Something Serious Has Happened on Air Force One (a Tl/story by Geon)
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Chapter Twenty (contd.)
Geon
Donor
Washington, D.C.; The White House, 4:15 p.m.:
President McCormack sat at his desk in the Oval Office with a stack of newspapers in front of him. Sitting across from him was Chief Justice Earl Warren who was looking over said stack of newspapers.
The papers were normally not the type that found their way into the Oval Office. For the most part they were the type of “news” one bought at the grocery checkout. Tabloids who posted stories with little or few facts behind them. However, one of them was a regular daily U.S. paper and two of them were respected publications from overseas.
The headlines in all these papers were troubling. Most troubling however were the overseas ones. The London Times had an article on its second page entitled:
The article itself was by a respected military analyst for the Times who in the article presented a disturbing picture of the Soviets attempting to decapitate the U.S. government in Dallas prior to launching a full-fledged conventional and nuclear strike against NATO.
The prestigious German newspaper Der Spiegel also had a less than reassuring article:
“We need to put a stop to this,” President McCormack said bluntly.
“Our allies are getting concerned. With no clear information about what happened in Dallas they are coming to their own conclusions. And that could be very dangerous,” the President said frowning.
“Personally, I got a good laugh out of the piece that said the Freemasons were responsible for the deaths of Kennedy and Johnson,” the Chief Justice said smiling.
“Earl, it’s no laughing matter,” the President said somberly. “People are writing their congressmen and Senators demanding an investigation be launched. Militia groups are gaining in popularity all over the country after Dallas with people convinced the Russians are coming.”
“It hasn’t been said out loud, but most of our allies don’t know what to make of me yet. They wonder if I’ll be able to handle a crisis overseas if it happens. And they worry that I’ll fold. And according to some in our embassies there is a concern that is just what “someone” wanted to happen. Who that someone is? Take your pick!” The president concluded his statement sweeping his hand over the various newspapers.
“We need to find out what really happened in Dallas. And for that we need a presidential investigative commission which I want you to head,” declared McCormack. “You can choose who you want on the commission, all I ask is make certain the commission is bipartisan and apolitical. We need an unbiased investigation here to show our allies and the American public we have nothing to hide.”
Earl Warren shook his head, “I don’t think you are ever going to make stuff like this go away completely Mr. President. Many ultra-conservatives think I’m the devil incarnate. They’re unlikely to accept the conclusions of any commission I sit on. Too many are going to see a coverup in this regardless of what you do.”
“I know Earl,” the President said wearily. “But I can’t be worried about what a few nut jobs out there might think. My concern is that the public at large and our allies have a clear picture of what happened here.”
“There’s another matter – or rather three other matters,” continued Warren. “You’ve got the upcoming trials for Oswald, the three Secret Service Agents, and the Dallas Police officers coming up. We can’t be seen as interfering in them.”
“I know, but that time I think can be used to do the preliminary research, such as checking ballistics reports, the autopsy results, and interviewing anyone who was present at the two events,” McCormack replied. “Hopefully the trials are wrapped up no later than June then you can begin your interviews of the various defendants.”
After a moment’s thought Earl Warren said, “Will this commission have full authority to investigate whoever it needs to and to look at any papers related to this?”
McCormack replied, “You will have carte-blanche authority from me. And I mean that. One thing, no sealing of sensitive documents for 200 years. I want every document the commission examines or writes out in the open for all to see. This thing has generated too many questions. The only way we are going to silence most of them is with total transparency!”
President McCormack sat at his desk in the Oval Office with a stack of newspapers in front of him. Sitting across from him was Chief Justice Earl Warren who was looking over said stack of newspapers.
The papers were normally not the type that found their way into the Oval Office. For the most part they were the type of “news” one bought at the grocery checkout. Tabloids who posted stories with little or few facts behind them. However, one of them was a regular daily U.S. paper and two of them were respected publications from overseas.
