This is a question which focuses not on the President and his administration, but the assassin.
If Oswald had not shot Kennedy, what would have become of him?
If Oswald had not shot Kennedy, what would have become of him?
...well yeah....but I think the OP implies this occurs happens AFTER the assassination and after the revolution.Once did a TL where he went to fight with Castro. When you think about it, it would have been perfect for him. He thought he was a revolutionary, thought he was a communist, why not go fight as both in Cuba? He might die in the Revolution or get purged later on.
...well yeah....but I think the OP implies this occurs happens AFTER the assassination and after the revolution.
The POD is that he simply doesn't assassinate Kennedy. He either just doesn't do it, or gets cold feet.
This is a question which focuses not on the President and his administration, but the assassin.
If Oswald had not shot Kennedy, what would have become of him?
He was a patsy. He didn't shoot Kennedy to begin with, so he would be used as a government scapegoat and then killed by someone to keep him quiet.
He was a patsy. He didn't shoot Kennedy to begin with, so he would be used as a government scapegoat and then killed by someone to keep him quiet.
He was a patsy. He didn't shoot Kennedy to begin with, so he would be used as a government scapegoat and then killed by someone to keep him quiet.
Everyone get one bite. You just used yours.
Have I used mine yet? Because I really want to use it while there's a relevant thread on the topic, if that's alright. If not, that's fine too. I'll wait for your answer.
A. At any rate, if the OP is intended to make him still relevant or interesting in some historical sense I have something of interest. During his time in Dallas, Oswald was associating himself with certain radical Socialist/Communist but Anti-Castro groups (groups which believed Castro had not gone far enough and the revolution had failed).
Now depending on what you've read or who you believe, Oswald could finally be accepted in Cuba and with the support of such groups, achieve an assassination of Castro during a subsequent re-revolution. This would make him something of a hero to the new Cuban people's government, and oddly enough, an American hero as well (in spite of his politics and the outcome of his deed, an American had succeeded in killing Castro and beheading the regime. Americans would appreciate that in spite of his being a Red.)
Alternatively:
B. The CIA had a dossier on Oswald at the time and was introducing him to various contacts within the agency (for what purpose we cannot be sure and I am reluctant to speculate here. What is known is that he was being contacted by agents or contacts in the agency and he was miraculously allowed to remain living in the United States following all of his defections.) Oswlad having been previously stationed in a U-2 base in Japan during his service in the fifties, a base which was later declassified as a CIA training facility. This COULD have been a coincidence. I'm NOT using my bite yet.
Maybe the CIA was just being careful, or maybe Oswald was an agent (rogue or otherwise, again, I am reluctant to speculate) but the point is, regarding the OP, the CIA could radicalize those Communist Anti-Castro Cuban movements stateside, make Oswald an agent, and send him to decapitate the Cuban government, promising Oswald and the Anti-Castro Communists whatever government they wanted in Cuba as long as they got rid of Castro, then reneging on that deal and instating a pro-American democratic government there.
By combining option A. and option B. (a CIA backed anti-Castro coup by communists using Oswald as the trigger man) Oswald becomes an American hero and his communist affiliations get swept under the rug in the media circus for some time to come.
Kennedy and Kruschev will both shit brix, of course, with a coup occurring right under their noses and without Kennedy's permission but with Kennedy surviving the Cold War grows even colder in the wake of Cuban stability and healthy Soviet-American communication.
I danced around the elephant in the room and responded to the OP with originality! I'm proud of myself.
The problem with any conspiracy theory is that you have too many people involved. You are talking CIA, FBI, Secret Service, branches of armed forces, the City of Dallas Police Dept. and the Dallas County Sherrifs department. You are talking about dozens if not hundreds of people who either have to be on the inside or kept in the dark.
In fact I was.