First Glance of Libra

Before starting Libra, we spent some class time discussing JFK's assassination. In this discussion we explored the different conspiracy theories surrounding JFK's death. There were many to choose from, but it quickly became clear that in order to write a book about this assassination, one couldn't include every conspiracy out there. After having read the first two chapters, the details as to which theory DeLillo has put at the center of his novel have become clear. Meeting the main characters, it is clear that the narrative that DeLillo is creating highlights the involvement of the CIA in Kennedy's death, so I decided to explore this conspiracy theory further to get an idea of the kind of story I can expect in Libra. (Much of this information is from an episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved which is titled "The Suspicious Assassination of JFK" and is a rather interesting video to watch if you have a spare 32 minutes!)

The facts of the assassination are pretty clear: JFK was struck by two bullets on November 22, 1963, while riding in an open motorcade in Dallas, Texas. The official ruling said that Lee Harvey Oswald was the assassin who shot 3 times from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository, which was along the route of the motorcade. Oswald was later shot by a man named Jack Ruby. 

Although some main facts are clear, the popular conspiracy theory that the CIA was involved in the Kennedy assassination points out many other aspects of the shooting. Firstly, the former head of the CIA, Allen Dulles, was on the Warren Commission, which was a government commission started after Kennedy's death to try to figure out what really happened. Accordingly, the CIA was found out to have withheld information from the Warren Commission. The CIA, in response to this being found out, claimed what they did was merely a "benign coverup". 

While there are many theories as to why the CIA would want to assassinate JFK, one of them includes JFK finding out about a CIA plot to assassinate Fidel Castro. The CIA was worried that JFK might not agree with this plan and disband the agency. Patrick Nolan, a forensic historian, wrote a book called CIA Rogues and the Killing of the Kennedys, in which he explains his theory that four agents both planned and executed the shooting by firing four shots during the assassination. Another theory is that the CIA chose Lee Harvey Oswald to carry out their assassination plot as he was a known communist and had Russian ties which would divert attention. People also theorize that JFK's CIA personnel changes after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion upset many members of the CIA, which led to them to want to assassinate Kennedy. During the Invasion, Kennedy refused to offer additional U.S. military support, though the CIA offered an "umbrella of air protection", which also could have upset them enough to decide they needed to get rid of JFK. 

Another theory connecting Oswald and the CIA was a man seen at the scene of the assassination who was holding an umbrella, even though it wasn't raining. Kennedy was also struck by the first bullet at the exact time his car passed the umbrella man. It is theorized that this man was a CIA agent working with Oswald and another shooter by either using the umbrella as a signaling device or using it as a weapon to shoot Kennedy. Though later this umbrella man, actually named Louie Steven Witt, testified that his umbrella was a sign of protest for JFK's father Joseph Kennedy's appeasement policies at the Court of St. James. The umbrella was a symbol of Neville Chamberlain's, who led the appeasement policies. Though this seems to explain the umbrella, there was no follow up to Witt's testimony, which seems curious and seems to open even more doors. 

Though it is unlikely that Libra will follow all of these theories, it will be interesting to see how DeLillo builds his narrative of the Kennedy assassination, especially how he will explore the character of Lee Harvey Oswald.