Original subtitles

Narrator: FROM PREACHERS TO PRESIDENTS,

FROM CELEBRITIES TO SPIES,

THE SHADOWS OF CONSPIRACIES ARE EVERYWHERE,

ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COME TO ASSASSINATIONS.

[ WOMAN SCREAMS ]

Narrator: EVEN WHEN A KILLER IS CAUGHT RED-HANDED,

THERE WILL BE MANY WHO CLAIM THEY WERE INNOCENT --

TOOLS OF SOME DARK POWER.

IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT WHO'S BEHIND THIS ASSASSINATION,

IT'S THE SAME CABAL THAT WAS BEHIND

THE ASSASSINATION OF JOHN F. KENNEDY.

Narrator: IN THIS EPISODE OF "CONSPIRACY,"

WE LOOK INTO SOME OF THOSE INCREDIBLE CLAIMS.

WAS NATIONAL TREASURE JILL DANDO THE VICTIM OF A REVENGE ATTACK?

TO ME, THIS IMMEDIATELY LOOKED LIKE A POLITICAL ASSASSINATION.

Narrator: DID TONY BLAIR SEEK TO COVER UP

THE MURDER OF A TOP BRITISH SCIENTIST.

DR. KELLY HAD THE KNOWLEDGE THAT COULD HAVE POTENTIALLY

HAULED THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

BEFORE THE HAGUE CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL.

[ INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS ]

Narrator: AND WAS PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S

KILLED BY THE CIA SO THEY COULD CONTINUE THE WAR IN VIETNAM.

ALL THE EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT IT WAS A CIA HIT.

-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

GOOD EVENING, THE TV PERSONALITY, JILL DANDO,

WHO, AS "CRIMEWATCH" PRESENTER,

HELPED TO SEND DOZENS OF CRIMINALS TO JAIL,

WAS MURDERED ON HER OWN DOORSTEP TODAY.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

Narrator: A NATIONAL ICON, JILL DANDO HAD BEEN ONE

OF THE NATION'S FAVORITE TV PERSONALITY'S

SINCE THE LATE 1980's AND PRESENTED

THE BBC'S "CRIMEWATCH" PROGRAM,

TRYING TO FIND JUSTICE FOR INNOCENT VICTIMS.

BUT ON THE 26th OF APRIL IN 1999,

SHE BECAME THE BIGGEST CRIME STORY OF THE DECADE.

[ INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS ]

HER COLD-BLOODED KILLING IN BROAD DAYLIGHT

LEFT THE NATION IN SHOCK.

WELL, OBVIOUSLY I'M ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATED BY THE MURDER,

AS IS EVERYBODY ACROSS THE BBC AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

I THINK JILL DANDO TOUCHED A POPULAR NERVE

THAT NONE OF US QUITE REALIZED WHEN SHE WAS STILL ALIVE.

I MEAN, IT BECAME ALMOST DIANAESQUE.

Narrator: THE OFFICIAL STORY WAS THAT JILL DANDO,

THE NATION'S DARLING, WAS KILLED BY AN OBSESSED FAN.

BUT JOURNALIST FRANK FISHER,

WHO'S WRITTEN FOR THE GUARDIAN AND OTHER PAPERS,

BELIEVES JILL DANDO WAS MURDERED FOR A FAR MORE SINISTER REASON.

JILL DANDO WAS SHOT IN THE BACK OF HER HEAD

ON A QUITE LONDON STREET.

[ SCREAMING ]

[ GUNSHOT ]

IT WASN'T THE ACT OF A MADMAN.

IT WAS A MEASURED, CONTROLLED, PREPARED ASSASSINATION.

THE PATHOLOGIST WHO EXAMINED HER BODY

CALLED IT A VERY PROFESSIONAL MANNER.

ANYONE WHO KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT FIREARMS

WOULD SAY IT WAS VERY PROFESSIONAL.

[ SIREN WAILS ]

Narrator: NOTHING LIKE THIS HAD EVER HAPPENED

IN A LEAFY NORTH LONDON STREET BEFORE.

IT TOOK A WHOLE YEAR BEFORE POLICE HAD A BREAKTHROUGH.

IN THE END, THEY PINNED THIS SEEMINGLY PROFESSIONAL HIT

ON LOCAL MAN BARRY GEORGE, WHO FRANK FISHER BELIEVES

WAS THE MOST UNLIKELY OF SUSPECTS.

BARRY GEORGE WAS CONSIDERED BY PEOPLE WHO KNEW HIM LOCALLY

TO BE SOMETHING OF A WALTER MITTY FIGURE.

HE WAS PRONE TO FANTASIES.

HE SAID HE WAS RELATED, FIRST TO GARY GLITTER,

THEN TO FREDDIE MERCURY, CLAIMED HE'D BEEN

IN THE MILITARY AND SPECIAL FORCES.

SO HE WAS KNOWN AS A FANTASIST AND A BIT OF AN ODDBALL.

Narrator: IN 2001, GEORGE WAS SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON,

BUT FRANK FISHER WAS CONVINCED THE POLICE HAD THE WRONG MAN.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STRUCK ME WAS THAT THE JUDGE

WHO SENTENCED HIM SAID, "NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW

WHY YOU COMMITTED THIS CRIME."

WELL, HANG ON A MINUTE.

IF YOU'VE NOT GOT A MOTIVE...

THAT SHOULD SET A LOT OF BELLS RINGING.

I'M OLD-FASHIONED.

I WANT MEANS, I WANT MOTIVES, I WANT OPPORTUNITY.

BARRY GEORGE DID NOT HAVE ANY.

THE CROWN WAS UNABLE TO ESTABLISH ANY.

HIS CONVICTION WAS LAUGHABLE.

Narrator: IN ALL, BARRY GEORGE SPENT EIGHT YEARS IN PRISON

FOR HER MURDER BEFORE BEING FREED ON APPEAL.

BUT IF IT WAS NOT GEORGE WHO PULLED THE TRIGGER,

WHO WAS IT?

TO ME, THIS IMMEDIATELY LOOKED LIKE A POLITICAL ASSASSINATION.

Narrator: AN ASSASSINATION HE CLAIMS

WAS LINKED TO NATO'S WAR IN THE BALKANS --

A CONTROVERSIAL OPERATION BEING UNDERTAKEN

TO CURB SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC'S CLEANSING OF ETHNIC ALBANIANS

FROM LARGE PARTS OF NEIGHBORING KOSOVO.

AS MILITARY HISTORIAN LYNETTE NUSBACHER EXPLAINS,

"THE WAR WAS UNDERTAKEN FOR HUMANITARIAN ENDS."

WE WENT INTO KOSOVO IN 1999 BECAUSE THERE WERE MASS KILLINGS

THAT LOOKED AN AWFUL LOT LIKE GENOCIDE.

WE HAD IN BILL CLINTON AND IN TONY BLAIR --

WE HAD HUTS OF GOVERNMENT

WHO WERE PREPARED TO USE THE MUSCLE OF NATO

TO SUPPORT HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION

TO STOP GENOCIDE.

IT IS IN THIS TOWN OF GJAKOVA RIGHT BELOW US

THAT SOME OF THE WORST ETHNIC

CLEANSING WAS PERPETRATED BY THE SERBS.

