Programmed to Kill: Lee Harvey Oswald, the Soviet KGB, and the Kennedy Assassination

by Ion Mihai Pacepa

Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa, the highest intelligence official ever to defect from the Soviet bloc, reviews the Kennedy assassination, reveals facts covered up by the Kremlin, and addresses questions left unanswered by official investigations and numerous books. Pacepa is the only investigator of the assassination who had direct knowledge of the KGB's ties to Lee Harvey Oswald. Programmed to Kill places Pacepa's knowledge about the KGB's secret involvement with Oswald in the context of factual reporting that has appeared on the case. The book juxtaposes the KGB modus operandi—mostly unknown to outsiders—against the irrefutable evidence assembled by the FBI and other U.S. investigators.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics

384 pages, Hardcover

First published November 2, 2007

About the author

Ion Mihai Pacepa (born 28 October 1928 in Bucharest, Romania, died 14 February 2021 in the United States) was the highest-ranking intelligence official ever to have defected from the former Eastern Bloc. He then became a United States citizen where he activated as a writer and a columnist.
In July 1978, Pacepa was a two-star Romanian Securitate general who simultaneously held the rank of advisor to President Nicolae Ceauşescu, acting chief of his foreign intelligence service and state secretary in Romania’s Ministry of Interior. He defected to the United States following President Jimmy Carter's approval of his request for political asylum.
Subsequently, he worked with American intelligence in various operations against the former Eastern Bloc. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) described his cooperation as "an important and unique contribution to the United States".

Reviews

[Titus Capilnean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shows the links between the USSR secret service and JFK's assasination. Meticulously describes PGU/DIE methods and connects his knowledge around the espionage activites undertaken by Russia and Romania. Very good insight on the geopolitical struggles of the Hrushciov era and how the Berlin Wall came to be erected.

[GT · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cut above other Kennedy assassination books. The twist here being that although Oswald did indeed kill Kennedy, he was trained by the Soviets. The author has great knowledge of the Soviet-bloc espionage game from his career at the highest levels in the Romanian foreign intelligence service. He backs up his assertions,judgements, opinions and hunches with examples from the agents he directed, or from conversations he had with top Romanian and Soviet leaders.

Most of the blame is laid at Khrushchev feet, but ultimately it is the author's contention that Oswald acted against the instructions he received. It is theorized that Oswald was desperate to re-defect back to the Soviet Union.

This theory, the involvement of Jack Ruby, the mistakes of the Warren Commission, and failure of the follow-up investigation by the House Select Committee on Assassinations are all dealt with through the prism of Soviet involvement and KGB disinformation.

Add this one to your must-read list if you, like me, share an interest in all Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories.

4 Stars

★ = Horrid waste of time
★★ = May be enjoyable to some, but not me
★★★ = I am glad I read it
★★★★ = Very enjoyable and something I'd recommend
★★★★★ = A rare find, simply incredible

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent information but tedious in its delivery.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is a former Romanian intellegence agent who draws upon his experiences and intellegence reports to conclude that Oswald was the lone assassin of President John F. Kennedy and that intitally the Soviet government was involved. He draws awkward conclusions about the Warren Commission Report.