How Oswald Changed Apollo

[Bill Thompson]

I know that this subject sounds silly but I am getting this idea from a reliable source (and I know there is another area for JFK consparacy theories, but I do not think this belongs there).

Several years ago I watched the BBC Special "The Planets" on DVD and I got a very interesting history lesson. On this program they interviewed Kruschev 's son who said that at one time President Kennedy had made the suggestion to his father that the mission to the moon be a joint Soviet and US effort to which Kruschev naturally turned down. But later Kruschev warmed to the idea. But he never had the chance to tell Kennedy that he changed his mind because of the assassination.

The idea that Oswald changed history stands, of course, if you accept that he is the one who shot Kennedy. But if he did, he might have single-handedly kept the cold war going and like a domino effect kept us away from a more unified and peaceful planet.

It is an idea I thought it might make for an interesting topic for discussion.

[mid]

billthompson said:

I know that this subject sounds silly but I am getting this idea from a reliable source (and I know there is another area for JFK consparacy theories, but I do not think this belongs there).

Several years ago I watched the BBC Special "The Planets" on DVD and I got a very interesting history lesson. On this program they interviewed Kruschev 's son who said that at one time President Kennedy had made the suggestion to his father that the mission to the moon be a joint Soviet and US effort to which Kruschev naturally turned down. But later Kruschev warmed to the idea. But he never had the chance to tell Kennedy that he changed his mind because of the assassination.

The idea that Oswald changed history stands, of course, if you accept that he is the one who shot Kennedy. But if he did, he might have single-handedly kept the cold war going and like a domino effect kept us away from a more unified and peaceful planet.

It is an idea I thought it might make for an interesting topic for discussion.

The fact is that Kennedy and Kruschev had quite a correspondence after the Cuban Missile Crisis. The two talked about many things privately and through rather voluminous letters.

In fact, Kruschev's backing down during the Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the reasons for his eventual removal from power. Kruschev's policies and philosophy irritated the Soviet heirarchy a great deal, and the Kennedy-Kruschev association certainly had some bearing on the opinion of the man in the Soviet Union.

But it is a fact that the two men did in fact speak of a joint lunar program. As of 1963, the two men had agreed to a joint project, but the assassination stopped any serious study of it (in fact, few people knew about the discussions at all).

I think it might be possible to say that the assassination may have changed the course of history, vis-a-vis the space program. That, however cannot be truly known, as such a program was agreed to only by the two leaders. No formal talks , studies, or anything else had been done on the matter by November of 1963.

With the way the Soviets felt about Kruschev, and of course, the way the American public felt about the Soviets in general, nothing may have happened in this regard anyway.

It may well be that if this proposal made the light of day, and the respective governments set about considering it; the debate, the furor, the arguements that probably would've resulted, might have taken a few years to resolve, if they could've been resolved, delaying any space efforts at all.

Hard to say. It might have changed everything, and ended the Cold War long before Reagan came along, or it might have caused a huge flap both in America and in the Soviet Union, messing everything up regally.

However, I should say that the Assassination may have changed Apollo. I would stop short at saying Oswald did. That is a matter for another discussion altogether.

[turbonium]

However, I should say that the Assassination may have changed Apollo. I would stop short at saying Oswald did. That is a matter for another discussion altogether.

I agree - in fact, it could be argued that JFK's assassination changed or affected the course of many events - Apollo, the Vietnam War, the Cuban situation, the Federal Reserve monopoly, etc.

[PhantomWolf]

I think that things always could have been different if 'X' hadn't happened.

If Regan had been killed. If Clinton hadn't been busy with a cigar. If Nixon hadn't felt he needed to hire burglers. If the US hadn't gone from helping to ignoring Afganistan after the Soviets withdrew. If GB the elder had gone into Iraq in 1991......