Operation Mongoose

[Walt Cakebread]

Gus Russo wrote those words (I just quoted them from his book), so you would need to ask him. If you want to discuss what LHO wrote, just begin by citing what LHO wrote and your opinion of it. I will be happy to respond.

As an opener....On page 311 of the WR there is presented the typed letter and Lee Oswald's scribbled rough drafts of the letter.    We now know that Ruth Paine called FBI agent Hosty about the letter. and she gave him the rough draft that she had retrieved from the waste paper basket.    This is the action of an FBI informant.

The only falsehood that I can see at the moment is that Lee said that he was using a false name when he traveled to Mexico City.....  So he knew that the name typed on his  Mexican tourist card was Lee, Harvey Oswald .... As if his first name was Harvey, and his last name was Lee......

But I'm not sure that Lee told them that they had recorded his name backwards..... He just traveled with that card and didn't worry about the error....until he wrote the letter to the Russian embassy.....  Then he used the error as an excuse for not applying for an extension of his permit.   

[Charles Collins]

As an opener....On page 311 of the WR there is presented the typed letter and Lee Oswald's scribbled rough drafts of the letter.    We now know that Ruth Paine called FBI agent Hosty about the letter. and she gave him the rough draft that she had retrieved from the waste paper basket.    This is the action of an FBI informant.

The only falsehood that I can see at the moment is that Lee said that he was using a false name when he traveled to Mexico City.....  So he knew that the name typed on his  Mexican tourist card was Lee, Harvey Oswald .... As if his first name was Harvey, and his last name was Lee......

But I'm not sure that Lee told them that they had recorded his name backwards..... He just traveled with that card and didn't worry about the error....until he wrote the letter to the Russian embassy.....  Then he used the error as an excuse for not applying for an extension of his permit.   

Are you expecting me to try to determine what I think what Gus Russo considers to be Oswald’s lies? Or are you going to do that?

[Walt Cakebread]

Are you expecting me to try to determine what I think what Gus Russo considers to be Oswald’s lies? Or are you going to do that?

I assume that you agree with Russo..... So you probably think that parts of the letter are lies.

[Charles Collins]

I assume that you agree with Russo..... So you probably think that parts of the letter are lies.

I have the opinion that LHO was a frequent liar. But I don’t have that particular letter memorized. And will need to research it when I get the time...

[Charles Collins]

I assume that you agree with Russo..... So you probably think that parts of the letter are lies.

Okay, I have read the letter and here are my opinions:

1. You have already brought up the "real name" item. I don't have any further comment about that one.

2. The I and Marina ... are now living in Dallas, TX sentence is possibly something that Gus Russo considers a technical lie (or at least misleading). Since the two were married, Lee's sentence implies that they were living together. They were not, and Marina was technically not living in Dallas but in Irving, TX (yes, I know it is a suburb of Dallas). Personally, I don't consider this to be of much significance and I doubt that Gus Russo does either. But it is typical of LHO's propensity to not tell the truth and I think it is possibly one item that Gus would point out if he were responding to your question.

3. The sentence in which LHO indicates he was secretary of the FPCC in New Orleans is also something that I believe Gus Russo would point to in response to your question. I haven't seen any evidence that suggests that there were any other FPCC members in New Orleans besides LHO. It appears to me that LHO at least exaggerated when he described himself (as secretary) and I believe that most people would probably consider that a lie. Also, I cannot believe that LHO actually knew whether or not the FBI was interested in his FPCC activities or not. So that would also be an item that I believe Gus Russo would point to in response to your question.

4. The sentence regarding the November 1st visit by Hosty to the Paine residence states that Hosty visited us and warned LHO about participating in FPCC activities in Dallas. Hosty didn't even see LHO on that visit because he wasn't there (so the "visited us" is not accurate, he visited Marina and Ruth but not LHO). And neither Ruth Paine or Marina have said anything about Hosty warning anybody about FPCC activities. So there are two items that I believe Gus would point to in response to your question.

5. The sentence regarding Hosty suggesting Marina could defect from the Soviet Union appears to me to be a lie. I haven't seen any evidence that would support this, what I have seen simply indicates that Hosty assured Marina and Ruth that he was only gathering information. I also haven't seen any evidence that would support LHO's claim that he and his wife strongly protested the alleged tactics by the FBI. The mysterious note LHO allegedly left at the FBI's office might have contained a protest. But was this letter written before the alleged note was delivered? And I haven't seen any evidence that suggests that Marina even knew about the alleged note, so how could she have been a part of a strong protest? These are items that I believe Gus would point to in response to your question.

[Walt Cakebread]

I have the opinion that LHO was a frequent liar. But I don’t have that particular letter memorized. And will need to research it when I get the time...

I have the opinion that LHO was a frequent liar.

Perhaps you could be right.... But I don't think so....   Not that Lee didn't lie....He most certainly did...That's the hallmark of a intel agent.   And Lee was a spy.

However, he didn't lie like a tall tale spewing Texan......

