Mark Stern

JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters by James Douglass
Orbis Books, 2008, 510 pages, hardcover, $30.00.Not only is this volume a masterwork of thorough research, it is a meaningful blend of Christian pacifist theology and 20th century history. For Americans, and the rest of the world threatened by U.S. military hegemony, it could be the most important book in English of the last 50 years. Douglass aligns the concerns of theologian Thomas Merton with President Kennedy's 1963 intention to pull U.S. troops out of Vietnam.Researchers today have an advantage over investigative reporters of the 60s and 70s, like Mark Lane, thanks to the declassification in the 1990s of reams of relevant assassination documents.For more info Mark Stern

Douglass takes full advantage of this heightened perspective and blows away the disinformation chaff to reveal the bones of the conspiracy we always knew was somewhere under there.Combining an extensive current bibliography and his own personal interviews with November 22 witnesses and their surviving spouses, Douglass assembles key pieces of the conspiracy jigsaw puzzle until a clear picture emerges. Kennedy was killed, marked for death by his own government, because he sought a path toward peace in the world.An appendix provides the text of the president's commencement address at American University on June 10, 1963. His closing words could serve as his epitaph:"The United states, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough - more than enough - of war and hate and oppression. We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just."Given Douglass' moral imperative to write this book, one would expect, if not a final chapter, at least an epilogue pointing out the parallels with today's tragic wars in the Middle East and the fact that the military/industrial complex President Eisenhower warned us about has taken control of our government and is now running the country for its own profit. The omission of such a summary is conspicuous - and ominous.The history lesson expressed so well in JFK and the Unspeakable is a clear warning to all U.S. citizens. Richard Falk, emeritus professor of law at Princeton University, comments, "This book should be required reading for every American citizen."