The headlines in all these papers were troubling. Most troubling however were the overseas ones. The London Times had an article on its second page entitled:
WAS DALLAS AN ATTEMPT TO DECAPITATE THE U.S. GOVERNMENT?
ARE THE SOVIETS PREPARING FOR WORLD WAR III?
ARE THE SOVIETS PREPARING FOR WORLD WAR III?
The article itself was by a respected military analyst for the Times who in the article presented a disturbing picture of the Soviets attempting to decapitate the U.S. government in Dallas prior to launching a full-fledged conventional and nuclear strike against NATO.
The prestigious German newspaper Der Spiegel also had a less than reassuring article:
DALLAS: FIRST SHOT IN THE NEXT WAR?
And from the Washington Post:
WAS DALLAS AN ATTEMPTED COUP? IF SO, WHO ARE THE PUPPET MASTERS?
The writer of the article, a noted political commentator, wrote that powerful concerns in the military-industrial complex may have wanted to eliminate Kennedy and Johnson for their own nefarious purposes.
“We need to put a stop to this,” President McCormack said bluntly.
“Our allies are getting concerned. With no clear information about what happened in Dallas they are coming to their own conclusions. And that could be very dangerous,” the President said frowning.
“Personally, I got a good laugh out of the piece that said the Freemasons were responsible for the deaths of Kennedy and Johnson,” the Chief Justice said smiling.
“Earl, it’s no laughing matter,” the President said somberly. “People are writing their congressmen and Senators demanding an investigation be launched. Militia groups are gaining in popularity all over the country after Dallas with people convinced the Russians are coming.”
“It hasn’t been said out loud, but most of our allies don’t know what to make of me yet. They wonder if I’ll be able to handle a crisis overseas if it happens. And they worry that I’ll fold. And according to some in our embassies there is a concern that is just what “someone” wanted to happen. Who that someone is? Take your pick!” The president concluded his statement sweeping his hand over the various newspapers.
“We need to find out what really happened in Dallas. And for that we need a presidential investigative commission which I want you to head,” declared McCormack. “You can choose who you want on the commission, all I ask is make certain the commission is bipartisan and apolitical. We need an unbiased investigation here to show our allies and the American public we have nothing to hide.”
Earl Warren shook his head, “I don’t think you are ever going to make stuff like this go away completely Mr. President. Many ultra-conservatives think I’m the devil incarnate. They’re unlikely to accept the conclusions of any commission I sit on. Too many are going to see a coverup in this regardless of what you do.”
“I know Earl,” the President said wearily. “But I can’t be worried about what a few nut jobs out there might think. My concern is that the public at large and our allies have a clear picture of what happened here.”
“There’s another matter – or rather three other matters,” continued Warren. “You’ve got the upcoming trials for Oswald, the three Secret Service Agents, and the Dallas Police officers coming up. We can’t be seen as interfering in them.”
“I know, but that time I think can be used to do the preliminary research, such as checking ballistics reports, the autopsy results, and interviewing anyone who was present at the two events,” McCormack replied. “Hopefully the trials are wrapped up no later than June then you can begin your interviews of the various defendants.”
After a moment’s thought Earl Warren said, “Will this commission have full authority to investigate whoever it needs to and to look at any papers related to this?”
McCormack replied, “You will have carte-blanche authority from me. And I mean that. One thing, no sealing of sensitive documents for 200 years. I want every document the commission examines or writes out in the open for all to see. This thing has generated too many questions. The only way we are going to silence most of them is with total transparency!”
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Yep. There's for sure going to be a lot more conspiracy theories ITTL about an attempted coup d'état.
So in the tl, what do you think would be the most popular of the attempt coup conspiracy theories? Who would be the beneficiary of such a conspiracy and the perpetrators?
Well obviously the mafia must've had some inside men within the DPD that orchestrated the deaths of LBJ and Ken O'Donnell. Or maybe it was the Secret Service under orders by the FBI, CIA, or military-industriual complex. Or maybe Soviet or Cuban (anti or pro-Castro) spies infiltrated the Secret Service in order to decapitate the government by taking out JFK and LBJ.
