In the first part of this projected multi-part series, the author reviews Oswald's "defection" to the USSR in the light of Cold War games and his possible connection to them, and proposes an interesting twist on what the role of his stay there may have been.

Because of its innumerable textual and sourcing problems, Tye's book is neither worth reading nor buying, concludes Jim DiEugenio, who is prompted to muse:  "Why did the author write the book? Only he can answer that question".

Extralegal assassinations, unwarranted domestic surveillance, interventionist wars at the behest of corporate interests, torture or other activities of that stripe – these all have their roots in the Dulles era in which covert, corporate power developed into a well-oiled and unaccountable machine running roughshod. These dark forces have continued to operate regardless of who is elected president; and the refusal to face them has caused the Democratic Party to lose its way, writes Alex Sill.

After reading [this book], I was able to understand what this was all about—at least in a fundamental way. Also, my respect for President John F. Kennedy, which was already estimable, increased a bit more, writes Jim DiEugenio.

Volume 5 of the Official History of the Bay of Pigs Operation, by Jack B. Pfeiffer (18 April, 1984)

The Democratic Party has become something both JFK and RFK would deplore—the party of war.

By Adam Walinsky, At: Politico

By Matthew Jaffe, University of Chicago Institute of Politics, At: CNN Politics

Presentation by Jim DiEugenio of an excerpt from Greg Poulgrain's book on the Indonesia coup.

Spies in the Congo: America’s Atomic Mission in World War II, by Susan Williams

Reviewed by Dan Alcorn, At: AARC

Jim DiEugenio's ongoing investigation of Kennedy foreign policy continues here by emphasizing the importance of JFK's collaboration with Dag Hammarskjold in both Congo and Indonesia.