> **TL;DR:** By Dan L. Hardway © October 26, 2017 (Revised October 30, 2017) "As we go into the hysteria of a massive JFK document dump, there is one remarkably surviving document that has already been released that we should keep in mind – especially when reading news coverage of the documents scheduled for release under the JFK Records Collection Act.
## [The Plan for Countering Criticism](https://aarclibrary.org/what-were-they-hiding-and-what-should-we-look-for/)

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Note: This investigation is a work in progress. Check back soon for more updates!
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## WHAT WERE THEY HIDING AND WHAT SHOULD WE LOOK FOR?

By Dan L. Hardway © October 26, 2017 (Revised October 30, 2017)

"As we go into the hysteria of a massive JFK document dump, there is one remarkably surviving document that has already
been released that we should keep in mind – especially when reading news coverage of the documents scheduled for release
under the JFK Records Collection Act.

### The Plan for Countering Criticism

"On April 1, 1967, the Head of the Covert Action Staff of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sent a dispatch to many
of the CIA stations and bases around the world. That the document survived may be remarkable as it is clearly marked as
“Destroy when no longer needed.” Or, then again, maybe it is not remarkable that it has not been destroyed because the
government and intelligence community’s efforts to silence those who question the official story about John Kennedy’s
murder has never succeeded and, hence, the dispatch remains ‘needed’ from their viewpoint.

"The dispatch lays out a plan for defending the lone nut theory first advanced as the major theme of the government
cover-up of the assassination investigation. The dispatch labels people who question the lone nut theory as “conspiracy
theorists.” It plainly states the purpose of the dispatch “is to provide material for countering and discrediting the
claims of the conspiracy theorists…. Our play should point out, as applicable, that the critics are (i) wedded to
theories adopted before the evidence was in, (ii) politically interested, (iii) financially interested, (iv) hasty and
inaccurate in their research, or (v) infatuated with their own theories.” It goes on to suggest that critics be
countered by advancing arguments such as that they have produced no new evidence, that they overvalue some evidence
while ignoring other evidence, that large scale conspiracies are “impossible to conceal in the United States,” that
Oswald would not have been any “sensible person’s choice for a co-conspirator”, and by pointing out the comprehensive
work of the Warren Commission which was composed of men “chosen for their integrity, experience, and prominence.”

### The Plan in Hindsight

"Many of the claims in the dispatch are ludicrous in hindsight, but are still parroted by main stream media sources.
We’ve seen them trotted out by lone nut theory defenders every time there has been a major breakthrough in the
assassination investigation. As I’ll discuss below, we are already seeing some of these “plays” (as the dispatch calls
them) already before the JFK document release and I suspect we’ll see a lot more of them in the coming days. Let’s start
by looking at the possible validity of the plays.

"At this point in time, fifty-four years after the assassination and fifty-three years after the publication of the
Warren Report, there are researchers, analysts, historians, attorneys and many others who have been researching this
case for most of that time. Many of them do not advance “theories” about what happened, but rather try to find and
analyze the facts that have been hidden for so long and ask questions about what they mean. Let’s be clear here; current
researchers, analysts, historians and others (hereinafter, researchers) are not wedded to theories that were adopted
before the evidence was in. But, let’s step back for a moment and examine prior government investigations. The cover-up
of the assassination began on Air Force One as it flew back to D.C. from Dallas. The seeds are there in the released
transcripts of Lyndon Johnson’s telephone calls. If the standard is waiting to see all the evidence, then the Warren
Commission, the first government investigatory effort, is totally discredited. Researchers have proved beyond any
reasonable argument or doubt that not only did the Warren Commission not have all the evidence in before issuing their
report, the very investigating agencies upon whom they relied actively conspired to keep evidence from them – just as
they have, and still do, actively conspired to keep the evidence from the American people. Lone nut theorists appear to
be the ones wedded to the theory adopted before the evidence is in and doing all they can to spin the evidence as it
comes out to try to shore up support for their theories.

