Final_Judgment

330 They Dare Not Speak Out [269]
thus a consequent need to cover up the truth to prevent the outbreak of war.
This apparently was the ruse needed to convince Warren to hide what he
mistakenly believed to be the troublesome truth. Pearson's biographer
charitably described the columnist's actions: "The purpose of the columnistturned-diplomat
was to reduce hysteria, which might upset the delicate
balance between the [United States and the USSR]." 725
Whatever the case, the Pearson-Anderson story about the alleged Castro
conspiracy against JFK created a sensation and muddied the waters at a time
when JFK assassination conspiracy allegations were gaining widespread
credibility. However rational the story may have sounded at the time, the
evidence was flimsy at best as we have seen. The fact is that the Pearson-
Anderson "revelations" are nothing more than deliberate disinformation.
SHIFTING THE FOCUS OF CONTROVERSY
The Pearson-Anderson columns, in effect, "cleared" the CIA of
involvement in JFK's murder and pointed the finger at Castro.
The Pearson-Anderson columns, likewise, shifted focus away from the
Garrison investigation in New Orleans which was focusing on likely CIA
involvement and which had stumbled upon the Clay Shaw-Permindex
connection bringing the inquiry right onto Israel's doorstep.
That Drew Pearson, in particular, would have an interest in shielding
any Israeli involvement as well is beyond doubt.
ISRAEL'S FAVORITE COLUMNIST
Of Jewish extraction, Pearson was a devoted friend of Israel—from the
beginning. In fact, in the period leading up to the establishment of the state
of Israel, Pearson functioned as a hit man for the Israeli lobby in the United
States, pounding away in his column at those perceived inimical to Israeli
interests.
One of Pearson's favorite targets was then-Secretary of Defense James
Forrestal. According to Pearson's biographer, "When Forrestal persuaded
[President Harry] Truman to take the Arab side against the Jews in Palestine
for military reasons, Pearson saw his opportunity. He lathered and shaved
Forrestal as a bureaucratic voice for American oil companies with enormous
stakes in the Mideast. Walter Winchell and other opinion-makers supported
his position." 726
Pearson's hysterical media attack on Forrestal, some believed, led to the
Cabinet secretary's mental instability, resulting in Forrestal's suicide. There
are many, though, who believe that Forrestal was in fact
murdered—precisely because of his powerful opposition to the Israeli lobby.
Pearson himself had cemented his ties with the Israeli lobby and had
engaged in behind-the-scenes intrigue with Israel's intelligence and
propaganda arm, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of B'nai B'rith for
decades.