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5 comments about The Deaths of the Cold War Kings: The Assassinations of Diem & JFK.

1. What utter stuff. Another whacked out theory is now another whacked out book. There is NO proof that the US had ANYTHING to do with the murders of the Diem brothers. They were offered asylum SEVERAL times during the coup and they TURNED IT DOWN! Thus putting themselves in harms way. They were no better than the communist Viet Cong. They were tyrants and oppressers.How else do you explain why so many of their own people wanted him overthrown? Our Government certainly condoned the coup, but had no hand in the deaths. The authors of this book were on a radio talk show, and made several out right falsehoods, which is common for the assasination conspiracy industry. They tried to say there was no proof that Oswald was at the Book Depository that day...at all!! When there is testimony that Oswald HIMSELF admitted he was there!!! AND that his wife's neighbor Wes Frazier, DROVE him to work at the Depository THAT DAY! So when these "authors" make such a dumb statement, it is hard to accept ANY of the rest of their "theory".



2. This is not a dry and antiseptic treatise, but rather a highly engaging and informative work that grabs you early with a provocative foreshadowing of its premise and keeps you hooked right to the astonishing end. The authors build their case with logic and sometimes shocking detail taken directly from the national archives, making you wonder what other "smoking guns" may still lie waiting for perservering sleuths such as those who worked behind the scenes in researching this fascinating book. A "must read" not only for Kennedy conspiracy buffs, but for anyone interested in a candid and unflinching historical view of the Mafia, the French underground, heroin trafficking, the underbelly of American politics, and the events leading up to the Vietnam War.



3. The neverending stream of books that purports to tell the tale of the assassination of JFK continues, and I could not get past the first chapter. The quick overview of Kennedy'd life could not be more full of errors, etc...Kennedy "Liberal"? Kennedy criticizing the McCarthy fiasco? Hardly. There were many other erors, including the ongoing myth behind PT 109...Maybe someday somebody will get the biography of Kennedy correct, and perhaps then we will see that his death was nothing more than a senseless act. Kennedy was not the great leader that so many want him to be...He was inspiring and insightful, but still growing when he died. Don't waste your money on this book!



4. Investigative reporter Bradley O'Leary and horror author Edward Lee teamed up to contribute their own convoluted theory as to who orchestrated and carried out the assassination of President John F. Kennedy with this book, "The Deaths of the Cold War Kings." According to the two authors, recently declassified government documents and recent interviews cast doubt on previous theories implicating the old standbys: the Soviet Union, the military-industrial complex, disgruntled anti-Castroites angered over the Bay of Pigs fiasco, the Cuban government, and rogue American government agents. This book argues that the assassins pulling the triggers on November 22, 1963 had ties to the South Vietnamese regime of the recently deceased Ngo Dinh Diem, his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu, heroin smugglers, and the Marseilles Mafia. The authors track a heroin syndicate operating under the protection of the Diem regime in South Vietnam to Marseilles, France. In short, the argument here is that heroin killed our 35th president.

   Central to this theory on the assassination was the role Kennedy played in overthrowing the Diem administration. The authors feel that the South Vietnamese government's repressive policies against the Buddhist population, indirectly assisted with massive U.S. aid packages, threatened to undermine Kennedy's credibility with the American public. With a presidential race coming up in 1964, Kennedy did not want questions about self-immolating monks to throw a cloud on his reelection prospects. Numerous documents in the book attempt to prove Kennedy's complicity in the regime change, a change that O'Leary and Lee argue led to permanent instability in South Vietnam that created problems later in the Vietnam War. Furthermore, the authors charge that the South Vietnamese knew about the planned coup and took their own measures to prevent it. These plans revolved around setting up a plot against Kennedy by using muscle from the French heroin traffickers because these drug smugglers knew that a change in government could be very costly to their lucrative business.

   The key name associated with this theory is a shadowy figure named Jean Rene Souetre, a former French military officer who was a member in the OAS. This acronym stands for `Organisation de l'Armee Secrete,' a group of French military officers who resisted Charles DeGaulle's measures to remove French influence in Algeria. The OAS resorted to covert assassinations, forgery, and outright rebellion in an attempt to overthrow DeGaulle's government, thereby hoping to insure support for the war against Algerian insurgents. An alliance between the French intelligence agency (SDECE) and the French mafia crushed the OAS, sending its members into exile or jail. A document exists, recently declassified, that seems to prove Souetre was in Texas at the time of the assassination. Moreover, the government deported Souetre within days of the killing without interrogating him even though the feds seemed to be aware of his background because of a French request to our government concerning his whereabouts. An American dentist mentioned in the Souetre memo granted an interview to a researcher years later, claiming that he knew Souetre and that the FBI questioned him about this knowledge but never turned the information over to the Warren Commission.

