It's four days before the 44th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination.
Even the die-hard assassination buffs who feverishly pursue this case will admit, after this time lapse, that we will never know the truth about how events unfolded that tragic day. That is the lure of the mystery and makes it even more interesting to research.
Thumbing through the Wikipedia entry on the Warren Commission, which oversaw the initial investigation into the crime, there was one thing I don't understand... Though over 90% of the assassination material is now in the public domain, it is stated that:
"The remaining Kennedy assassination related documents are scheduled to be released to the public by 2017, twenty-five years after the passage of the JFK Records Act."
How is this possible, given the advent of the Freedom Of Information Act?
It's true that one may ask what the big deal is... that if we know basically all we're going to know, what's the last bit of sealed information going to tell people?
I don't know much about official document declassification and how the process works. But wouldn't the public interest be served better if all the information were out there? Think about this: it's been 44 years since the tragedy. Most of the witnesses are getting on in age, if not deceased. Many of the prime players were actually done away with in the first fifteen years afterward.
Who's left around to challenge and say that this information should still be covered up until 2017?
The delay of the information release obviously meant a lot more in the 1970s than today. This gave the public its first concrete evidence that something was going on in government that officials didn't want to address. It's gone on for 44 years now and the research has passed on to a second generation.
The impression I get is that there are still those reluctant to share the information. Unlikely as it may be, what if that remaining 2% of information actually contains the golden nugget that finally puts the mystery to rest? It's possible the answer has actually been hidden for 44 years.
And then, the only question is: why? Why keep the public puzzled? Why keep their own government puzzled?
If indeed this was the intended reason, then it's done a great dis-service; not only to the researchers, but to the remaining Kennedy family and those that came before them.
JFK truly cared about the American people. It would be an utter shame for him if he ever knew of a blatant coverup that has lasted this long.
