November 21

This Day in History

Also on This Day

Lead Story
Millions tune in to find out who shot J.R., 1980
American Revolution
Washington orders General Lee to New Jersey, 1776
Automotive
Holland Tunnel appears on the cover of Time, 1927
Civil War
Judah Benjamin becomes Confederate secretary of war, 1861
Cold War
Congressional report charges U.S. involvement in assassination plots, 1975
Crime
Oliver North starts feeding documents into the shredding machine, 1986
Disaster
Britannic sinks in Aegean Sea, 1916
General Interest
Men fly over Paris, 1783
Edison's first great invention, 1877
Israeli spy arrested in United States, 1985
Hollywood
Rocky premieres, 1976
Literary
Voltaire's birthday, 1694
Music
Ella Fitzgerald wins Amateur Night at Harlem's Apollo Theater, 1934
Old West
Tom Horn is born in Missouri, 1860
Presidential
Lincoln allegedly writes to mother of Civil War casualties, 1864
Sports
USC ends Notre Dame winning streak, 1931
Vietnam War
Westmoreland tells media the communists are losing, 1967
U.S. force raids Son Tay prison camp, 1970
World War I
Emperor Franz Josef of Austria dies, 1916
World War II
Nazi chief architect requests POWs to labor for a new Berlin, 1941

Cold War

Nov 21, 1975:

Congressional report charges U.S. involvement in assassination plots

Previous Day November 21 Calendar Next Day

A Senate committee issues a report charging that U.S. government officials were behind assassination plots against two foreign leaders and were heavily involved in at least three other plots. The shocking revelations suggested that the United States was willing to go to murderous levels in pursuing its Cold War policies.
The Senate Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, chaired by Senator Frank Church, alleged that U.S. officials instigated plots to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Patrice Lumumba of the Congo. In addition, the U.S. officials "encouraged or were privy to" plots that led to the assassinations of Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam, General Rene Schneider of Chile, and Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic. The attempts against Castro failed, but the other four leaders were killed. There was also evidence suggesting U.S. involvement in a number of other assassination plots against foreign leaders.
The committee indicated that it had no specific evidence that an American president ever authorized an assassination. However, it went on to declare that "whether or not the President in fact knows about the assassination plots, and even if their subordinates failed in their duty of full disclosure, it still follows that the President should have known about the plots." The Central Intelligence Agency came in for special condemnation for its efforts to recruit Mafia hit men to kill Castro and mercenaries to assassinate Lumumba. In the report's conclusion, the committee declared that, "We condemn the use of assassination as a tool of foreign policy [and] find that assassination violates moral precepts fundamental to our way of life."
President Gerald Ford criticized the decision to release the report, claiming that it would do "grievous damage to our country" and would be used by "groups hostile to the United States in a manner designed to do maximum damage to the reputation and foreign policy of the United States."

Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!

Previous Day November 21 Calendar Next Day

This Week in History, Nov 21 - Nov 27

Nov 21, 1975
Congressional report charges U.S. involvement in assassination plots
Nov 22, 1963
Kennedy assassinated
Nov 23, 1981
Reagan gives CIA authority to establish the Contras
Nov 24, 1947
"Hollywood 10" cited for contempt of Congress
Nov 25, 1947
London Council of Foreign Ministers meeting begins
Nov 26, 1950
Chinese counterattacks in Korea change nature of war
Nov 27, 1954
Alger Hiss released from prison

Related Topics

What Happened on Your Birthday?

Pick a Date

Editor’s Picks

Bio.com

  • On This Day

    On This Day

    Read about notable birthdays and celebrity deaths at On This Day.

Shop HISTORY

See More