WE WATCHED AS JETS STREAKED ACROSS THE DISTANT SKIES.

Narrator: INITIALLY STRIKING SERBIAN ARMY UNITS IN KOSOVO,

THE BOMBING RAIDS WERE SOON EXTENDED

TO INFRASTRUCTURE TARGETS WITHIN SERBIA ITSELF.

Man: THE MISSILES SMASHED INTO THE HEART OF THE COMPLEX,

WHICH NATO REGARDS AS A KEY PROP OF PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC'S REGIME.

OUR TARGETEERS, THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE

OF SELECTING TARGETS, CHOOSE THINGS TO BOMB

THAT WOULD MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR SERBIA TO RULE KOSOVO.

Narrator: MOST CONTROVERSIAL WAS THEIR DECISION

TO DESTROY THE MAIN STATE-OWNED TV STUDIOS

IN THE SERBIAN CAPITAL OF BELGRADE.

Nusbacher: WE DESTROYED THE SERB TELEVISION STATION

IN ORDER TO PREVENT IT BEING USED

TO WHIP UP THE PASSIONS OF THE KOSOVO SERBS

TO CREATE A GENOCIDE.

Fisher: 16 PEOPLE WERE KILLED --

MAKE-UP GIRLS, TECHNICIANS, CAMERAMEN.

TONY BLAIR FULLY ENDORSED IT,

SAYING THAT THIS WAS AN ATTACK ON A PROPAGANDA MACHINE

AND THAT THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

WAS A KEY PART OF MILOSEVIC'S APPARATUS.

Narrator: IT WAS THIS ATTACK ON THE SERBIAN TV STUDIOS

THAT FRANK FISHER THINKS COST JILL DANDO HER LIFE.

Fisher: LOOKING AT IT FROM A SERB POINT OF VIEW,

THEY MUST HAVE LOOKED AT THE WESTERN LEADERS

AS PUSHING OUT A PARTISAN MESSAGE, GENOCIDE,

AND MASS GRAVES, AND SAY, "WELL...

YOU'RE PROPAGANDIST, TOO.

IF YOU'RE GOING TO COME OVER HERE

AND KILL OUR PEOPLE WITH CRUISE MISSILES,

WE'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT.

WE'RE GOING TO -- WE'RE GOING TO REPLY IN THE SAME VEIN."

Narrator: WAS BRITAIN'S MOST TREASURED TV PRESENTER

ABOUT TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THE CROSSFIRE?

[ WOMAN SCREAMS ]

[ GUNSHOT ]

152

Narrator: ON THE 23rd OF APRIL, 1999,

NATO JETS DESTROYED THE SERBIAN TV STUDIOS IN BELGRADE

AS PART OF THE KOSOVO WAR.

LESS THAN A WEEK LATER,

ONE OF BRITAIN'S FAVORITE TV PERSONALITY'S,

JILL DANDO, WAS SHOT ON HER OWN DOORSTEP.

MANY PEOPLE THINK THIS WAS A REVENGE ATTACK.

BUT WHY WAS JILL DANDO THE TARGET?

JILL DANDO WAS NO PERSONAL THREAT TO THE MILOSEVIC REGIME,

BUSHE HAD APPEARED ON THE BBC THREE OR FOUR WEEKS

BEFORE HER MURDER MAKING AN APPEAL ON BEHALF

OF THE KOSOVAN REFUGEES

WITH THE BACKDROP OF VERY EMOTIVE PICTURES

OF PEOPLE FLEEING FROM WHAT WE WERE TOLD WAS GENOCIDE --

FROM WHAT SHE ALMOST CERTAINLY HERSELF BELIEVED WAS GENOCIDE.

THIS EASTER WEEKEND,

WE'VE ALL BECOME AWARE OF THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

FACING THE BALKANS, AS THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE

FROM KOSOVO HAVE LEFT THEIR HOMES

AND ARRIVED ON THE BORDERS OF NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES.

THIS IS A MASSIVE EXODUS.

AROUND 600,000 PEOPLE ARE ON THE MOVE.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO FRANK FISHER,

THIS INNOCENT HUMANITARIAN GESTURE

PROVIDED THE SERBS WITH THE TARGET

THEY WERE LOOKING FOR TO AVENGE THE ATTACK ON THEIR TV STUDIOS.

THEY WILL HAVE FELT UNFAIRLY PERSECUTED.

THEY WILL HAVE SEEN THE MEDIA AS LEGITIMATE TARGETS.

AND NOT HAVING CRUISE MISSILES TO FIRE BACK THEMSELVES,

I BELIEVE THEY WOULD HAVE ADOPTED THE SAME TECHNIQUES

AGAINST OUR JOURNALIST AS THEY HAD ALREADY USED

FOR YEARS AND YEARS IN BELGRADE, IN SERBIA --

A TARGETED POLITICAL ASSASSINATION.

[ WOMAN SCREAMS ]

[ GUNSHOT ]

WE KNOW SHE WAS KILLED WITH A SINGLE SHOT TO THE HEAD.

WE THIS WAS AFTER BEING FORCED TO HER KNEES

BY ONE MAN FROM BEHIND.

THIS INDICATES HE WAS USING ONE HAND FOR THE WEAPON,

ONE HAND TO FORCE HER DOWN.

IT'S A VERY PRECISE,

A VERY EXPERIENCED PERSON WHO IS DOING THIS --

SOMEONE WHO HAS, I BELIEVE, DONE IT BEFORE.

Narrator: DANDO'S MURDER IN LONDON WAS ALMOST IDENTICAL

TO A HIT IN BELGRADE EXACTLY TWO WEEKS BEFORE.

THE KILLING OF SLAVKO CURUVIJA,

EDITOR OF A SERBIAN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER,

SHOT WHILE WALKING HOME WITH HIS PARTNER, BRANKA.

KILLERS WERE BEHIND US, NOT IN FRONT OF US.

SLAVKO HAS MY HAND IN HIS HAND.

[ ELEVATOR BELL DINGS ]

HE START TO SLOWLY FALLING DOWN,

AND IN THIS MOMENT, I HIT IN THE HEAD

AND WE TOGETHER FALLING DOWN.

[ WOMAN SCREAMING ]

[ GUNSHOT ]

SLAVKO WAS DEAD IMMEDIATELY WITH FIVE BULLETS.

AND I WAS -- I LAY DOWN IN THE GROUND.

AND KILLER CAME.

AND IN ONE MOMENT, HE TURN AROUND

AND WALK AWAY.

Narrator: FOR IVAN JOVANOVIC, BRANKA'S SON,

THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE TWO KILLINGS ARE OBVIOUS.

BOTH ASSASSINATIONS ARE DONE IN DAYLIGHT,

THEY'RE DONE BY PROFESSIONALS.

AND THEY'RE DONE IN THAT KIND OF A SYMBOLICAL WAY,

BECAUSE BOTH OF THEM ARE KILLED ON THEIR DOORSTEPS

AS A MESSAGE TO SOMEONE ELSE FOR CONTROL BY FEAR.

Narrator: DESPITE THE ACQUITTAL OF BARRY GEORGE,

THE POLICE HAVE NOT REOPENED THE FILE.