Yeah, people will say that the Republicans tried to coup the government and Warren is covering it up.
[ The easiest way to defuse that would be to throw the Secret Service under the bus: reveal that they were out partying until 5 am the night before and undoubtedly impaired at the time of the motorcade and possibly the Air Force One incident. Apologize to Dallas PD who were falsely accused by Secret Service to cover their own asses. Announce firings, prosecutions and sweeping reforms will be coming. ]
[ This has the drawback that the Secret Service now wants you dead, and will also leak all of Jack Kennedy's dirt to the press. ]
[ Being President is harder than it looks ]
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Just got caught up on this thread! Interested to see if Wallace pulls a Grinch and grows his heart two sizes or not
Chapter Twenty (contd.) Meanwhile in Moscow
Geon
Donor
Moscow, U.S. S.R., The Kremlin, 10:30 p.m. Moscow Time:
In his private office the Premier of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev had asked to speak with the Director of the K.G.B., Vladimir Semichastny. The topic of their discussion was the Dallas Incident as it had come to be called in the Kremlin.
Khrushchev was under no illusions. His hours as premier of the Soviet Union were certainly numbered. The signs were all around him. But before he was finally forced out of office, he needed to ensure that his nation was not plunging into a war she could not win. The Dallas Incident was raising questions among both the U.S. and her allies regarding Russia’s part in the deaths of President Kennedy and Vice-President Johnson. The fact that the assassin of President Kennedy had defected and lived in Russia for a time didn’t help to calm matters.
Khrushchev looked up from the file on Lee Harvey Oswald. After a moment he said, “Comrade Semichastny I have read this file several times this month. But nothing in this file answers my questions; did the K.G.B. have anything to do with the deaths of the American President or Vice President?”
Chairman Semichastny replied, “Comrade Khrushchev, that file is the complete and unabridged file on Oswald, from the moment he first came to our attention to the moment he returned to the United States and including his activities once back in the U.S. as far as we were able to determine. Everything that we know about Oswald you now know.”
“Except for the reason he shot the President,” replied Khrushchev sourly.
After a moment of thought Khrushchev continued. “Are you certain that the Dallas Incident was not the result of some rogue or black operation you were unaware of?”
Semichastny drew himself up, “Comrade Khrushchev I would stake my life that it is not.”
“You may be doing just that Comrade if the Americans discover any further links with us. And no, that is not a threat. It is a simple statement of fact. There are many both in Washington and among their allies who believe the Dallas Incident was part of a coordinated plan to decapitate the U.S. government leaving us free to move in other parts of the world. If that narrative is perceived as the truth in the governments of the U.S. and its allies then the U.S.S.R. would find itself facing a war, one which we cannot win.”
Semichastny responded, “Comrade Khrushchev, I think here it is more a problem for our ambassador in Washington. It is his duty to calm the waters and deal with this rumormongering by the Western Press. If he cannot do this, then perhaps a new face is needed in Washington.”
Khrushchev responded angrily, “So, the problem is with our ambassador? No, Comrade Semichastny, I will not have you trying to throw someone else to the wolves for your own possible failures. Oswald was your responsibility. I want you to conduct a thorough investigation of how the Oswald matter was handled. Also, review any operations we may have had in the Dallas area to ensure there is not a single chance we were involved either by design or accident. You will then deliver this report to me personally. Hopefully, this report can provide some reassurance to the Americans and their allies that we were not involved.”
Khrushchev softened his tone. “Vladimir, we need to move on this. The clock is ticking. If something comes to light when Oswald is tried that can be seen however obliquely as involvement by us in the Dallas Incident, we could be looking at the possible destruction of the Motherland. For her sake you must act quickly!”
In his private office the Premier of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev had asked to speak with the Director of the K.G.B., Vladimir Semichastny. The topic of their discussion was the Dallas Incident as it had come to be called in the Kremlin.
