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ironroad18 t1_j0egawx wrote

Reply to comment by dinosaurs_quietly in National Archives releases thousands of documents on Kennedy assassination by John-Farson

The incompetence has already been duly noted.

  • At the time, there were no extensive federal laws, policies, or training for protecting federal officials and their families.

  • The Secret Service was very small. Had limited authorities and training. At the time they, really depended on their agents having previous law enforcement or military experience. See interview by retired Special Agent Clint Hill, who worked on details for President Eisenhower's family, and President Kennedy. https://youtu.be/sdO5ixuMr1s

  • Dallas police tried to treat the assassination like a run of the mill murder investigation, and fought federal agents over Kennedy's body. Worse, they were completely unprepared for handling a high-profile incident and failed to guard Oswald adequately.

  • The FBI dragged it's feet on all parts of the investigation, and its director spent more time trying to undermine other agencies, departments, and government officials instead of enforcing the law.

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SlashThingy t1_j0fepn8 wrote

It's not so much incompetence as it is just thinking you'll never need those things. It's like the massacre at the 1974 Olympics: Germany didn't have a special forces police unit, and the German army isn't allowed to operate on German soil, so they couldn't do anything to prevent it. They just didn't think they'd ever need something like that.

Naivety is perhaps a better word.

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Flimsy-Sprinkles7331 t1_j0iab4n wrote

Makes you wonder what we will think of ourselves 60 years from now. What aren't we adequately prepared for in today's world?

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