SO THE SERBIAN CONNECTION REMAINS

NO MORE THEN A CONSPIRACY THEORY.

BUT FRANK FISHER REMAINS CONVINCED THAT THE BOMBING

OF THE TV STATION IN BELGRADE LEAD

DIRECTLY TO THE KILLING OF A INNOCENT WOMAN

OUTSIDE HER HOME ON WEST LONDON STREET.

Fisher: TONY BLAIR, BILL CLINTON,

DID NOT KILL JILL DANDO.

THEY DIDN'T INTEND HER TO DIE.

THEY PROBABLY DIDN'T INTEND

TO KILL MAKE-UP GIRLS IN BELGRADE.

BUT THEIR POLITICAL DECISIONS TO GO TO WAR LED

TO THOUSANDS OF DEATHS IN SERBIA AND KOSOVO

AND TO ONE IN WESTLAND.

Narrator: A LEAFY LONDON STREET AS THE SCENE

OF A VICIOUS POLITICAL ASSASSINATION

STILL SEAMS UNBELIEVABLE.

BUT IN AMERICA, POLITICAL ASSASSINATIONS

BY LONE GUNMEN HAVE A LONG HISTORY.

DURING THE 1960's, OVER THE SPACE

OF JUST A FEW YEARS, THREE OF THE MOST CHARISMATIC

AND IMPORTANT LEADERS IN AMERICAN HISTORY

WERE KILLED THIS WAY --

EACH ON THE CUSP OF CHANGING AMERICA.

THOSE DEATHS HAVE LEAD TO SOME OF THE MOST

COMPELLING CONSPIRACY THEORIES EVER,

THOUGH THEY REMAIN JUST THEORIES.

MARTIN LUTHER KING,

THE FOREMOST CIVIL RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER,

WAS SHOT DEAD IN MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.

[ INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS ]

MOST FAMOUSLY, PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY

WAS GUNNED DOWN IN DALLAS -- A KILLING THAT ROCKS THE WORLD.

[ GUNSHOT ] [ SCREAMING ]

[ GUNSHOT ] I HAVE A DREAM.

Narrator: BOTH THOSE ASSASSINATIONS,

MANY BELIEVE, WERE CARRIED OUT ON BEHALF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES,

SUCH AS THE CIA, WHO WANTED TO PROTECT THEIR POWER BASE.

[ INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS ]

IT'S A KILLING SPREE THAT MANY CLAIM ALSO

TOOK THE LIFE OF A THIRD GREAT AMERICAN LEADER.

[ GUNSHOT ]

Man: SOMEBODY SHOT ROBERT.

Narrator: ROBERT KENNEDY,

PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY'S BROTHER AND HEIR APPARENT.

Robert: WHAT WE NEED IN THE UNITED STATES IS NOT DIVISION.

WHAT WE NEED IN THE UNITED STATES IS NOT HATRED.

WHAT WE NEED IN THE UNITED STATES

IS NOT VIOLENCE AND LAWLESSNESS,

BUT IS LOVE, AND WISDOM,

AND COMPASSION TOWARD ONE ANOTHER.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

Narrator: THE OFFICIAL STORY HAS ALWAYS BEEN

THAT BOBBY KENNEDY WAS KILLED BY A GUNSHOT

WOUND TO THE HEAD, FIRED BY A LONE, CRAZED GUNMAN.

JUST MOMENTS BEFORE HIS DEATH, KENNEDY,

A LEADING PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE,

WAS CELEBRATING VICTORY

IN THE PRIMARY ELECTIONS IN CALIFORNIA.

MAYOR YORTY HAS JUST SENT ME A MESSAGE

THAT WE'VE BEEN HERE TOO LONG ALREADY.

Narrator: AS THE CELEBRATIONS BEGAN,

KENNEDY LEFT THE AUDITORIUM VIA A BACK KITCHEN.

WRITER AND FILMMAKER SHANE O'SULLIVAN

HAS SPENT YEARS RESEARCH WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.

O'Sullivan: SIRHAN SIRHAN EMERGED FROM THE CROWDS,

STARTS FIRING THE SHOTS.

HE HAD EIGHT BULLETS IN HIS IVER JOHNSON

.22 CALIBER REVOLVER.

Narrator: THE ALLEGED KILLER

WAS A 24-YEAR-OLD PALESTINIAN, SIRHAN SIRHAN --

A FORMER JOCKEY WITH A LOVE OF GAMBLING

AND THE HIGH-LIFE.

OVERPOWERED AT THE SCENE, HE WAS CONVICTED OF THE CRIME

AND IS STILL SERVING TIME IN A SAN DIEGO JAIL.

BUT DESPITE DOZENS OF PEOPLE WHO SAW SIRHAN SHOOT HIM,

THERE ARE SOME LIKE FORENSIC HISTORIAN

PATRICK NOLAN WHO BELIEVE HE WAS INNOCENT.

THE UNWITTING FALL GUY IS AT THE SCENE,

GETS BLAMED FOR THE CRIME, BUT DIDN'T DO IT.

HIDDEN GUNMAN ON THE SIDELINES TOOK CARE OF THAT.

Narrator: NOLAN'S THEORY IS THAT SIRHAN WAS DISTRACTION

TO AVERT PEOPLE'S EYES FROM THE REAL KILLER,

AND HE BELIEVES HE KNOWS WHO WAS BEHIND IT.

ALL THE EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT IT WAS A CIA HIT

BECAUSE ONLY THE CIA HAD THE MEANS

AND THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE MOTIVE.

AND THEIR MOTIVE, OBVIOUSLY, WAS TO PROTECT THEMSELVES,

TO KEEP THEIR OWN POWER,

AND TO STOP THE KENNEDYS' MOVE TOWARDS PEACE.

Narrator: FOUR AND HALF YEARS AFTER THE ASSASSINATION

OF HIS BROTHER JOHN, ROBERT KENNEDY WAS

RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN A DIVIDED AMERICA.

I AM ANNOUNCING TODAY MY CANDIDACY

FOR THE PRESIDENCY OF THE UNITED STATES.

I RUN BECAUSE I AM CONVINCED

THAT THIS COUNTRY IS ON PERILOUS COURSE

AND BECAUSE I HAVE SUCH STRONG FEELINGS

ABOUT WHAT MUST BE DONE.

Schrade: THE CAMPAIGN IN CALIFORNIA FOR BOB WAS CRUCIAL,

BECAUSE IF HE COULDN'T WIN CALIFORNIA,

HE COULDN'T WIN ANYWHERE.

BECAUSE CALIFORNIA IS PRIMARILY A STATE OF DEMOCRATS.

Narrator: CATCHING THE MOOD OF THE COUNTRY,

KENNEDY'S VICTORY IN THE CALIFORNIAN PRIMARY

WAS ANNOUNCED LATE IN THE EVENING

IN THE AMBASSADOR HOTEL IN DOWNTOWN L.A.

[ SCREAMING ]

BUT A FEW MOMENTS AFTER THANKING HIS SUPPORTERS,

KENNEDY WAS ASSASSINATED --

SHOT IN THE HEAD IN THE HOTEL'S KITCHENS.

