The JFK Assassination Debates

September 4, 2006
Southern Louisiana University historian Kurtz (Crime of the Century: The Kennedy Assassination from a Historian's Perspective
) rehashes the debate about whether or not Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating JFK, coming down on the side of conspiracy. In this, he is—by his own account—on the same page as some 68% of the American public. Kurtz provides a serviceable summary of the arguments and theories supporting each view: solo shooter vs. triangulated fire orchestrated by an unspecified cabal of malignant forces. The familiar landmarks and debates are all here: the grassy knoll, the "magic" bullet, the possible organized crime connection, the possible Cuban connection and the various, contradictory intrigues of America's intelligence community. Each aspect is detailed, each cogently laid out—all leading nowhere. The facts, both agreed on and debated, remain the same here as they have been in countless other volumes. With regard to the key issue—who killed JFK?—Kurtz admits, "I do not know the answer," while charging everyone—from the CIA, to the Warren Commission and the Kennedy family—of a "continuing coverup" of evidence. In the end, Kurtz leaves us no closer to definitive truth than we've been before regarding the quagmire of November 22, 1963.