   Assassination solved, right? Nope. The two authors claim that the real Souetre may not have committed the crime. Instead, they point the finger at Michel Mertz, a heroin trafficker who possibly traveled under the name of Jean Rene Souetre. The two Frenchman met in prison during the OAS debacle when Mertz was one of the undercover mafia hoods that worked for SDECE. Further evidence of a Souetre/Mertz connection appears in the memo, where one of Souetre's aliases was, *gasp*, Michel Mertz. In an interview conducted in the late 1990s, Souetre claimed he knew Mertz and believed it highly possible that this mafia thug traveled under his name. What a surprise.

   I had many problems with this book, the biggest one being the introductory chapter full of laudatory praise for the Kennedy administration. Falling for the bait many others have swallowed about the Kennedy years, the authors present a glowing picture of our esteemed 35th president. Reality is often more painful. Kennedy's civil rights legislation was not an outpouring of warmth for the plight of American blacks, but a political measure Kennedy took because of intense pressure. On their own, the Kennedy brothers would never have proposed serious legislation concerning civil rights. Moreover, Kennedy's failure to follow through on the Bay of Pigs led to the Cuban Missile Crisis and the removal of our missiles from Turkey at a critical moment in our war against world wide communism. The family background, Joseph Kennedy's vote buying scheme in Illinois, and numerous amorous encounters in the White House should also serve as reasons why Kennedy was not a great president. The media, even then, was too busy standing around with stars in their eyes to notice any of these shenanigans. If I cannot trust the authors' claims about the Kennedy presidency, how can I trust their subsequent investigations?

   An avid reader of Kennedy conspiracy theories will probably want to read this book. Whether or not the arguments presented here hold water I'll leave to those better informed about the various assassination theories. I do think the authors make some huge leaps of faith with some of their claims, but with the assassination quickly fading into the dim recesses of history this is probably unavoidable. What interests me most about the Kennedy killing is how many sordid characters hovered on the periphery of Dallas at that exact time and date. At the very least, "The Death of the Cold War Kings" adds a few more unsavory souls to the long list.




5. After recently finishing The Assassinations : Probe Magazine On JFK, MLK, RFK, & Malcolm X (DiEugenio & Pease), I was pleased to run across this book in which O'Leary & Lee give us their take on the JFK assassination. In addition to being interesting and easy to read, the authors don't waste time trashing all the other writers or theories (the exception being Gerald Posner for obvious reasons). Do they prove anything and/or have all the answers? No but they put forth a good argument for something that was briefly touched upon in the History Channel's documentary entitled The Men Who Killed Kennedy. This would make a great addition to your library if you're even remotely interested in the Kennedy assassination. A fresh perspective on a well-worn topic.

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2 comments about The Warren Report Evidence V. "Conclusions".

1. Who killed JFK? Single Bullet fired by Lee Harvey Oswald? Conspiracy of many like the CIA? Exiled Cubans looking for revenge? Powerful Mafia figures mad about RFK?s prosecution of the mob? All of the above? None of the above?

   For almost 40 years these and so many other questions remained unanswered and all the government is saying is in the Warren Commission Report. So where do you stand on the report, do you believe it or is it a complete whitewash of the facts?

   In the over 600 pages of this text I was amazed at what Remington was able to find and uncover. His attention to detail and meticulous work is some of the best reading on this subject I have encountered in the 40 plus books I have read.

   Remington takes each piece of evidence the Warren Report has and gives you what works, what doesn?t, what makes sense and what is beyond common sense. Remington has put together a masterful piece of work that certainly rivals any other manuscript out there today.

   Whether you are a "lone gunman" type, or the "SBT" believer or even the newbie, keeping an open mind, examine the evidence and facts and you will find yourself looking at the while situation in a new light.

   This book should have those in Washington taking notice and finally doing the right thing and releasing all the information. Until then Rodger Remington has certainly given us a most gripping look into the report that has been the center of one of the longest running debates in American History. Very Well Done and Congratulations!!!




2. Many people who are of the belief that a conspiracy was involved in taking the life of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1963 are also of the belief that a massive cover-up operation took place (and fully succeeded) following JFK's assassination. And, evidently, this "cover-up" must have been put in motion almost from the very minute President Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas' Dealey Plaza.
   
   Per some conspiracy theorists (CTers) -- the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, and whoever else might have also been on the "Conspiracy & Cover-Up Payroll" (circa 1963) evidently dismantled the President's limousine almost immediately after the shooting, exclusively in order to "hide" bullet holes inside the car that were caused by "frontal" gunshots; and most specifically to hide the obvious damage to the limo that was caused by a bullet that exited JFK's throat but did NOT enter fellow victim John Connally's back. No other reason for the car's being taken apart is ever considered by CTers, other than a "conspiratorial" one.*
   
   * = That's one of the many theories CTers have adopted over the years since JFK's murder; although, granted, it's not as popular a theory, because most conspiracists want to believe JFK's throat wound was caused by a frontal shot.
   
