[Sample B: Approval/Signature Sheet] - George Mason University

Soviet Union was never taken seriously by the three parties concerned – not by the Soviet
government, not by Oswald, and not by the U.S. government.” 549 Joesten noted that if
Oswald was a real defector who had given the Soviets information, he would have been
prosecuted upon his return. He also pointed to odd statements that indicated Oswald was
not a true Communist, and was in fact loyal to the other side. He quoted Oswald as
saying “I found some Marxist books on dusty shelves in the New Orleans library and
continued to indoctrinate myself for five years” as a teenager. Joesten claimed that no
self-respecting Marxist would use the word “indoctrinate.” 550 In addition, Joesten
recounted Oswald’s odd activities on behalf of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, which
indicated he was an agent provocateur and not a real supporter of the organization. The
author added that Oswald’s flight after the assassination was understandable: “It was not
an assassin who was fleeing; it was an undercover agent, an agent provocateur, shoe
cover as a pro-Castro man was, for the time and place, singularly provocative and
unhealthy.” 551 While Joesten’s account led to severe criticism from the mainstream
press, he was a trailblazer as conspiracy theorist, and many of his ideas would become
common themes of the conspiracy literature in years to come.
Joesten’s book was similar to another work also published in the United States
shortly after the release of the Warren Report – American émigré Thomas Buchanan’s
Who Killed Kennedy? Both books appeared first in Europe, where they received a much
549 Joesten, 127-128.
550 Joesten, 128.
551 Joesten, 143.
243