Conspiracy #1 - Inside Job

Some conspiracists allege the killing was an inside job carried out by forces inside the government including the Central Intelligence Agency (Douglass 222). According to author James W. Douglass, “powerful forces inside the government wanted Kennedy dead because of his views on domestic policy and foreign affairs” (222).  Because of President Kennedy’s new approach to situations involving communist countries like Russia and Cuba, there were many in the government who were distrustful of him.  Historian Robert Dallek writes that much of the distrust between Kennedy and the Central Intelligence Agency started after the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 (368).  Many in the old guard saw Kennedy as being soft on communism and too fixated on peace. Author James Douglass goes a step further and argues that those aligned against  Kennedy due to his peace obsession and failure to get tough on communism (13). Douglass claims Kennedy saw the failures in the Bay of Pigs as a “trap” (14).  Douglass, citing William Harvey, writer that “‘President Kennedy was the target of a CIA covert operation that collapsed when the invasion collapsed (15).’” This is quite a strong accusation against the CIA, and one that remains to be proven.  However, despite the many conspiracies involving the assassination being an inside job, there is no credible evidence that it was. In order to be effective, the Central Intelligence Agency must act covertly.  It is because of the covert and secretive nature of its operations that this conspiracy has continued to flourish over the years.