American Assassination History for Dummies

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/american-assassination-history-dummies


t’s hard to have a serious conversation about America’s drone assassination policy when no one seems to have a basic grasp of recent history. This cultural amnesia epidemic is starting to get me down— which is partly my fault for paying more than two minutes’ attention to Twitter at a single go.

The problem starts with Reagan, as problems so often do. Most people on the left take for granted that Reagan’s executive order 12333 "banned assassinations" — which is not just a false interpretation, but really awful mangling of one of the dark turning points in modern American history.

That same ignorance of the history of assassination policy runs right through today, with the repetition of another myth: That President Obama’s extrajudicial drone-assassinations of American citizens is "unprecedented" and "radical" and that "not even George Bush targeted American citizens."

The truth is a lot worse and a lot more depressing.

[Octafish]

1. CIA hired Mafia to kill Castro in 1960...for being a godless commie.

CIA bosses needed to bring in outside consultants for"gangster-type action."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x290768

At the time, Ike was prez and the agency was headed by Allen Dulles, BFEE chum and future Warren Commision member.

[Octafish]

2. The biggest beneficiary of CIA 'reforms' ended up becoming America's first CIA director president.

From the OP:

Rather than creating conditions for greater accountability, Ford centralized power in the White House — and as Newsweek reported, the biggest beneficiary of Ford’s reforms (and likely its author) was none other than new CIA chief George H. W. Bush:

Ford's Executive order put its emphasis on a firmer chain of command - starting with the President - even though the investigations of most intelligence abuses have shown them to be the result of White House interference, not uncontrolled cloak-and-daggering. Might increased Presidential control lead to more abuses in the future?

"I would hope that the American people will elect a President who will not abuse that responsibility," Ford said. "I certainly don't intend to."

The biggest beneficiary of the new plan was CIA director Bush, who now will serve as chairman of the new Committee on Foreign Intelligence ... The committee will control the budgets for all the nation's foreign intelligence operations as well as the domestic counterintelligence activities of the FBI.

So. Jerry, assisted by Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld, makes a stupid "leak" leads to the fall of Jerry via Jimmy Carter and the rise of Poppy.

Thanks, xchrom. This article is full of insight for those interested in seeing an end to secret government.