about Oswald visiting Cuba such as the "two suitcase question" - I.e., Oswald was seen leaving New Orleans with two suitcases; but he was seen with just one when he arrived in MC.

The introduction to Gus Russo’s book “Live by the Sword” is intriguing enough that I decided to read it. Here is a quote from it that I can identity with:

When the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) began gearing up in 1978, I spoke often with its staff members, directing them to areas I believed important. It was their meticulous photographic, forensic, and ballistic work that convinced me that Oswald alone shot President Kennedy. From that point on, only one question remained for me to answer: Was Oswald a hired gun?