James Woolsey gives interview on new book "Operation Dragon"

[Gerry Down]

This interview is shocking. How did this guy ever become the director of the CIA? The interview in relation to his new book begins at 37 minutes in:

[Andrew Mason]

This interview is shocking. How did this guy ever become the director of the CIA? The interview in relation to his new book begins at 37 minutes in:

Interesting interview. It is remarkable that this guy was ever the CIA director.  Mind you, he only lasted two years under Clinton.  Clinton, apparently, refused to meet with him.

But being a former government official does not prevent one from trying to leverage that position to sell books. So he figured out that you could sell a book by pretending to know something about the JFK assassination.  Clever - because his theory (that the Russians were behind Oswald but pulled out at the last minute and then Oswald went rogue on them and acted without their authority) is difficult to falsify.  It is difficult because the primary actors were Russian and are all dead now.

But the theory makes no sense.  First of all, if Khrushchev hated Kennedy he would have hated Johnson more.  The only time Khrushchev and Kennedy met was at the Vienna Summit in June 1961 and by all accounts Khrushchev came out looking like the winner against the young inexperienced JFK.  While the Cuban Missile Crisis did result in Khrushchev appearing to back down, it was really a negotiated stalemate. Kennedy promised to remove US missiles from Turkey (which was done by April 1963). 

Second, by the best accounts, Khrushchev did not hate Kennedy. See this account of his grand daughter on his and his wife's reaction to JFK's assassination:

• "Addressing the idea that Khrushchev was unimpressed with Kennedy due to his age, Khrushcheva told HuffPost Live host Josh Zepps that after initial doubts, “He actually had a great affinity for President Kennedy.”
  
  Khrushchev was not the only one in the family who was impressed with JFK. Khrushcheva, who is a professor at The New School in New York, revealed this historical detail with Zepps:
  
  “My grandmother was absolutely in love with JFK, she thought he was fantastic. When he was killed, she wrote a personal note and personally brought it to the United States Embassy in Moscow to express her own tragedy, because she was very fond of JFK and his wife.”

Finally, for Russia to engage Oswald to carry out one of riskiest acts imaginable (with horrendous repurcussions for Russia if caught) is difficult to understand.  Why give it to a 23 year old unstable person to carry out that task? How was he going to do it without being caught?  How would they prevent him from talking?  How could they have put Oswald in a job at the TSBD in mid-October 1963 before it was known that JFK would be passing below in an open car 6 weeks later? And their weapon of choice: a WWII rifle bought for $12.95?  None of this makes any sense.

And I suppose Woolsey says (I haven't read his book) that Jack Ruby was part of the Russian plot after Oswald went rogue.  How did that happen?  Ruby takes his dog down to the Western Union office and two hours after Oswald was supposed to have been transferred, he happens to walk down Houston and drops in. How was that planned?

The only theory that makes sense is that Woolsey needs money and this was a new angle on the JFK assassination that he was in a position to milk.

[Gerry Down]

The only theory that makes sense is that Woolsey needs money and this was a new angle on the JFK assassination that he was in a position to milk.

That's an interesting take. And unfortunately, who knows it might be right.

[Steve M. Galbraith]

Interesting interview. It is remarkable that this guy was ever the CIA director.  Mind you, he only lasted two years under Clinton.  Clinton, apparently, refused to meet with him.

But being a former government official does not prevent one from trying to leverage that position to sell books. So he figured out that you could sell a book by pretending to know something about the JFK assassination.  Clever - because his theory (that the Russians were behind Oswald but pulled out at the last minute and then Oswald went rogue on them and acted without their authority) is difficult to falsify.  It is difficult because the primary actors were Russian and are all dead now.

But the theory makes no sense.  First of all, if Khrushchev hated Kennedy he would have hated Johnson more.  The only time Khrushchev and Kennedy met was at the Vienna Summit in June 1961 and by all accounts Khrushchev came out looking like the winner against the young inexperienced JFK.  While the Cuban Missile Crisis did result in Khrushchev appearing to back down, it was really a negotiated stalemate. Kennedy promised to remove US missiles from Turkey (which was done by April 1963). 

Second, by the best accounts, Khrushchev did not hate Kennedy. See this account of his grand daughter on his and his wife's reaction to JFK's assassination:

• "Addressing the idea that Khrushchev was unimpressed with Kennedy due to his age, Khrushcheva told HuffPost Live host Josh Zepps that after initial doubts, “He actually had a great affinity for President Kennedy.”
  
  Khrushchev was not the only one in the family who was impressed with JFK. Khrushcheva, who is a professor at The New School in New York, revealed this historical detail with Zepps:
  
  “My grandmother was absolutely in love with JFK, she thought he was fantastic. When he was killed, she wrote a personal note and personally brought it to the United States Embassy in Moscow to express her own tragedy, because she was very fond of JFK and his wife.”

Finally, for Russia to engage Oswald to carry out one of riskiest acts imaginable (with horrendous repurcussions for Russia if caught) is difficult to understand.  Why give it to a 23 year old unstable person to carry out that task? How was he going to do it without being caught?  How would they prevent him from talking?  How could they have put Oswald in a job at the TSBD in mid-October 1963 before it was known that JFK would be passing below in an open car 6 weeks later? And their weapon of choice: a WWII rifle bought for $12.95?  None of this makes any sense.

And I suppose Woolsey says (I haven't read his book) that Jack Ruby was part of the Russian plot after Oswald went rogue.  How did that happen?  Ruby takes his dog down to the Western Union office and two hours after Oswald was supposed to have been transferred, he happens to walk down Houston and drops in. How was that planned?

The only theory that makes sense is that Woolsey needs money and this was a new angle on the JFK assassination that he was in a position to milk.

Call me a cynic but I doubt very seriously that Khrushchev "loved" JFK or had any deeper feelings about Kennedy at all. He was a cold, ruthless dictator who carried out the purges that Stalin ordered him to do (read about his rule in Ukraine; a complete horror done twice: one pre-war purge and another purge after the war). Granted, he exposed Stalin in his "Secret Speech" but if you read that speech you'll see that his own contributions to the cult that Stalin created are completely ignored. He used he speech, in part, to isolate his political opponents, many of whom were allied with Stalin. Sure, the Khrushchev of 1963 was not the same political animal who was servile to Stalin and I do think he was horrified by the purges and show trials and mass murder. But he wasn't a totally different person.

As to whether he would order the assassination of JFK: I find it completely implausible - absurdly so - that he would even care to do so. For what purpose? If he did view JFK as weak - as he said he did after the Vienna Summit - then what is the need to eliminate Kennedy? He thought JFK could be taken advantage of, that he was weak.

Then we have the problem of Oswald's loathing for the Soviet system. As he wrote, the US and the Soviet Union were two "slave" systems destined for the dustbin of history. He thought both systems were corrupt in different ways. So why would he act on behalf of Moscow?

If there was a political purpose behind Oswald's act - and it's hard to believe that a political person like Oswald suddenly became apolitical almost overnight - then it would have to involve. Cuba. Oswald adored Castro; Marina said he used to sing songs to Fidel. And the question is how much did he know about the Kennedy's covert war on Cuba and, in particular, the assassination plots? I think Oswald detested JFK for all of those attacks on Cuba. And that likely - who really knows? - played a role in his desire to kill JFK.