HE'S AID, PAUL SCHRADE, WAS STANDING RIGHT BEHIND HIM.

WHEN YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE CRIME SCENE,

THE SHOOTING ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE

IN ABOUT A SIX-FOOT-WIDE SPACE

WITH A STEAM TABLE OVER HERE AND THE ICE MACHINE OVER HERE.

Narrator: KENNEDY ENTERED THE PANTRY AREA,

SHAKING HANDS WITH KITCHEN STAFF.

SUDDENLY, SHOTS RANG OUT,

AND PAUL SCHRADE WAS THE FIRST TO BE HIT.

SIRHAN WAS TO THE EAST OF US,

MAYBE 10 OR 12 FEET,

AND HE WALKED TOWARDS BOB KENNEDY AND STARTED FIRING.

HE FIRED TWO SHOTS AT BOB KENNEDY,

DIDN'T HIT BOB.

HIT ME IN THE HEAD BECAUSE I WAS STANDING RIGHT BEHIND BOB.

I THOUGHT I WAS BEING ELECTROCUTED

'CAUSE I -- JUST SHAKING VIOLENTLY AND FELL.

I CAME TO ON THE FLOOR, BLEEDING FROM MY HEAD.

Narrator: BOBBY KENNEDY WASN'T SO LUCKY.

HE TOOK THREE BULLETS AT POINT-BLANK RANGE,

ONE OF THEM TO THE HEAD.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE, BUT HOTEL WORKER

KARL UECKER MANAGED TO GRAB SIRHAN.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

KARL UECKER, THE ASSISTANT MAITRE D'

GOT A CHOKE HOLD ON SIRHAN, GRAB HIS GUN HAND,

PUSHED HIM OVER A STEAM TABLE.

HE POUNDED HIS GUN HAND ON THE STEAM TABLE,

HE KEPT FIRING -- SIX SHOTS.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

Narrator: THE ATTACK WAS OVER IN SECONDS.

BOBBY KENNEDY HAD SUFFERED LIFE-THREATENING INJURIES,

AND WITHIN 24 HOURS, WAS DEAD.

HIS DEATH SHOCKED THE NATION.

AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS LINED THE RAIL TRACKS

AS A TRAIN CARRIED HIS BODY FROM NEW YORK TO WASHINGTON

WHERE HE WOULD BE BURIED.

AND THERE WAS NO DOUBT WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE.

WELL, ON THE FACE OF IT,

IT SEEMED LIKE AN OPEN-AND-SHUT CASE

BECAUSE ALL THE WITNESSES SAW SIRHAN FIRING.

AND THEY SAW HE HAD A GUN.

IT CONTAINED EIGHT BULLETS.

AND KENNEDY FELL IN CLOSE PROXIMITY

WHERE SIRHAN STARTED FIRING.

Narrator: WHEN POLICE SEARCHED SIRHAN'S HOME,

THEY UNCOVERED YET MORE DAMNING EVIDENCE.

O'Sullivan: THEY ALSO FOUND A NOTEBOOK IN WHICH WAS WRITTEN,

"RFK MUST DIE. RFK MUST DIE.

RFK MUST BE ASSASSINATED."

Narrator: BUT DESPITE THIS DAMNING EVIDENCE

AND THE DOZENS OF EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS,

SOME STILL MAKE THE INCREDIBLE CLAIM

THAT THE EVIDENCE THAT SIRHAN WAS THE KILLER

DOES NOT STACK UP.

KENNEDY WAS SHOT TWICE IN THE BACK,

ONCE IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD RIGHT BEHIND THE RIGHT EAR.

THAT'S THE FATAL SHOT RIGHT THERE.

THERE WAS A FOURTH SHOT THAT WENT THROUGH HIS SHOULDER PAD,

BUT THEY'RE ALL FROM THE BACK.

SIRHAN WAS IN FRONT.

Narrator: IF SIRHAN WAS IN FRONT OF KENNEDY,

WAS THERE ANOTHER GUN BEHIND?

AND IF SO, WHO WAS IT?

[ GUNSHOTS ]

404

Narrator: IN 1968, IN FRONT OF DOZENS OF WITNESS,

A 24-YEAR-OLD EX-JOCKEY, SIRHAN SIRHAN,

KILLED BOBBY KENNEDY,

WHO WAS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT OF THE USA.

BUT DESPITE THE COMPELLING EVIDENCE,

SOME STILL BELIEVE SIRHAN SIRHAN DID NOT FIRE THE FATAL SHOT.

KENNEDY WAS SHOT TWICE IN THE BACK,

ONCE IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD RIGHT BEHIND THE RIGHT EAR.

THAT'S THE FATAL SHOT RIGHT THERE.

THEY'RE ALL FROM THE BACK.

SIRHAN WAS IN FRONT.

Narrator: SO, DID THE SHOTS COME FROM ANOTHER GUN?

AN ACCIDENTAL RECORDING OF THE ASSASSINATION MADE

BY A POLISH REPORTER COVERING THE CAMPAIGN

MIGHT HOLD THE PROOF.

ENGINEER PHIL VAN PRAAG IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S

FOREMOST EXPERTS ON RECORDING TECHNIQUES

AND HAS SPENT YEARS WORKING ON THE TAPE.

THE MICROPHONE THAT PRUSZYNSKI

USED WAS SIMILAR TO THIS MICROPHONE.

HAD A SIMPLE ON/OFF SWITCH,

AND IT IS BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT HE INADVERTENTLY LEFT

THAT MICROPHONE IN THE "ON" POSITION

THAT WE NOW HAVE THE ONLY KNOWN AUDIO RECORDING

OF THE SHOOTING THAT OCCURRED IN THE KITCHEN PANTRY

THERE AT THE EMBASSY ROOM.

Narrator: THE SHOTS IN THE ORIGINAL RECORDING ARE ALMOST IN

BUT USING MODERN DIGITAL FILTERING,

PHIL HAS MANAGED TO ISOLATE MUCH OF THE BACKGROUND NOISE.

OKAY, WHAT WE'RE HEARING HERE IS A FILTERED --

SO, AS TO ACCENTUATE THE SHOT SOUND

AND MINIMIZE THE CROWD NOISE AND BACKGROUND SOUNDS

OF SHOTS 7, 8, AND 9.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

AND THIS IS PRETTY MUCH REAL TIME.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

OKAY?

NOW, THERE ARE ACTUALLY THREE SHOTS IN THERE,

BUT, AGAIN, MOST PEOPLE,

AT LEAST IN THE BEGINNING, WILL HEAR THEM AS TWO SHOTS.

Narrator: BY ANALYZING THE ENTIRE TAPE,

PHIL WAS ABLE TO ISOLATE FAR MORE SHOTS

THAN THE EIGHT THAT SIRHAN'S GUN COULD OF FIRED.

Praag: FROM MY ANALYSIS, I WAS ABLE TO DISCERN 13 GUNSHOTS.

THERE MAY HAVE BEEN MORE, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE

THAT THERE WERE 13 GUNSHOTS

OVER A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

Narrator: IF PHIL HAS IDENTIFIED A SECOND GUN AT THE SCENE,

DOES THAT MEAN ANOTHER KILLER?

MY RESEARCH DOES NOT PROVE OR DISPROVE A CONSPIRACY.