[Walt Cakebread]

Okay, I have read the letter and here are my opinions:

1. You have already brought up the "real name" item. I don't have any further comment about that one.

2. The I and Marina ... are now living in Dallas, TX sentence is possibly something that Gus Russo considers a technical lie (or at least misleading). Since the two were married, Lee's sentence implies that they were living together. They were not, and Marina was technically not living in Dallas but in Irving, TX (yes, I know it is a suburb of Dallas). Personally, I don't consider this to be of much significance and I doubt that Gus Russo does either. But it is typical of LHO's propensity to not tell the truth and I think it is possibly one item that Gus would point out if he were responding to your question.

3. The sentence in which LHO indicates he was secretary of the FPCC in New Orleans is also something that I believe Gus Russo would point to in response to your question. I haven't seen any evidence that suggests that there were any other FPCC members in New Orleans besides LHO. It appears to me that LHO at least exaggerated when he described himself (as secretary) and I believe that most people would probably consider that a lie. Also, I cannot believe that LHO actually knew whether or not the FBI was interested in his FPCC activities or not. So that would also be an item that I believe Gus Russo would point to in response to your question.

4. The sentence regarding the November 1st visit by Hosty to the Paine residence states that Hosty visited us and warned LHO about participating in FPCC activities in Dallas. Hosty didn't even see LHO on that visit because he wasn't there (so the "visited us" is not accurate, he visited Marina and Ruth but not LHO). And neither Ruth Paine or Marina have said anything about Hosty warning anybody about FPCC activities. So there are two items that I believe Gus would point to in response to your question.



5. The sentence regarding Hosty suggesting Marina could defect from the Soviet Union appears to me to be a lie. I haven't seen any evidence that would support this, what I have seen simply indicates that Hosty assured Marina and Ruth that he was only gathering information. I also haven't seen any evidence that would support LHO's claim that he and his wife strongly protested the alleged tactics by the FBI. The mysterious note LHO allegedly left at the FBI's office might have contained a protest. But was this letter written before the alleged note was delivered? And I haven't seen any evidence that suggests that Marina even knew about the alleged note, so how could she have been a part of a strong protest? These are items that I believe Gus would point to in response to your question.

 Personally, I don't consider this to be of much significance and I doubt that Gus Russo does either. But it is typical of LHO's propensity to not tell the truth and I think it is possibly one item that Gus would point out if he were responding to your question.

Weak, very weak.....And a stretch....

t appears to me that LHO at least exaggerated when he described himself (as secretary) and I believe that most people would probably consider that a lie. 
 On this point I would agree ...Lee was exaggerating .......

I cannot believe that LHO actually knew whether or not the FBI was interested in his FPCC activities or not.

Since I suspect that much of the information in the letter was actually intended for the eyes of the FBI  ( They opened all of the mail that was addressed to the Soviet Embassy) I believe that Lee was telling FBI headquarters that He may start another chapter of the FPFCC in Dallas and the FBI could monitor his activities .

(so the "visited us" is not accurate, he visited Marina and Ruth but not LHO)

I'd point out that it's very common for a married couple to be referred to as one ....Therefore the visit to Marina was also a visit to Lee.

The sentence regarding Hosty suggesting Marina could defect from the Soviet Union appears to me to be a lie.

I believe that Lee was being deceptive  ....  Marina didn't need to "defect" from the USSR.... She was the wife of a US citizen...and that automatically made her a US citizen.  I believe the part about the "notorious FBI" was fluff for the eyes of the Russians.... They certainly thought the FBI was "notorious" so Lee was simply being sly by pretending that he also thought the FBI was "notorious"

[Charles Collins]

 Personally, I don't consider this to be of much significance and I doubt that Gus Russo does either. But it is typical of LHO's propensity to not tell the truth and I think it is possibly one item that Gus would point out if he were responding to your question.

Weak, very weak.....And a stretch....

t appears to me that LHO at least exaggerated when he described himself (as secretary) and I believe that most people would probably consider that a lie. 
 On this point I would agree ...Lee was exaggerating .......

I cannot believe that LHO actually knew whether or not the FBI was interested in his FPCC activities or not.

Since I suspect that much of the information in the letter was actually intended for the eyes of the FBI  ( They opened all of the mail that was addressed to the Soviet Embassy) I believe that Lee was telling FBI headquarters that He may start another chapter of the FPFCC in Dallas and the FBI could monitor his activities .

(so the "visited us" is not accurate, he visited Marina and Ruth but not LHO)

I'd point out that it's very common for a married couple to be referred to as one ....Therefore the visit to Marina was also a visit to Lee.

The sentence regarding Hosty suggesting Marina could defect from the Soviet Union appears to me to be a lie.

I believe that Lee was being deceptive  ....  Marina didn't need to "defect" from the USSR.... She was the wife of a US citizen...and that automatically made her a US citizen.  I believe the part about the "notorious FBI" was fluff for the eyes of the Russians.... They certainly thought the FBI was "notorious" so Lee was simply being sly by pretending that he also thought the FBI was "notorious"

Weak, very weak.....And a stretch....

Maybe, but the point is that I believe that he was stretching things purposely in order to not divulge to the Soviets that he was separated from Marina, and, more importantly, that he wasn’t fully supporting Marina and June (Ruth Paine was mostly providing the support).