General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy believed President Kennedy was killed by a conspiracy. [View all]AntiFascist
(12,792 posts)1.) You're conclusion in Item 1 assumes that there was only one bullet striking JFK's head. Most witnesses reported hearing at least 3 shots, including Governor Connally who maintained that 3 shots were fired. The problem with the 3 shot theory is that, based on evidence apparent from the Zapruder film, 3 shots could not be fired that quickly from the rifle found in the book depository. This is why the Warren Commission had to focus on a two shot theory, otherwise it would have lead to the conclusion of a conspiracy (all it takes is two people to make a conspiracy).
2.) Your conclusion from Item 2.) states that CE399 was fired from Oswald's rifle, but does not prove that the bullet struck JFK and Connally. This jibes with my pet theory (outlined in another post from the book "Farewell America" based on RFK's research - related to material from the OP) that Oswald may have been present to shoot AT JFK in order to scare him. There was no human tissue or clothing material found on this bullet.
3.) The Neutron activation analysis tests were performed by the FBI. Since the FBI only seemed to be interested in coming to one conclusion, I hardly consider them to be objective. Be that as it may, I would leave subsequent NAA tests to the experts, including scientists from both the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and independently from the Stanford Linear Accelerator, both of whom disagree with the conclusions. Here is a report from Stanford scientist from May 27, 2001:
http://karws.gso.uri.edu/JFK/Scientific_topics/NAA/Snyder_critique.pdf
There's also this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_bullet_theory
The technique used by Guinn to analyse the bullet lead from the JFK assassination was a form of what has become known as Compositional Bullet Lead Analysis (CBLA). Instead of using only one element (antimony) to identify a bullet, as Guinn used, the FBI developed a CBLA procedure in which the concentrations of six different elements were measured. The theory was that each lot of bullet lead has a unique profile of these six elements. However, in a 2002 paper ("A Metallurgical Review of the Interpretation of Compositional Bullet Lead Analysis", (2002) 127 Forensic Science International, 174-191)[93] co-authored by Randich and by former FBI Chief Metallurgist, William Tobin, the authors analysed several years of data kept by two lead smelters that supply the raw material for ammunition. According to the authors, manufacturers measure and record the levels of at least 15 trace metals, including antimony, from samples taken when smelters start and finish pouring a batch of lead into casts. Randich, Tobin et al. examined records for 1998 to 2000 held by the Sanders Lead Company in Alabama and Gopher Resources Corporation in Minnesota. They found many instances where it was impossible, using the FBI's chemical profile standards, to distinguish between batches poured months apart.
The 2002 Tobin/Randich paper prompted the National Academy of Sciences (Board on Chemical Science and Technology) to review the science of bullet lead analysis. In a report in 2004[94] the NAS found the scientific basis for matching bullet sources from the analysis of bullet lead composition as practiced by the FBI was flawed. As a result of that report, the courts appear to have stopped accepting this evidence[95] and the FBI has stopped using bullet lead analysis for forensic purposes.[96]
The NAS report on CBLA, and its relevance to the Dr. Guinn's analysis of bullet lead in the JFK assassination, is the subject of comment by Randich and Grant in their 2006 paper at page 719.[97]
4.) The path of the first magic bullet that passed through JFK's back is the subject of extensive controversy. It seems to focus on the actual position where Gov. Connally was seated as well as the position of JFK's back.
Some critics claim this would have had to have been the trajectory of the bullet: