I suppose we should really have expected it. But as the 50th anniversary approaches we seem to face the Castro did it line once again. And amazingly, from CIA officers.
Of course this is not a new story and putting the blame on Castro was very important to several of the actual participants, a big part of the tactical plan – and failed largely due to the fact that the plan itself went bad about 12:40 that afternoon. In Chapter 15 of SWHT I go into detail on the plan to associate Oswald with Castro, his selection as a patsy based on that and a number of things that were put into play to point towards Fidel. And then I go over the continuing efforts to make that story play that emerged during the following two weeks. Some of that may have been simple opportunism but some appears to have put into play material that didn’t get used when Oswald was captured and not taken out of Dallas as planned.
But I’m guessing that SWHT, Newman’s books, Peter Dale Scott’s work or even Dick Russell’s work is probably not on the reading list for those writing on the Castro did it theme. That’s not to say they may not even been sincere, the plotters spread a good deal of disinformation even inside the Agency, especially fed back through the AMOT network and through DRE. Not to mention Mexico City…and that went on and on, even to getting Oswald into bed with Duran for heaven sakes.
And of course along the way, the entire Mexico City impersonation, with fake calls implicating the Russians and Cubans in close association with Oswald, is simply left out. As if the Russians and Cubans are going to impersonate Oswald and Duran to frame themselves?
OK, so its my blog and I don’t rant all that often – but here’s what drives me over the edge. It’s not just the common Castro thread, its the constant fall back to writing about an almost amazingly good the Cuban intelligence service was; a service so good it could be fully informed of Oswald, encourage an attack on the President and protect that both before and after.
Somehow it all reminds me of Roy Hargraves remark to Twyman. After admitting he and his associates had gone to Dallas as part of a conspiracy against JFK, what did Hargraves do – why he simply said that Cuban intelligence was so good that it had masterminded and manipulated all of them – it just looked like they had done it but really it was the Cubans behind it all!
Did everybody get this same briefing? Is it on 3×5 cards somewhere? Larry
Larry Hancock 
Are you talking about Latell’s book?
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/19/2701879/new-book-claims-castro-knew-kennedy.html
Well he works for the actual CIA no?
Larry, if this helps. I posted this review when the book came out on Amazon:
8 of 14 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS PROPAGANDA!, May 28, 2012
By
Lord Buckley “Cranky Critic” (Hollywood, CA. USA) – See all my reviews
This review is from: Castro’s Secrets: The CIA and Cuba’s Intelligence Machine (Hardcover)
They never stop trying to link Castro to the assassination of JFK. There seems to be an endless supply of intelligence operatives like Latell to keep it going. This deflects all investigations away from the US government and others who hundreds of brilliant researchers have linked to the Kennedy killing. Review of this book in the NY Times had the by-line of “Reuters” with no comments allowed and no email for the writer of the book review, David C. Adams, who seems to be an intelligence operative as well. OPERATION MOCKINGBIRD, ANYONE? Clearly the author Latell is a CIA operative. How can he be objective? Oh, I get it, he got PERMISSION to be objective so it has to be the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Anyone who buys this book looking for anything other than Soviet-style propaganda is a real schmuck. HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!
Thank you Mark, yes I was primarily talking about Latell’s new book although the Agency also seems to have given Gus Russo a lot of help getting mileage out of the Castro did it theme in the past. I was also a bit depressed that Glenn Carle, who seems to be a good guy, jumped in behind Latell so strongly. But given the amount of redaction in his book, The Interrogator, you can only imagine what the Agency would have done to Lattell if he had tried to move a book past them that offered the sort of material in Newman, Scott, Russell or myself. Nobody is going to
buy a book of blacked out pages…grin.
I’ve looked at some of the documents from the Agencies’ internal review of Phillips book, they even gave him a heard time. So, at least
we can say they are consistent, all their folks have to write under the same constraints.
I appreciate your posting the review! Larry
Good post. Yes, I think everyone did get the same briefing – I wouldn’t be at all surprised if a master of propaganda like Dave Phillips left an envelope ‘not to be opened until 2013’ with full instructions to push the Castro angle again when the 50th anniversary comes round…
Does the CIA think people are still going ot beleive this rubbish now 50 years on, with the wealth of declassified information in the public domain?! Do they think people cannot see through this for what it is – another pathetic disinfo propaganda attempt by the CIA to divert attention away from themselves. I’d give them 0/10 for their efforts – must try harder…..