Deep Politics And The Death of JFK

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Summary: Peter Dale Scott knows his deep political History VERY well
Review: At the very real risk of putting a name with this review, I feel so strongly about this book and the ground that it covers that I will try to say something of value regarding what is now considered either 'crackpot', 'paranoia', or even treasonous. Mr. Scott has written a book of such depth and accuracy that it is hard to follow unless one is prepared by way of knowing something of REAL American history. That is a lot harder than one might think. Mr. Scott proves not only that the Kennedy assassination was a desperate defense of an already badly corrupt system, but goes on to link the players involved in and around it to Watergate, Iran-Contra, and up to the present. He also takes it the other direction - making a great case that the JFK murder had its roots going far, far back. If I had to try to explain in a sentence what I felt the central point would be to take from this book, it would be that the JFK assassination could very well serve as a "Rosetta stone" for deciphering operations involving the U.S. government and its supporting "deep partners" over the course of the entire 20th Century...and now beyond. Not only do the major scandals link, but events like Lockerbie are deeply suspect due to the U.S.' role in drug trafficing and protection thereof by some in its intelligence agencies. Covering of prior misdeeds and scandals seem to serve as the basis for newly perpetuating ones. Scott makes a clear distinction between "conspiracy theory" and "deep political processes", and the point is - now more than ever - very well taken. I believe this to be a must-read for anyone who loves what this country could be and is willing to take the time to consider why we should deeply question what we are.

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Summary: Deep Politics And The Death of JFK
Review: In a country such as ours, anyone attempting to voice an opinion that falls outside the mainstream is ridiculed and margainalized until no one takes them seriously. Not so with Professor Scott. Incredibly well researched and documented, he makes a strong case for who actually runs this country, and why.

It is books like this that show you why your vote is meaningless, protest is generally futile, and how the US can skip around the world, bringing down governments (and at home) and no one says boo. Frightening book, and required reading for anyone interested in the death of JFK, a landmark event.

Rating:
Summary: Innovative
Review: It wouldn't be fair to say that Scott is the first investigator to present a theory of conspiracy theory, but it is tempting. Instead `deep politics' is presented as a method of investigation, and not as a more complex theory. Still, deep politics is probably the most interesting facet of the book, which consists mostly of facts already made familiar by literature on the crime. Unlike conventional social theory which excludes the role of the irrational in its researches - deep politics allows that criminal elements routinely participate in the actions of government at all levels.These elements - typified in the role of double agent, such as a Ruby or Oswald - exist as much within government as without, and represent a merging of otherwise disparate cultures at a deep level of contact. Therefore, traditional efforts to separate the underworld of crime from the overworld of government, or to render them merely accidental or temporary, are profoundly misleading, even if popularly accepted.

Evidence of this deep symbiosis confronts us time and again, as in the case of Watergate, Scott argues. But as a nation, such knowledge is repressed because it's too threatening to how we picture ourselves and our world. As a people, however, we need to confront this dark truth, not only to advance democracy but our self-understanding as well. Thus the Kennedy assassination with its undeniable ties to the twilight world serves as a national mirror through which we see ourselves only obscurely. True, most Americans reject official versions of the assassination, yet how many would acknowledge the role of deep politics and the symbiosis revealed in the details. Scott's is a provocative thesis that presses the belief that the interests of government and crime coincide at key points, producing an unholy relationship at the very foundations of the society.

Clearly *Deep Politics* with its professorial overtones does not typify the literature devoted to Kennedy and the end of the New Frontier. (What other book, for example, hints at a `deconstruction' of organized crime, the Mafia, and `shadow government' - innovations sure to catch the eye of French academic circles.) Though worthy topics in their own right, there is no discussion here of magic bullets, second shooters, or the immediate facts of the killing itself. True to method, Scott concentrates on those deeper interfaces surrounding key players, most obviously Oswald, Ruby, and Hoover, and the indications these might reveal as to the authors of the crime. I think it's fair to say that the results are rather meager and unsurprising. Still the idea of deep politics (which as a method could be applied to any society) appears solidly grounded in the realities of 20th century America.

