I’ve been patiently waiting for this book to come out for the past several years—when I heard it was brewing-- and it has been worth the wait. It is a tour de force! This is a worthy successor to Douglass’ landmark book- JFK & the Unspeakable..Why He Died, Why It Matters in 2008-- a book of profound importance called “the best book on the Kennedy assassination” by Oliver Stone.
Once again Douglass refers to the “unspeakable” and credits his close friend the Trappist monk Thomas Merton with defining the term as “the void that contradicts everything even before the words are said.” Wrapped within the compelling portraits of four great Americans who sacrificed their lives for peace, is a riveting behind-the scenes look at the government apparatus-- the military industrial complex, the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and their war mongering Generals who have determined our nation’s policies with little interference catapulting us towards a nuclear holocaust-- beginning with when we dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.
These Generals acted with impunity until the disrupters-- the peacemakers: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Robert (Bobby) Kennedy challenged them and paid for this with their lives. They were a threat to the military industrial complex that wanted forever wars.
Because they wanted peace not war they were prophets. And because of this—they were targeted for death. That some people still believe in the lone assassin lie – for each of these men-- Douglass gives convincing proof of the government cover-up-- for those who need convincing. There is a pattern in all four murders-- the patsy, the fall guy and Douglass makes the case well in all four assassinations with concrete facts.
Their murders, says Douglass, “did not occur in a vacuum, The horrors of World War II dimmed the lights in the theatre of humanity, setting the stage for Cold War terrorism and in the end, the threat of omnicide.”
Early in his presidency, in 1961, the CIA attempted to draw JFK into a war with Russia by training Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro’s government. Kennedy, inherited the plan from Eisenhower but soon realized he was being set-up for an all out war with Russia so refused to send back-up and the exiles were defeated. The Bay of Pigs debacle was an embarrassment for Kennedy and also a wake-up call. This was his baptism of fire and his introduction to the Cold War apparatus—he would not make this mistake again.
Douglass gives fully delineated portraits of the scapegoats in the murders of all four subjects; Lee Harvey Oswald, the “would -be Communist defector to Russia” groomed as the lone assassin of JFK; “ the Black Muslims” of the heavily infiltrated Nation of Islam in the killing of Malcom X; James Earl Ray, the “white racist” killer of Martin Luther King, and Sirhan Sirhan, the “Palestinian terrorist” who shot Robert Kennedy. All scapegoats—all set-up by the government to take the fall.
JFK very quickly realized that he was surrounded by Cold War warriors and had to navigate carefully – he knew the stakes were high-- his life was at risk and the annihilation of the human race in a nuclear holocaust. He had a very tight circle of people he could confide in-- he realized that his goal to stop nuclear weapons everywhere pitted him against the national security czars of his own government and of its ally, Israel.
Douglass names the three key players in the CIA orchestrated plot to kill JFK and four years later his brother: CIA Director Allen Dulles; CIA Counterintelligence Chief James Jesus Angleton and Richard Helms, CIA Deputy Director for Plans.
On his deathbed, the evil Angleton said, “Fundamentally, the founding fathers of U.S. intelligence were liars. The better you lied, the more you betrayed, the more likely you would be promoted.”
Angleton was a sinister character. Douglass says, “James Angleton demonstrated his ability to abort the birth of a better world by helping to murder John Kennedy. His chessboard movement of Lee Harvey Oswald from Moscow to Dallas as the JFK scapegoat established a norm in assassination planning.”
Five years later, Angleton would steer James Earl Ray, “the Memphis scenario scapegoat” for the assassination of Martin Luther King around the world in the same manner. And, Douglass says that it is likely Angleton also facilitated the murder of Robert Kennedy.
When Robert Kennedy decided to run for president, his goal was to dismantle the war machine and investigate his brother’s murder – so he had to be stopped.
Douglass’ portrait of Malcolm X is intimate and captivating, We are introduced to an angry man and a racist—who hated white people. Then we see his transformation after his Hajj in Mecca when he has an awakening – an embrace of all men. This is when he becomes most effective as a leader. His rejection of the Black Muslims narrow philosophy enrages the Nation of Islam leader, Elijah Muhammad and is watched closely by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover who sees Malcolm’s growing influence and international visibility as a threat. Hoover’s fears reach a fever pitch when Malcolm and Martin Luther King meet to support each other in the Civil Rights movement and internationalize their cause before the United Nations. Both became marked men.
Douglass names the forces behind Malcolm’s murder: the Nation of Islam, the New York City Police Department and U.S. Intelligence led by J Edgar Hoover. Hoover’s white supremacist vision also led to the killing of both men, Malcolm and Martin Luther King.
All four martyrs for peace had premonitions of their deaths and they are recorded in this telling-- and all four were willing to sacrifice themselves in the name of peace.
* Author Jim Douglass is a Catholic theologian, peace activist, writer, and lay member of the Catholic Worker movement. Among his eight key published books are: JFK & the Unspeakable..Why He Died, Why It Matters and Gandhi and the Unspeakable: His Final Experiment with Truth
About the author: Sabina Clarke's original co-authored play, Rendezvous in Bangkok ... Who Killed Thomas Merton was staged to enthusiastic audiences at the Commodore John Barry Arts and Cultural Center in 2021 and 2024. Her book Telling Stories is available on Amazon.
