The Biden administration, after several delays and postponements, has released a portion of the classified documents that some historians, ordinary citizens, interested parties and conspiracy theorists of all types hope will shed light on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963.
These are more than 1,500 files. Among them is information about Lee Harvey Oswald's contact with a KGB agent in Mexico two months before the day the 35th U.S. president was dropped dead in Dallas. These files are part of the broader investigation by the congressional review committee established by Congress in 1992 and collected evidence up to 1997. It was then that it handed over all the evidence to the government, which decided not to make it public. More or less, however, the inquiry concluded that JFK had "probably been assassinated as a consequence of a conspiracy."
The intervening decades have not dampened worldwide interest in the charismatic politician's untimely demise, and the frenzied circulation of various scenarios - both logical and otherwise - as to who actually killed him and under what circumstances. After all, this is one of the most high-profile and tragic events of the 20th century. It ranks, if not among the most important moments, as was the Second World War, then certainly among the most shocking. There is no doubt that it influenced the course of the United States and by extension the world. By eliminating the democratically elected leader of what was then called the "free world," the "Kennedy chapter" that might have led America down other historical paths was left unfinished.
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It's as if the epilogue was never written. This one, after all, was mired in darkness, doubts and inaccuracies. Immediately after the shooting, the interrogations that lasted two days never saw the light of day. The commission on the JFK assassination, known as the Warren Commission, was set up. It was named after its head Earl Warren, then Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. The commission had concluded in 1964 that Lee Harvey Oswald, a former naval commando who had lived in the Soviet Union, had acted alone in the assassination of President Kennedy. The involvement, and the motive of the perpetrator, seemed a close second. Oswald was murdered while being transported from the Dallas police headquarters holding cell to the prison. And on live television, in the presence of police officers, reporters, photographers and television crews. One man broke through the protective cordon with great ease. Unsurprisingly, this sparked what many called a "hunt for the truth."
The relevant records were sealed immediately after the assassination, with the prospect of being opened in the mid-21st century because of potential risks to US national security and the protection of Kennedy family members. The prolonged secrecy added fuel to the fire, strengthening the John F. Kennedy legend, the end of which was an important and integral part of it. Indicative of the interest is the hundreds of books, shows, films, series and documentaries that have been released to great or lesser success and acclaim. The political thriller "JFK" by Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone belongs to the first category. The director is back with a second film, this time a documentary on the "cover-up" that he denounced following the assassination of John F. Kennedy on 22 November 1963. He said in anticipation of the film's release that after decades of thorough research he "knows the real assassin of the president."
Donald Trump had ordered the declassification of 20,000 documents during his presidency, but postponed the release of the latest, critical documents until October 26, 2021. Shortly before the deadline, the new US president gave a two-month extension to declassify the classified records. "The agencies have proposed that the declassification of all information contained in the records be postponed, I confirm that it will be so until December 15, 2022," Joe Biden announced in a press release. The White House further explained that archivists were delayed in reviewing the files due to the Covid-19 pandemic and need more time. Experts on the matter are keeping a tight lid on solving the mystery. They insist that disclosure cannot be limited to a specific and selected part of the files. They warn that it is a ruse and not an answer to the questions that are still pending today...
Source: protothema.gr
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