Rating:
Summary: Heavy, heavy reading
Review: Note to any casually follower of this genre. Do not buy this book. Deep Politics And The Death Of JFK is a heavy academic read that doesn't come off the page lightly or with any pace. Each page is filled with meticulous and exact information that grabs you fully. This isn't a light read with a dramatic storyline, this is a real hard look into the facts surrounding the relationships that dominated politics at this time in U.S. history. While it is an impressive piece of work it is not to be read lightly.

Rating:
Summary: Deep investigation.
Review: Peter Dale Scott poses essential questions and his investigations lead to very disturbing answers.

He uses the JFK assassination as a paradigm for the revelation and understanding of the real powers in the US.
With parallels to 3 other political scandals (MacCarthyism, Watergate, Contragate) he shows that there are deep continuities in the US political system. He arrives at the most alarming conclusion that the US power system is intrinsically vicious, violent and murderous and that conspiracies form an essential part of it.
He shows convincingly that the real powers in the US lay in a symbiosis of public government, organized crime and private wealth.
Most diabolic are the FBI (lead by the insidious Edgar J. Hoover) and the CIA, which are both responsible for the ruthless destruction of opponents and dissidents without legal or moral restraint.
This book gives an appalling picture of the Agency, fighting for the justification of its existence and its resources by prolonging the Cold War. It infiltrated the media in order to preach its Gospel. It used organized crime and drug traffickers as means for its ends.
Very revealing also is the fact that 20 percent of the shares of General Dynamics were in the hands of the mob.

His final analysis is devastating: 'how far our office-holders, including our Presidents, have been reduced to the status of clients, dispensable when the more enduring patronage is withdrawn?' and 'To what extent has our visible political establishment become one regulated by forces operating outside the constitutional process?'
After reading this book, I confess that posing these questions is answering them.

A provocative, dark and disturbing book.
A must read.

Rating:
Summary: Deep Politics And The Death of JFK
Review: Scott's account explores the reasons behind John Kennedy's murder, which he regards as a highly complex crime. He explains it in terms of "deep politics," or an "intelligence, mob, corporate gray alliance." This was an odd coalition of big-city political bosses, Mafia, CIA, FBI, anti-Castro Cubans, and generals eager to escalate the Vietnam War, working to eliminate a president perceived as threatening the status quo. Scott begins by examining JFK's decision to withdraw 1,000 American advisors from South Vietnam and continues with a discussion of Jack Ruby and Lee Harvey Oswald's alleged mob and government connections. On the issue of Vietnam withdrawal, Scott borrows heavily from John Newman, who alleges that Kennedy planned to withdraw from Southeast Asia. Scott repeats this claim, ignoring the consensus view that this merely was a rotation, not a withdrawal of troops. Scott's assertion of Ruby and Oswald's connections is based simply on circumstantial evidence. He accuses no one, but seemingly implicates everyone. Despite this flaw, Scott's work is a stimulating piece that does not rehash the mechanics of the assassination but examines the political roots of a political crime. All levels.

Rating:
Summary: Best researched book on the death of JFK
Review: Still keep rereading some of the chapters, as it is so fact filled that its impossible to digest whole in one reading. Really scary and terrible power structures are brought to light in this treatment of the killing. No ONE person is named but power elites are exposed. Never realized that the HUNT family in Texas were up to such mischief - I thought they were 'merely' funding the Campus Crusade for Christ and attempting to corner the silver market in the 80's...

Rating:
Summary: This one comes the closest to the dirty, rotten truth...
Review: This is a complex book but it reaps the clearest, most compelling conclusions as to who were responsible for the JFK assasination.

Reading the last third of the book is dizzying and alarming. The vertigo effect lingers long after you put it away.

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Summary: Somebody has to sound a dissenting voice!
Review: Yes, it is I, the secret and very evil member of the ultra-high-level underground trilateral elite squadron of suicide Amazon reviewers here to turn you away from the truth. For Peter Dale Scott has managed with this book to piece together what we have been trying to keep ultra-top-secret since the Middle Ages, and so now we must put out our black ops!

Man, the paranoia and narcissism in this country really shines with books like this and reviewers like these. Face it guys, you're all just craving SOMETHING EXTRA to fend off the horror of your own inevitable death. Seeing conspiracies is like seeing heaven -- it is a natural consequence of the human condition. But so is rape and genocide. So do your part to resist it!