Khrushchev was under no illusions. His hours as premier of the Soviet Union were certainly numbered. The signs were all around him. But before he was finally forced out of office, he needed to ensure that his nation was not plunging into a war she could not win. The Dallas Incident was raising questions among both the U.S. and her allies regarding Russia’s part in the deaths of President Kennedy and Vice-President Johnson. The fact that the assassin of President Kennedy had defected and lived in Russia for a time didn’t help to calm matters.
Khrushchev looked up from the file on Lee Harvey Oswald. After a moment he said, “Comrade Semichastny I have read this file several times this month. But nothing in this file answers my questions; did the K.G.B. have anything to do with the deaths of the American President or Vice President?”
Chairman Semichastny replied, “Comrade Khrushchev, that file is the complete and unabridged file on Oswald, from the moment he first came to our attention to the moment he returned to the United States and including his activities once back in the U.S. as far as we were able to determine. Everything that we know about Oswald you now know.”
“Except for the reason he shot the President,” replied Khrushchev sourly.
After a moment of thought Khrushchev continued. “Are you certain that the Dallas Incident was not the result of some rogue or black operation you were unaware of?”
Semichastny drew himself up, “Comrade Khrushchev I would stake my life that it is not.”
“You may be doing just that Comrade if the Americans discover any further links with us. And no, that is not a threat. It is a simple statement of fact. There are many both in Washington and among their allies who believe the Dallas Incident was part of a coordinated plan to decapitate the U.S. government leaving us free to move in other parts of the world. If that narrative is perceived as the truth in the governments of the U.S. and its allies then the U.S.S.R. would find itself facing a war, one which we cannot win.”
Semichastny responded, “Comrade Khrushchev, I think here it is more a problem for our ambassador in Washington. It is his duty to calm the waters and deal with this rumormongering by the Western Press. If he cannot do this, then perhaps a new face is needed in Washington.”
Khrushchev responded angrily, “So, the problem is with our ambassador? No, Comrade Semichastny, I will not have you trying to throw someone else to the wolves for your own possible failures. Oswald was your responsibility. I want you to conduct a thorough investigation of how the Oswald matter was handled. Also, review any operations we may have had in the Dallas area to ensure there is not a single chance we were involved either by design or accident. You will then deliver this report to me personally. Hopefully, this report can provide some reassurance to the Americans and their allies that we were not involved.”
Khrushchev softened his tone. “Vladimir, we need to move on this. The clock is ticking. If something comes to light when Oswald is tried that can be seen however obliquely as involvement by us in the Dallas Incident, we could be looking at the possible destruction of the Motherland. For her sake you must act quickly!”
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marktaha
Banned
Warning
My theory-two independent gunmen. Oswald tried to shoot him but didn't. Somebody else acting independently did-is it inconceivable that the thousands of Kennedy-haters in Texas included a marksman with the ability to keep his mouth shut?
“Comrade Khrushchev, that file is the complete and unabridged file on Oswald," - hummm..... maybe get a copy of that to the US so they can see you washed your hands of him?
Perhaps suggest a summit in New York and assure the US President in person?
Make sure not a single tank, solider, or plane makes a move that can be interpreted badly right now?
Perhaps suggest a summit in New York and assure the US President in person?
Make sure not a single tank, solider, or plane makes a move that can be interpreted badly right now?
Geon
Donor
Khrushchev is being skeptical with good reason. I may be wrong and any resident Kremlinologists here feel free to correct me. But it occurs to me that a premier of the old Soviet Union would only trust what the K.G.B. told them so far. That's why Khrushchev wants a second report from the K.G.B. He's emphasizing that future relationships with the West peaceful or otherwise may depend on what the new report says. He knows that simply turning Oswald's file over to the U.S now won't allay suspicions. If anything he knows that its likely that the U.S. government will question how much of the Oswald file is the truth?
Flogging conspiracy theories is not permitted here
I imagine that's why it's just a warning and not an action, because of the grey area.