   Anyway, per this "Limo Was Taken Apart To Conceal A Conspiracy" nonsense, it should occur to anyone who thinks this through for a few moments (using a little bit of common sense) just how silly and magical some of this "cover-up" junk sounds, when it's based on the limited timeframe that such hocus-pocus would have needed to have been performed within.
   
   That is to say, it seems that not only did the plot to frame Book Depository employee Lee Harvey Oswald cover multiple agencies within law enforcement (FBI, USSS, DPD), but it would seem that these plotters had some magical built-in ability to know with 100% certainty when to "plant" the proper "Oswald's Guilty" evidence (like bullet CE399's "planting" in the hospital at a seemingly-silly and potentially-plot-exposing time, prior to anyone having detailed knowledge of where all the bullets were located in association with the shooting victims). .....
   
   -- Plus: --
   
   These plotters also had the remarkable ability to know for certain (within hours of the shooting) exactly what evidence needed to be covered up, what bullets were "unwanted" in this "plot", etc. -- even to the point of knowing what OSWALD-INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE to discard and sweep under the rug (e.g.: any bullet that would have definitely been fired from behind from {possibly} the Oswald gun AND any limo damage that would have resulted from any "Oswald" shots).
   
   Therefore, per many theorists, the authorities have in their hands multiple bullets that came from REAR SHOOTERS (Oswald?), but they decide to destroy that evidence that would probably AID their goal of framing the "Patsy" (e.g.: evidence such as the "real" Connally back-wound bullet and, as mentioned, per some CTers, the "real" bullet that went cleanly through JFK's back and neck).
   
   Did these plotters have ESP abilities? Could they see into the future? Did they know on 11/22/63 itself -- a mere hours after the shooting and before much of anything was known about the details of the shooting scenario and timing -- that researchers would, years later, be able to scrutinize the evidence to death via the Zapruder Film, and thereby prove that Oswald couldn't have fired two separate shots into the backs of both JFK and Governor Connally in the given timespan allotted him?
   
   Those must have been some amazingly-prescient, crystal-ball-gazing plotters indeed.
   
   Which is, IMO, just one more reason to know that CTers only have looked at the Kennedy assassination through "Post-November 22" eyeballs -- never taking into account the subtleties, implausibilities, and incongruities of the stuff they actually believe took place in 1963.
   
   Footnote --- And keep in mind that even the Warren Commission, months after the assassination, was still contemplating and assessing the exact shooting scenario (i.e., which bullets hit who; and when; etc.), with the WC even considering for a brief time the idea that all three bullets did hit a limo occupant.**
   
   ** = Which, in my view, is utter silliness for the WC to have believed for even one minute. Why? Because the autopsy report should have told the Commission right off the bat that such a "3 Shots & 3 Hits" scenario was impossible by these words printed right there in the Official Autopsy Report:
   
   "The missile contused the strap muscles of the right side of the neck {of President Kennedy}, damaged the trachea, AND MADE ITS EXIT THROUGH THE ANTERIOR SURFACE OF THE NECK." (Emphasis mine.)
   
   Therefore, the Warren Commission panel should have known from the get-go that a bullet came out of JFK's neck and went ... SOMEWHERE. (This, despite the fact that the initial December 9, 1963, FBI report on the assassination did state that each of the three bullets from Oswald's rifle struck a victim in the limousine.)
   
   But, via the WC testimony of the FBI's Robert Frazier re. "no limo damage" to the seats of the car where there WOULD have been damage if that mid-air bullet had NOT continued into a human being, the WC should have known that the "Single-Bullet Theory" was the truth from practically Day 1 of the Commission's existence, notwithstanding the early FBI report which contradicted that fairly-obvious conclusion.
   
   It seems to me, then, that the WC was working in kind of an "inside-out" fashion. If they had examined the autopsy report FIRST (and why didn't they do this?), they could easily see that the transiting bullet that went completely through President Kennedy either caused limo damage (which it didn't) or went into the body of a person sitting in front of Kennedy in the vehicle (Texas Governor John Connally).
   
   Why on Earth the WC ever, for even a moment, thought that all three shots from Oswald's rifle hit a victim is something I've never been able to fully comprehend.
   
   But at least, in the end, the Warren Commission got it right -- Three shots; One miss; Two bullets striking victims; One assassin named Lee Harvey Oswald. ..... That is the only conceivable conclusion to reach given the physical evidence in the John F. Kennedy murder case.