THE MERE FACT THAT TWO GUNS WERE FIRED DOES NOT,

IN ITSELF, PROVE A CONSPIRACY.

Narrator: BUT FORENSIC HISTORIAN PATRICK NOLAN

HAS NO DOUBT THE 13 SHOTS PROVE THAT SIRHAN SIRHAN

WAS NOT ACTING ALONE, BUT WAS AN UNWITTING MEMBER

OF A CRACK CIA ASSASSINATION TEAM.

AND HE GOES FURTHER, SPECULATING THAT THE CIA

MAY HAVE PUT SIRHAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF MIND CONTROL.

Nolan: SIRHAN ONLY REMEMBERS DECIDING TO GO TO A PARTY

BECAUSE HE HAD HEARD THERE WOULD BE

A BIG CELEBRATION AT THE AMBASSADOR HOTEL.

Narrator: DESPITE BEING OVERPOWERED

WITH THE GUN STILL IN HIS HAND,

SIRHAN STILL CLAIMS HE REMEMBERS NOTHING OF THAT NIGHT.

THIS HAS LED MEAN TO CLAIM THAT HAD BEEN TURNED INTO

A SO-CALLED MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE.

KATHY OLMSTED IS A PROFESSOR OF HISTORY

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

THE TERM "MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE"

COMES FROM A NOVEL THAT WAS WRITTEN IN THE 1950's

AND THEN MADE INTO A VERY POPULAR MOVIE IN THE 1960's.

AND IT REFERS TO A PERSON WHO HAS BEEN BRAINWASHED

BY CONSPIRATORS INTO DOING SOMETHING

AGAINST HIS WILL, INTO BEING AN ASSASSIN,

A TOOL OF A GROUP OF ASSASSINS.

THERE WAS ONLY ONE GROUP THAT HAD THE CAPABILITY

AT THAT TIME TO DO THIS CONDITIONING AND PROGRAMMING --

HYPNO-PROGRAMMING.

THAT WAS THE AGENCY -- THE CIA.

Man: [ Whispering ] KILL, KILL, KILL.

Narrator: AS PART OF THE CIA'S SO-CALLED MKUltra PROGRAM,

IT'S CLAIMED A SCOTTISH PSYCHOLOGIST

DR. DONALD CAMERON SPENT MUCH THE '60s

PERFECTING MIND CONTROL FOR THE AGENCY.

THEY HAD STARTED THIS WORK BACK IN THE '50s,

AND THEY HAD PROGRESSED TO THE POINT WHERE, BY 1968,

THEY HAD ALL OF THE EXPERTISE NEEDED

TO INDUCE A TRANCE-LIKE STATE...

Man: [ Whispering ] KILL, KILL, KILL.

Nolan: ...TO FOLLOW POST-HYPNOTIC SUGGESTIONS...

[ Whispering ] KILL, KILL. Man:

Nolan: ...AND TO HAVE NO RECALL LATER -- AMNESIA.

YOU BASICALLY NEED A VERY HYPNOTIZABLE PERSON,

AND 5% TO 7% OF THE POPULATION

CAN BE HYPNOTIZED TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU CAN CARRY OUT AN ACT

THAT IS AGAINST YOUR MORAL GRAIN.

IN THE CASE WITH SIRHAN,

EXPLAINING THAT WHEN YOU SEE BOBBY KENNEDY,

YOU'LL SEE A TARGET, AND YOU'LL START SHOOTING.

Narrator: IF SIRHAN WAS BRAINWASHED

INTO BEING A DECOY SHOOTER...

THE QUESTION STILL REMAINS,

WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE THREE SHOTS

FROM BEHIND THAT ENDED BOBBY KENNEDY'S LIFE.

I THINK IT'S BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT

IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE NAME

WHO WAS BEHIND THIS ASSASSINATION,

IT'S THE SAME CABAL THAT WAS BEHIND

THE ASSASSINATION OF JOHN F. KENNEDY --

A GROUP WITHIN THE CIA.

Narrator: WHATEVER THE TRUTH,

IT'S LOCKED AWAY INSIDE THE HEAD OF SIRHAN SIRHAN,

WHO, FOR ALMOST 50 YEARS,

HAS CLAIMED HE CAN'T REMEMBER IT.

520

Narrator: ON THE 18th OF JULY, 2003,

THE BODY OF A MIDDLE-AGE MAN WAS FOUND NEAR WOODS

ON HARROWDOWN HILL IN OXFORDSHIRE.

IT WAS THAT OF DR. DAVID KELLY,

ONE OF BRITAIN'S TOP SCIENTISTS AND A GOVERNMENT SPY.

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER WAYNE MADSEN

HAS INVESTIGATED DOZENS OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES

AND BELIEVES IN THE THEORY THAT DR. KELLY WAS KILLED

BY THE VERY PEOPLE HE WAS WORKING FOR.

Madsen: DR. KELLY, BECAUSE OF WHAT HE KNEW

ABOUT HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS

NOT ONLY CARRIED OUT BY HIS OWN GOVERNMENT,

BUT BY THE AMERICAN AND OTHER GOVERNMENTS,

BECAME A PROBLEM AND WAS ORDERED

TAKEN OUT BY AN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE.

Narrator: LESS THAT TWO WEEKS BEFORE

ALMOST NO ONE HAD HEARD THE NAME DAVID KELLY.

BUT HE WAS A KEY MEMBER OF THE U.N. BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS

INSPECTORATE IN IRAQ AND HELD IN SUCH ESTEEM

THAT HIS WORK HAD BEEN NOMINATED FOR THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.

Madsen: DAVID KELLY WAS THE PREEMINENT EXPERT

IN THE BRITISH MINISTRY OF DEFENSE

ON WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, SPECIFICALLY

SADDAM HUSSEIN'S COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

LEVIED ON IRAQ NOT TO PRODUCE OR, IN ANY WAY, ACQUIRE WMDs.

Narrator: FOR YEARS, IRAQ HAD BEEN PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER 1,

NOT JUST BECAUSE ITS LEADER,

SADDAM HUSSEIN POSSESSED CHEMICAL WEAPONS,

BUT BECAUSE HE WAS PREPARED TO USE THEM ON HIS OWN PEOPLE.

AFTER HIS DEFEAT IN THE FIRST GULF WAR,

SADDAM HAD AGREED TO GIVE UP

ALL HIS SO-CALLED WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.

AND PART OF DR. KELLY'S JOB WAS TO ENSURE HE WAS COMPLYING

WITH THAT AGREEMENT.

BUT MANY WESTERN GOVERNMENTS INSISTED THAT SADDAM

NOT ONLY STILL HAD WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION,

BUT WAS ACTIVELY ACQUIRING MORE.

AS A RESULT IN THE EARLY YEARS OF THIS CENTURY,

THE USA BEGAN TO FORM A COALITION

TO INVADE THE COUNTRY WITH THE AIM OF OUSTING SADDAM.

IN SEPTEMBER 2002,

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR PUBLISHED

A DOCUMENT WHICH MADE THE CASE FOR BRITAIN

JOINING THE COALITION.

