Many thanks to Wim Dankbaar of the Netherlands. He has spent years and lots of his own money researching the assassination of JFK. He read my blog “Dying for Peace” about the murder of JFK by the CIA (with help from their colleagues in the mafia – the two companies did quite a bit of business together back then) because he was making peace with the then-Soviet Union, was pulling us out of Vietnam and was making overtures to Castro so we had a better shot (no pun intended) at living peacefully with our neighbors in Cuba.
He provided a link to a documentary, “Spooks, Hoods and the Hidden Elite”, on Youtube.com that pretty much confirmed what James W. Douglas discovered while researching and writing the book “JFK and the Unspeakable” (Orbis books).
“Spooks, Hoods and the Hidden Elite” is an interview of Mr. Chancy Holt, who was a contract agent for the CIA back in the 50’s through to the 70’s. He explains what he did for the CIA and what he did in the months leading up to, as well as what he did that day, in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. He also points out who else in the underworld of known assassins and mafia personnel who just happened to be in Dallas that day.
They weren’t “collecting for the Red Cross” to borrow a phrase from the “Dirty Harry” movies.
Mr. Holt confirmed the link Douglas made between JFK’s policies and initiatives on disarmament and negotiations with Communist Leaders during the Cold War and his murder by the CIA as well as a number of other points; like what the CIA was up to, their philosophy, how they hired and managed people and a number of other not so incidentals. One being that the Warren Commission (WC) was founded for the sole purpose of making sure the cover wasn’t blown, the American public bought the lone gunman theory so that their faith and trust in the US government would be maintained. The people on the WC were not interested in finding out the truth about what really happened in Dallas; they were interested in maintaining appearances.
Interestingly enough, the WC included Gerald Ford who would later, as his first act as president, pardon President Nixon so he would not have to tell the truth about his administration. It never hurts to have some practice.
The documentary was made 10 years before the book by Douglas came out. It was not released until January 2007, almost 10 years after it was made due to legal wrangling between Mr. Holt’s family and the producers, who eventually won.
Neither Holt or the documentary are mentioned in Douglas’s book.
Mr. Holt made it just eight days before he died as a kind of “deathbed confession”. He knew he was dying (he does appear to have difficulty breathing) and thought the American people should and deserved to know the truth about the Kennedy assassination.
I was touched by the fact that an ex-CIA operative and career criminal thought we, the citizens of the Untied States of America, deserved to know the truth about something. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if some of our current elected officials could follow his example? Imagine that, the whole country breaking out in truth.
As I watched this movie I had that kind of mind-boggling numbness that sets in when you’re confronted by a truth that is so big and so ugly and so frighteningly close to home, especially in light of seeing it after reading the book.
Thomas Merton, when he described the “unspeakable,” was onto something bigger than anything anyone could have dreamed up. It’s a wonder he even survived it.
Here is the link to the documentary “Spooks, Hoods and the Hidden Elite”. (Click HERE).
Set some time aside, the documentary is almost two hours long – but well worth your time.
You can order the book, “JFK and the Unspeakable” through waltchura_sfo@yahoo.com . Your purchase will help to support the peace and justice work of the Catholic Worker -- Emaus House in Albany.
And thanks, Wim Dankbaar.