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5 comments about The GREAT AMERICAN: From Poe to the Present.

1. As a Cuban born after the revolution I was taught many lies in Cuban schools as to the events that transpire during those years of the revolution. My parents told me otherwise, they said the truth to me about those events that transpire so long ago. Mr. Abella's recounting,though fictionalized, are as true as what my parents and friends narrated to me.

   This book is an educational tool for those that wish to know what turmoils Cubans(Communist or not) went through during that period. The hero, William Morgan, a real life ex-marine, through the eyes of a naive foreigner, later becomes a true Cuban leader whose desire is to rid Cuba of an oppressor. In the end, he realizes that a worse oppressor has arrived, and he tries to correct a wrong.

   Being a Cuban-American himself Alex can truly relate to the people in the story, the Cuban personality comes alive in this story. A must read for those who wish to know about my people and their struggle for a Cuba Libre.




2. Like any developing nation whose history is partly shaped by the secret agencies of more powerful countries, the history of Cuba, from the controversial sinking of the USS Maine onward, is more myth than historical fact. It is therefore fitting that Alex Abella should use fiction as a means of chronicling this shadowy episode of Cuban history leading up to and immediately following the Cuban Revolution. With it, he probably reveals more about the deeply buried facts than any history text. He also brings it to life with vivid images -from the grotesque terror of Batista's police to a bizarre scene in which the dictator is being scorned by Chango, a Santeria god, during a ceremony in the basement of the Presidential Palace. At times Abella can be a little too whimsical as when a visiting American senator called John F. Kennedy inadvertently gets his head in the way of the assassin's crosshairs during an attempt on Batista, thus foiling a better moment to get rid of the tyrant and might not have saddled Cuba with yet another one. Of course, most Cuban-Americans are prepared to blame the Kennedys for every misfortune short of hurricane season. Elsewhere, though, the format allows for some interesting historical theses to be advanced. This includes the possiblity of a Soviet mole within the C.I.A. thus compromising its ambitious agenda to back all the players on the premise that they would then control the entire chess board. Indeed it is historical fact that the American mission underwent a thorough changing of the guard about a year before the Revolution, documented evidence reflecting suspicions of some sort. It does explain why the Soviets who had an apparent absence from the scene in the early stages of the game wound up with such important political prize. As a rule these things don't just happen. True or not, this is both an entertaining and provocative read from a very talented writer.



3. Like any developing nation whose history is partly shaped by the secret agencies of more powerful countries, the history of Cuba, from the controversial sinking of the USS Maine onward, is more myth than historical fact. It is therefore fitting that Alex Abella should use fiction as a means of chronicling this shadowy episode of Cuban history leading up to and immediately following the Cuban Revolution. With it, he probably reveals more about the deeply buried facts than any history text. He also brings it to life with vivid images -from the grotesque terror of Batista's police to a bizarre scene in which the dictator is being scorned by Chango, a Santeria god, during a ceremony in the basement of the Presidential Palace. At times Abella can be a little too whimsical as when a visiting American senator called John F. Kennedy inadvertently gets his head in the way of the assassin's crosshairs during an attempt on Batista, thus foiling a better moment to get rid of the tyrant and might not have saddled Cuba with yet another one. Of course, most Cuban-Americans are prepared to blame the Kennedys for every misfortune short of hurricane season. Elsewhere, though, the format allows for some interesting historical theses to be advanced. This includes the possiblity of a Soviet mole within the C.I.A. thus compromising its ambitious agenda to back all the players on the premise that they would then control the entire chess board. Indeed it is historical fact that the American mission underwent a thorough changing of the guard about a year before the Revolution, documented evidence reflecting suspicions of some sort. It does explain why the Soviets who had an apparent absence from the scene in the early stages of the game wound up with such important political prize. As a rule these things don't just happen. True or not, this is both an entertaining and provocative read from a very talented writer.



4. William Morgan in life was even greater than this fiction. However, fiction allows for greater speculation. Perhaps the real Morgan was CIA, perhaps he was Mafia, perhaps he may have been inside the Palace as a defender not attacker; perhaps he was the "American telephone operator. Morgan was a brave skilled warrior, with special martial arts skills, thus I think he fought at the palace that day. Some of the scenes in the novel are a little bit too lurid, still they have a certain truth to them in their excess. I enjoyed the novel as a novel and appreciate how the author worked hard at the details. I liked the placement of Marquitos the communist traitor in José Antonio Echevarría car. The details of the bus seem authentic. Will have to wait until the complete scholarly history comes out.....



5. Way too much fiction and full of distracting irrelevant "fill-in" details. Written for the "tourist" in mind - not for the intelligent, educated person.