ONE OF THE KEY REASONS GIVEN WAS THAT

SADDAM COULD LAUNCH HIS WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

WITH IN 45 MINUTES.

TO DESTROY THOSE WEAPONS,

BRITAIN AND AMERICA INVADED ON THE 19th OF MARCH, 2003.

OVER 200,000 COALITION TROOPS WERE TASKED WITH DESTROYING

SADDAM'S WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.

THAT JUSTIFICATION SORT OF FELL APART

WHEN IT WAS DETERMINED THAT SADDAM HAD

NO WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.

Narrator: TWO MONTHS LATER, IT WAS REVEALED

THAT THE GOVERNMENT MAY HAVE KNOWN THE WEAPONS

DID NOT EXIST LONG BEFORE THE INVASION.

ON THE 29th OF MAY, BBC REPORTER ANDREW GILLIGAN

LIVE ON RADIO 4'S "TODAY" PROGRAM QUOTED

WHAT HE CLAIMED WAS ONE OF THE DOSSIER'S AUTHORS

AS SAYING THAT THE 45 MINUTE CLAIM WAS DELIBERATELY PLANTED

TO SEX IT UP,

EVEN THOUGH MANY IN THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY

DID NOT BELIEVE IT AS TRUE.

AND THE REASON MANY PEOPLE THINK IT WAS INSERTED WAS

TO MAKE SURE THE GOVERNMENT WON THE BACKING FOR THE WAR,

BOTH FROM PARLIAMENT AND THE PUBLIC.

IT WAS A GRAVE ALLEGATION,

AND WITHIN DAYS OF THE BROADCAST,

THERE WAS SPECULATION THAT DAVID KELLY

WAS GILLIGAN'S SOURCE.

AND THE WEAPONS INSPECTOR WAS SUDDENLY THRUST IN THE LIMELIGHT

AND BROUGHT BEFORE THE COMMONS SELECT COMMITTEE

TO EXPLAIN HIMSELF.

AFTER LESS THAN TWO WEEKS IN THE MEDIA SPOTLIGHT,

ON THE AFTERNOON OF THE 17th OF JULY,

DAVID KELLY TOLD HIS WIFE HE WAS GOING FOR A WALK.

HE NEVER RETURNED.

EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, HIS BODY WAS FOUND, AND WHAT

FOR SOME IS EVIDENCE OF A COVER-UP, BEGAN.

ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, THAMES VALLEY POLICE

PUBLICLY SUGGESTED HE'D TAKEN HIS OWN LIFE,

EVEN THOUGH NO AUTOPSY HAD BEEN CARRIED OUT.

IN THE PUBLIC MIND, DR. KELLY'S DEATH

WAS THOUGHT TO BE ALL ABOUT HIS HOUNDING

WHEN HE WAS SAID TO BE THE SOURCE OF A REPORT ON THE BBC

THAT THE SEPTEMBER DOSSIER HAD BEEN SEXED UP.

Narrator: ALMOST AS SOON AS KELLY'S DE

A VISIBLY SHOCKED TONY BLAIR TOLD THE MEDIA

HE WOULD BE HOLDING A PUBLIC INQUIRY,

BYPASSING THE CORONERS COURTS.

THERE IS NOW, HOWEVER, GOING TO BE A DUE PROCESS

AND A PROPER AND INDEPENDENT INQUIRY.

AND I BELIEVE THAT SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO ESTABLISH THE FACTS.

Narrator: BY LAW, CORONERS COURTS HAVE TO INVESTIGATE

EVERY VIOLENT DEATH IN ENGLAND AND WALES.

MILES GOSLETT, A JOURNALIST

WHO WRITES FOR THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH THINKS

BLAIR'S DECISION TO BYPASS IT IN FAVOR

OF A PUBLIC INQUIRY IS HIGHLY SUSPECT.

HIS BODY WAS FOUND AT ABOUT 9:00, 9:15.

AND BY MIDDAY, THE GOVERNMENT HAD DECIDED

THAT THEY WERE GONNA HOLD A PUBLIC INQUIRY

INTO DR. KELLY'S DEATH AND HAD EVEN FOUND

A SENIOR MEMBER OF THE JUDICIARY, LORD HUTTON,

WHO WOULD INVESTIGATE DR. DAVID KELLY'S DEATH.

WELL, BY THAT POINT,

NO MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL HAD PRONOUNCED UPON HIS DEATH.

HE HAD NOT BEEN OFFICIALLY IDENTIFIED,

AND IT WAS THEREFORE IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYBODY

TO SAY EXACTLY HOW, WHERE, AND WHEN HE HAD DIED.

AND YET, THE GOVERNMENT HAD ALREADY DETERMINED

IN LESS THREE HOURS

THAT THEY WERE NOT GONNA HAVE A CORONER'S INQUEST.

BUT THEY WANTED TO HAVE A PUBLIC INQUIRY INSTEAD,

WHICH IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THING.

Narrator: A CORONERS COURT CAN EXAMINE WITNESSES UNDER OATH.

MANY BELIEVE BYPASSING THAT PROCESS

MEANT ONLY ONE THING --

THE GOVERNMENT HAD SOMETHING TO HIDE.

IT'S QUITE EASY TO SEE THAT SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE

TOOK AN ACTIVE DECISION

THAT THERE WERE THINGS ABOUT DAVID KELLY'S DEATH

WHICH THE PUBLIC SHOULD NEVER KNOW.

Narrator: KEY TO THEIR CONCERNS IS THE ALLEGATION

THAT LORD HUTTON ACCEPTED THE VERDICT OF THE AUTOPSY,

WHICH WAS CARRIED OUT BY HOME-OFFICE PATHOLOGIST

DR. NICHOLAS HUNT WITH LITTLE QUESTIONING.

DR. KELLY TOOK HIS OWN LIFE

BY CUTTING HIS LEFT WRIST, AND THAT HIS DEATH

WAS HASTENED BY HIS TAKING CO-PROXIMAL TABLETS.

I AM FURTHER SATISFIED THAT THERE WAS NO INVOLVEMENT

BY A THIRD PERSON IN DR. KELLY'S DEATH.

Narrator: BUT MANY IN THE MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENT

QUESTION DR. HUNT'S FINDINGS,

ESPECIALLY THAT HE BLED OUT THROUGH THE CUT TO HIS WRIST

AND STARTED LETTER-WRITING CAMPAIGN IN NEWSPAPERS

LIKE THE GUARDIAN.

ONE OF THOSE IS DR. DAVID HALPIN,

WHO, FOR 30 YEARS, WAS A LEADING TRAUMA SURGEON.

THE HUTTON INQUIRY CONCLUDED

THAT HE HAD DIED FROM BLEEDING OUT

FROM THE CUTTING OF HIS ULNAR ARTERY IN THE LEFT WRIST.

AND HAVING OPERATED ON SOME THOUSANDS OF PATIENTS

AND HAVING REPAIRED SOME YOUNG PEOPLE

WHO HAD CUT THEIR WRISTS,

I KNEW THAT IT WAS MOST UNLIKELY HE HAD BLED TO DEATH.

SO I FIND IT VERY DIFFICULT TO ACCEPT THIS MAN

HAD DIED OF EXSANGUINATION -- BLEEDING OUT FROM HIS WRIST.

