Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

This is an interesting exchange between me and Dr. Thomas Halle concerning the brainwashing of Marina Oswald.

Ralph, I don't think that Marina was "part of the cabal." She was highly pressured to change her initial testimony (e.g., to the effect that she'd never seen Oswald with a rifle)..and they "sweetened the deal" with substantial cash payments, over time. Of course, there was also the real possibility of her losing her residency status, and being tossed out of the country.

Dr. Halle

You're right. That was poorly phrased. Marina did not join the cabal. But, you have studied Psychology more than I have, and they did something to affect her mind. They told her things which she incorporated as her own experience, which became part of her own memory, as though she had lived it.  I don't know precisely what they did, except that it had to be advanced mind control methods. 

What I suspect they did was tell her that she was in shock, and that her mind was playing tricks on her because of the trauma she experienced. They may have told her that she was suffering from amnesia, and they were going to help her get her memory back, and it would be through repetition, and by her absorbing as many details as possible. So, before long, she got it in her head that Oswald owned a rifle; that Oswald shot at General Walker; that Oswald posed for the Backyard photos which she took; that Oswald went to Mexico City - all of it false. It was a period of time in which she was immersed with and surrounded by people who were 100% into the paradigm that they were instilling in her about Oswald. They were all reinforcing it too. And, she just surrendered to it. It was the path of least resistance.  And you can think of it like a religious conversion, like a person getting drawn into a cult, where they start believing the cult's dogma, and they look to the cult for answers- about everything.  I suppose that the common word for it is "brainwashing." I believe the record shows that she had no contact with anyone in Russia during that time, and she had no contact with anyone with whom she had contact with when Lee was alive. In other words, there was no one pulling her the other way, back to reality- the reality of what really happened. Marina first testified to the Warren Commission in late February, so just 3 months after the assassination. But, I assure you that if they felt she needed more time, more conditioning, they would have given it to her. Marina Oswald was, by far, the most damaging witness against Lee Harvey Oswald. No one else came close. And I have to wonder if it was in the works before the assassination. They must have done a psychological appraisal of her, as best they could, beforehand. They must have had a sense about how malleable and impressionable she was. They took her into custody immediately. She did spend one more night at Ruth Paine's house, the night of the 22nd, but I wouldn't be surprised if they had a cop there the whole night. And, she was in complete custody before Oswald was killed. She was under lock and key before he died. Most likely, it was all planned in advance.    

Ralph