"Now, let’s look at the political interest and financial interest argument relied upon by the CIA to counter so-called
‘conspiracy theorists’. Arguing that the Warren Commission members, its supporters since, and those covering up the
evidence and resisting release of documentation, were not politically or financially interested in the cover-up should
be accepted as facially absurd at this point. Even in 1967, the CIA dispatch openly admits to such interest, pointing
out that opinion polls showing that more than half of the public was questioning the Warren Commission’s lone nut theory
reflects a “trend of opinion [that] is a matter of concern to the U.S. Government, including our organization.”
Questioning the rectitude and wisdom of the members of the Warren Commission would “tend to cast doubt on the whole
leadership of American society.” An “increasing tendency to hint that President Johnson himself, as the one person who
might be said to have benefited”ii could implicate him. Such concerns “affects not only the individual concerned, but
also the whole reputation of the American government.”iii

"The Chief of Covert Action then acknowledges the Agency’s own interest: “Our organization itself is directly involved:
among other facts, we contributed information to the investigation.” Indeed, they also covered-up information, as they
have now admitted.iv The Agency’s concern, one that continues to this day, is plainly stated: the conspiracy theories
expose them to “suspicion on our organization, for example by falsely alleging that Lee Harvey Oswald worked for us.”
The CIA’s main personal, if you will, stake in covering up and countering criticism has always been to deflect any
possible focus on their relationship to the purported lone-nut assassin.

"Next, let’s review the hasty and inaccurate in their research argument. How many documents are about to be released
that have never been seen? And who is it that is sure of their theory? What can we say now about critics who for over
fifty years have called for the release of all the information so that the American people can see and judge for
themselves?

"Arguing that there is no new evidence is like standing in front of a camel and insisting it is a horse. New evidence
has dribbled out now over the decades, in small manageable doses that can be dismissed as disconnected by the lone-nut
theorists. And the blatant hubris of the argument is astounding. These are people who can suppress the evidence and
taunt you because you don’t have it!  It’s like prosecuting attorneys in criminal cases who refuse to reveal exculpatory
evidence while simultaneously shifting the burden of proof to the accused. And as for the weighing all the evidence
argument, how do you expect that to go if you control the evidence and only let the evidence out that supports your
theory? Convenient. And if someone else does come up with a fact that contradicts your lone-nut theory, you can always
deny it even though you know your suppressed evidence supports it. Given those facts, can anyone question why there has
been such resistance by the Agency to full disclosure.

"Then, there is the conspiracy theories can’t be hidden in America argument:  Can anyone credibly make that argument
after the history the last four decades? That’s why J. Edgar Hoover was able to do all that he did to undermine American
civil liberties for fifty years without exposure that wouldn’t have even come then had there not been a break-in at a
small FBI field office in Media, Pennsylvania.v MKULTRA wasn’t as successful. It was only covered up for 25 years or so,
as was the CIA programs to save and use ex-Nazi scientists and intelligence officers after the Second World War.
Actually, all that needs to be said in rebuttal is that for 50 years the CIA and our government vehemently denied that
there was a conspiracy to keep information from the Warren Commission. It is a prime tenet and support of the lone-nut
theorists. In spite of the denials, finally, three years ago, the Agency in their internal secret magazine, in an
article written by their official historian, admitted there was such a conspiracy, although they called it benignvi.
We’ll return to this in a bit.

"Next, we have a point we will concede: Oswald as a co-conspirator. We agree that Oswald was not the person that a
rational leader might choose as a co-conspirator. But, is he one that a rational person might choose as a patsy? — an
entirely different question. Remember, that being a patsy was Oswald’s claim in one of the few brief encounters he had
with the press. That claim would have been, presumably, a major theme developed by competent defense lawyers had he
lived long enough to be tried. But the lone-nut theorists dismiss that possibility out of hand. Nothing to see here,
folks, just move on. There was no investigation of this in the hasty Warren Commission investigation that led to the
establishment of the lone-nut theory.

"As far as the Warren Commission membership goes, we will concede their then-prominence, but we must wonder, in light of
the evidence that has become available since, about their integrity and experience as support for the integrity of their
work. Allen Dulles was the head of the CIA fired by President Kennedy. His collusion with the CIA in the pendency of the
Warren Commission is shown in documents that have been released in the last few years. He passed out a book to
Commission members at their first meeting taking the position that American assassins are always lone-nuts. Earl Warren
was coerced into serving against his will by Lyndon Johnson. Johnson used the supposed threat of nuclear war in
convincing him to serve. Gerald Ford was in J. Edgar Hoover’s pocket. John J. McCloy was steeped in the intelligence
community and was almost single handedly responsible for the end of prosecution of Nazi war criminals and the early
release of those who had already been convicted when he became the High Commissioner for post-war Germany. Richard
Russell, Jr., and Hale Boggs both privately rejected the Warren Commission’s lone nut theory, as did Lyndon Johnson,
Robert F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy and many, many others. But the conspiracy of silence took years to break, and when
broken, the revelations came out piecemeal and were dismissed at the time as insignificant, old news – just conspiracy
theorists.

---

Keywords: #Criticism #Plan #Countering