Narrator: MORE DOUBTS CAME FROM THE EVIDENCE

OF DR. ALLAN, A FORENSIC TOXICOLOGIST

WHO GAVE EVIDENCE AT THE INQUIRY.

IN HIS OPINION,

DR. KELLY HAD NOT TAKEN ENOUGH PAINKILLERS

FOR THEM TO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO HIS DEATH.

DR. ALLAN SAID THAT THE LEVEL OF DEXTROPROPOXYPHENE

WAS ABOUT 1/3 OF WHAT HE HAD SEEN

IN ASSOCIATION WITH DEATH CAUSED BY THIS DRUG.

I'VE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT SUICIDE

WAS HIGHLY UNLIKELY IN THIS MAN, DR. KELLY.

I, THEREFORE, HAVE TO CONSIDER

THE OTHER ONLY POSSIBILITY --

THAT HE WAS ASSASSINATED.

Narrator: FOR MANY, THERE IS ONLY ONE REASON

WHY DR. KELLY WOULD HAVE BEEN ASSASSINATED --

TO HIDE THE TRUTH ABOUT THE LACK OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.

DR. KELLY HAD THE KNOWLEDGE

THAT COULD HAVE POTENTIALLY HAULED

THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

BEFORE THE HAGUE CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL

FOR STARTING A WAR BASED ON FALSE REASONS.

Narrator: SOME BELIEVE THE FINAL PROOF OF A CONSPIRACY

TO COVER UP THE REAL CAUSE OF DR. KELLY'S DEATH

WAS THE FACT THAT LORD HUTTON ORDERED ALL RECORDS

RELATING TO THE CASE TO BE SEALED FOR 70 YEARS.

BUT MILITARY HISTORIAN AND FORMER INTELLIGENCE OFFICER

LYNETTE NUSBACHER DOES NOT AGREE.

WE'VE SEEN OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THE EARLY 21st CENTURY

THAT GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

HAVE MADE THE GOVERNMENT VERY UNHAPPY

AND HAVE BROUGHT DOWN THE WRATH

OF THE NUMBER-10 BRIEFING MACHINE AGAINST THEM.

BUT NO MATTER HOW UNCOMFORTABLE THEY MAKE THE GOVERNMENT,

THE GOVERNMENT CAN'T JUST KNOCK THEM OFF IN A QUIET ALLEY.

THERE IS NO QUESTION IN MY MIND

THAT DR. KELLY WAS THE VICTIM OF A CRUEL

AND INDIFFERENT GOVERNMENT,

BUT THAT HE DIED AT HIS OWN HAND.

Narrator: IF DARK FORCES FROM WITHIN GOVERNMENTS

REALLY WERE BEHIND THE DEATHS OF KELLY, DANDO, AND KENNEDY,

THEN THEY ALL CHOSE VIOLENT MEANS.

BUT THERE ARE SOME CONSPIRACISTS

WHO CLAIM EVEN THE MOST INNOCENT DEATHS ARE CONSPIRACIES.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

716

Narrator: MANY ACADEMICS BELIEVE OUR LOVE OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES

SURROUNDING ASSASSINATIONS FULFILLS

A DEEP PSYCHOLOGICAL NEED.

Olmsted: CONSPIRACY THEORIES CAN MAKE THE WORLD

SEEM SAFER AND MORE PREDICTABLE

BECAUSE IT'S A SCARY THING TO CONTEMPLATE

HOW CONTINGENCY CAN PLAY SUCH A LARGE ROLE IN HISTORY.

AND SO, IT'S MUCH MORE COMFORTING TO BELIEVE

THAT THERE IS ORDER, THERE IS REASON,

THERE IS SOMEONE IN CHARGE,

EVEN IF IT'S EVIL PEOPLE WHO ARE IN CHARGE.

Narrator: PERHAPS THERE IS NO BETTER EXAMPLE OF THE IDEA

THAT HISTORY IS CONTROLLED BY EVIL PEOPLE THAN AMERICA'S

SEEMING PARANOIA OF THE COUNTRIES

OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA, WHO THEY SEEM CONVINCED

ARE ABOUT TO DESTROY THEIR WAY OF LIFE.

EVER SINCE THE CUBAN REVOLUTION ENDED IN 1959,

THE MIGHT OF THE CIA HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON THE ONE MAN --

FIDEL CASTRO.

THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT CLAIMS THAT THERE WERE MORE

THAN 600 ATTEMPTS ON THE LIFE OF FIDEL CASTRO.

MORE THAN 600.

Narrator: WE NOW KNOW FOR A FACT THAT OPERATION MONGOOSE,

AS THOSE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS ON CASTRO WERE KNOWN,

WERE SANCTIONED BY PRESIDENT KENNEDY IN 1961

AND REMAINED SECRET UNTIL 1975.

PROPOSED PLOTS INCLUDED

IMPLANTING HIS CIGARS WITH HIGH EXPLOSIVES.

MORE OUTLANDISHLY,

IMPREGNATING HIS WETSUIT WITH DEADLY BACTERIA.

AND EVEN LACING HIS SHOES

WITH THALLIUM SALTS, WHICH WOULD CAUSE HIS HAIR

AND BEARD TO FALL OUT, WHICH THE CIA HOPED

WOULD CAUSE HIM TO LOSE HIS MYSTIQUE

IN THE EYES OF THE CUBAN PEOPLE.

UNSURPRISINGLY, NONE OF THE SUPPOSED 600 CIA

ATTEMPTS ON CASTRO'S LIFE SUCCEEDED.

BUT MANY THINK THAT THE CIA

HAS BEEN MORE SUCCESSFUL IN KILLING

OTHER LATIN AMERICAN LEADERS USING AN INCREDIBLE WEAPON --

CANCER PANTS.

ON THE 8th OF MARCH, 2013,

10s OF THOUSANDS OF VENEZUELANS TOOK TO THE STREETS

TO MOURN THE DEATH OF ONE OF THE CIA's ALLEGED VICTIMS.

HUGO CHAVEZ DIED OF A VERY VIRULENT FORM OF CANCER.

IT STRUCK HIS PELVIC AREA

AND THEN WORKED ITS WAY EVENTUALLY

THROUGH THE REST OF HIS BODY.

Narrator: BUT COULD CHAVEZ'S TERMINAL CANCER

REALLY BE THE WORK OF CIA OPERATIVES?

IT'S CLAIMED CHAVEZ'S FRIEND, FIDEL CASTRO,

BELIEVED THE AGENCY HAD SUCH A CAPABILITY,

AND ACCORDING TO HISTORY WILLIAM BLUM,

HAD EVEN WARNED CHAVEZ THE USA

WOULD TARGET HIM WITH AN UNTRACEABLE AGENT.

Blum: HE SAID, "HUGO, WATCH OUT.

THEY'LL GIVE YOU TINY PINPRICK."

WHICH CAN BE ANYBODY WHO COMES CLOSE TO CHAVEZ,

USING A PINPRICK WHICH IS TO INJECT HIM

SOME KIND OF CHEMICAL.

THAT WOULD BE SO EASY TO OBSCURE.

Narrator: BY THE 1990's, CHAVEZ HAD TAKEN OVER

FROM FIDEL CASTRO AS THE USA's ULTIMATE BOGEYMAN.

WELL, IN THE UNITED STATES, HE WAS A WIDELY HATED FIGURE,

ESPECIALLY ON THE RIGHT,

BECAUSE HE WAS SEEN AS A LOT LIKE FIDEL CASTRO

AND A LEFT-WING LATIN AMERICAN STRONGMAN

WHO WAS VERY ANTI-UNITED STATES.

SINCE THERE'S THIS EVIDENCE THAT THE CIA

DID TRY AND OBVIOUSLY FAILED TO KILL CASTRO,

IT LENDS CREDIBILITY TO THE PEOPLE

WHO SUPPORT CHAVEZ TO THE NOTION THAT THE CIA

TRIED TO KILL CHAVEZ OR ACTUALLY SUCCEEDED IN THIS CASE.

Narrator: DURING HIS 14 YEARS IN POWER,

HUGO CHAVEZ ENRAGED THE UNITED STATES

BY NATIONALIZING MANY OF THE U.S. OIL INTERESTS

IN THE COUNTRY.

IN 2006, HE ADDRESSED THE UNITED NATIONS,

OPENLY ACCUSING THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT,

GEORGE BUSH, OF BEING THE DEVIL.

[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Blum: CHAVEZ VERY PURPOSELY AND CONSCIOUSLY

MADE HIMSELF ENEMY NUMBER 1 OF U.S. --

INTERNATIONAL ENEMY NUMBER 1.

YOU COULD SAY HE WAS ASKING FOR IT,

MORE SO THAN ANY OTHER LEADER OF THE MANY,

MANY FOREIGN LEADERS WHOM THE U.S.

HAS ATTEMPTED TO ASSASSINATE.

THERE WASN'T ONE WHO CAME EVEN CLOSE

TO CHAVEZ IN ASKING FOR IT.

Narrator: ACCORDING WAYNE MADSEN, THE

A YEAR BEFORE CHAVEZ ANNOUNCED HE WAS SUFFERING FROM CANCER.

IN 2010, THE SECRETARY OF STATE,

WHO WAS HILLARY CLINTON, SENT OUT A MESSAGE

TO U.S. EMBASSIES, CONSULATES, AND MISSIONS

TO, AMONG OTHER THINGS, COLLECT DNA ON FOREIGN LEADERS.

NOW, DNA MEANS A BIOLOGICAL SAMPLE.

YOU CAN GET IT FROM HAIR,

FROM A TOOTHBRUSH, FROM A DRINKING GLASS.

Narrator: THANKS TO LEAKS FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT,

IT'S KNOWN THAT TARGETS FOR DNA PROFILING INCLUDED

MOST OF THE AMBASSADORS AT THE UNITED NATIONS,

AS WELL AS MANY AFRICAN LEADERS.

Madsen: ONE OF THE POSSIBLE REASONS

FOR THAT WAS TO CREATE DNA DESIGNER DISEASES,

BECAUSE IF KNOW WHAT SOMEBODY'S DNA IS,

YOU KNOW WHAT THEIR WEAKNESSES ARE, YOU KNOW ABOUT

THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEM OF THEIR OWN BODIES.

SO YOU'RE GONNA CREATE A CANCER WEAPON, POTENTIALLY,

THAT WILL ATTACK THE WEAK AREAS

OF THIS TARGET INDIVIDUAL'S BODY.

Narrator: THE CLAIM IS THAT THE STATE DEPARTMENT

ALSO TARGETED CHAVEZ.

AND BY KNOWING HIS DNA,

THE CIA WAS THEN ABLE TO DEVELOP A WEAPON

THAT WOULD CAUSE HIM TO DEVELOP A VIRULENT FORM OF CANCER.

BUT HOW WAS THE WEAPON DELIVERED?

OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE VARIOUS METHODS

YOU COULD USE TO DELIVER A TOXIN OR A POISON TO A TARGET.

AND THERE HAVE BEEN SUGGESTIONS THAT PERHAPS PRESIDENT CHAVEZ'S

UNDERPANTS WERE SOMEHOW LACED WITH SOME

SORT OF CANCER PATHOGEN THAT CAUSED A TUMOR.

Narrator: IF THE KILLER-UNDERPANTS

THEN IT EXPLAINS WHY THE CANCER

THAT KILLED HUGO CHAVEZ BEGAN IN HIS GROIN.

BUT WAYNE MADSEN IS CONVINCED THAT HUGO CHAVEZ

WAS NOT THE ONLY VICTIM OF THIS DEADLY FASHION.

Madsen: IN THE CASE OF HUGO CHAVEZ,

IN A SERIES OF LATIN AMERICAN LEADERS

WHO HAD BEEN TARGETED BY A CANCER WEAPON.

CANCER STRIKES MANY PEOPLE,

ALL AGES, ALL NATIONALITIES.

AND WE KNOW THAT,

BUT THE MERE FACT THAT AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME

THAT HUGO CHAVEZ DEVELOPED HIS SYMPTOMS,

WE HAD TWO PRESIDENTS OF BRAZIL --

FORMER PRESIDENT LULA, WHO WAS VERY CLOSE TO CHAVEZ,

HE DEVELOPED CANCER.

HIS SUCCESSOR, DILMA ROUSSEFF ALSO DEVELOPED CANCER.

Narrator: IN ALL, WAYNE CLAIMS THAT SEVEN

LATIN AMERICAN PRESIDENTS DEVELOPED CANCER

AT AROUND THE SAME TIME AS PRESIDENT CHAVEZ.

NOT SURPRISINGLY, THE IDEA THAT THIS CLUSTER OF CANCERS

IS EVIDENCE OF A CIA PLOT IS NOT ACCEPTED

BY MANY MAINSTREAM HISTORIANS.

WELL, PEOPLE GET CANCER, AND THEY GET IT

IN VERY RANDOM AND UNPREDICTABLE WAYS.

SO JUST BECAUSE THERE ARE SEVERAL

LATIN AMERICAN FIGURES WHO GET CANCER,

IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT, THEREFORE,

THE CIA GAVE THEM CANCER.

I THINK IT'S VERY HUMAN TO LOOK FOR PATTERNS

AND FOR REASON AND PURPOSES AND SPECIFIC VILLAINS,

RATHER THAN JUST ACCEPTING THAT RANDOM THINGS HAPPEN.

AND BAD THINGS HAPPEN, AND YOU CAN'T CONTROL THEM.

Narrator: FOR LYNETTE NUSBACHER,

THIS DESIRE TO FIND PATTERNS TO RANDOM EVENTS IS KEY

TO ALL CONSPIRACY THINKING.

Nusbacher: CONSPIRACY THEORIES MAKE SENSE OF THE PAST

BY CREATING A PLAUSIBLE PATTERN THAT CONNECTS EVENTS

THAT WE KNOW OF OR SUPPOSE IN A MEANINGFUL WAY.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES ARE WAY THAT WE CREATE

MEANING OUT OF THE CHAOS OF OUR LIVES

AND OF THE PAST.

Narrator: BUT FOR CONSPIRACISTS,

IT'S ALL ABOUT FINDING WHAT THEY CLAIM IS THE REAL TRUTH.