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General Patton was assassinated to silence his criticism of allied war leaders claims new book
The Telegraph ^ | 12/20/2008 | Tim Shipman in Washington

Posted on 12/20/2008 6:04:53 PM PST by bruinbirdman

The newly unearthed diaries of a colourful assassin for the wartime Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the CIA, reveal that American spy chiefs wanted Patton dead because he was threatening to expose allied collusion with Russians that cost American lives.


'We've got a terrible situation with this great patriot, he's out of control and we must save him from himself'.
The OSS head General did not trust Patton

The death of General Patton in December 1945, is one of the enduring mysteries of the war era. Although he had suffered serious injuries in a car crash in Manheim, he was thought to be recovering and was on the verge of flying home.

But after a decade-long investigation, military historian Robert Wilcox claims that OSS head General "Wild Bill" Donovan ordered a highly decorated marksman called Douglas Bazata to silence Patton, who gloried in the nickname "Old Blood and Guts".

His book, "Target Patton", contains interviews with Mr Bazata, who died in 1999, and extracts from his diaries, detailing how he staged the car crash by getting a troop truck to plough into Patton's Cadillac and then shot the general with a low-velocity projectile, which broke his neck while his fellow passengers escaped without a scratch.

Mr Bazata also suggested that when Patton began to recover from his injuries, US officials turned a blind eye as agents of the NKVD, the forerunner of the KGB, poisoned the general.

Mr Wilcox told The Sunday Telegraph that when he spoke to Mr Bazata: "He was struggling with himself, all these killings he had done. He confessed to me that he had caused the accident, that he was ordered to do so by Wild Bill Donovan.

"Donovan told him: 'We've got a terrible situation with

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Government; Russia
KEYWORDS: assassinated; assassination; assassinationplot; bookreview; criticism; espionage; generalpatton; georgepatton; georgespatton; georgespattonjr; godsgravesglyphs; june5th1944; oldbloodandguts; oss; pages; patton; pleasedtomeetyou; silence; usarmy; wwii
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To: petro45acp

The movie and the novel it was based on long pre-dated these interviews. I think the storyteller just borrowed a tall tale for the gullible writer.


41 posted on 12/20/2008 6:30:57 PM PST by buwaya
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To: Captain Peter Blood

Thanks! I think I have seen it.. ya never know, huh? :-]


42 posted on 12/20/2008 6:32:01 PM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed)
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To: Texas Fossil

Rumors of this have floated for years.

This isn’t really news, just news to some people.


43 posted on 12/20/2008 6:32:05 PM PST by Eagle Eye (Libs- If you don't have to play the rules then neither do we...THINK ABOUT IT!)
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To: Leisler

In the movie, the assassin used a rubber projectile which looked like a random bushing approximately two inches in diameter, propelled by gasoline vapor. Any forensics performed on the projectile would suggest a part of the vehicle.

cheers


44 posted on 12/20/2008 6:32:11 PM PST by petro45acp (Hunkered down in occupied Virginia!)
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To: DemforBush

I don’t remember it being very good. Just memorable.


45 posted on 12/20/2008 6:32:18 PM PST by buwaya
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To: tired1
FDR wouldn’t allow such a thing.

FDR died in April. Patton died in December.

Doubtful FDR was involved.

46 posted on 12/20/2008 6:32:50 PM PST by Sherman Logan (Everyone has a right to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.)
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To: bruinbirdman

From Coast to Coast past shows...

Saturday December 13th, 2008
Assassination of General Patton
Investigative journalist Robert Wilcox provided startling new evidence that shows General George S. Patton was assassinated. According to Wilcox, the powers that be in the United States (and perhaps even in the USSR) regarded Patton as a “loose cannon.”...
Host: Ian Punnett


47 posted on 12/20/2008 6:33:19 PM PST by SpaceBar
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To: Captain Peter Blood

I think its a case of an imagination that wasn’t quite vivid enough, so that a story idea had to come from someone elses story.

I.e., this is a case of plagiarism.


48 posted on 12/20/2008 6:33:59 PM PST by buwaya
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To: bruinbirdman
Patton was a great American Hero, a real man, never pandered to the politicos, and hated the Russians.

This story does not surprise me in the least and I don't wear a tinfoil hat.

There are scores of stories from the past about governments behaving in a disreputable manner behind the scenes to forward their own ends. The Lusitania deal is just another example.

49 posted on 12/20/2008 6:34:33 PM PST by ZULU (Non nobis, non nobis Domine, sed nomini tuo da gloriam. God, guts and guns made America great.)
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To: bruinbirdman

Sounds like an interesting story.

50 posted on 12/20/2008 6:34:58 PM PST by smokingfrog (I'll go green when they plant me in the ground.)
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To: M Kehoe
Great plot for a spy novel.

IIRC, the novel was The Algonquin Project which was made into the film Brass Target. I think this is the one I saw, but regardless I know I saw a film about the assassination of Patton sometime around 1980 and the assassin used a large rubber projectile to smash his spinal chord. I specifically remember the demo using a dummy, ala The Day Of The Jackel's mercury loaded hollow point 22 and a water melon.

51 posted on 12/20/2008 6:36:44 PM PST by Phsstpok (When you don't know where you are, but you don't care, you're not lost, you're exploring!)
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To: Cicero
Didn’t Ike stop Patten so the Soviet army could take Berlin?

And they lost over 100,000 men killed doing so.

As compared to 400,000 US troops dead in the entire war.

Let the Soviets have the capture of the capital of a defeated enemy. I'd rather have 100,000 live Americans.

52 posted on 12/20/2008 6:37:05 PM PST by Sherman Logan (Everyone has a right to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.)
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To: alloysteel

A Patton/MacArthur ticket in ‘48

Who knows what might have been?

In the olden days, Roman Generals

also served as Emperors..

Interesting


53 posted on 12/20/2008 6:37:35 PM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed)
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To: yarddog

Interesting guy.


54 posted on 12/20/2008 6:37:51 PM PST by patton (Vista malware delende est - Norton Antivirus)
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To: bruinbirdman

From Wikipedia:

“Patton spoke in front of the Burbank City Hall and at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. He wore his helmet with a straight line of stars, chest full of medals, and two ivory handle trademark pistols (not pearl, as is often incorrectly asserted). “


55 posted on 12/20/2008 6:38:35 PM PST by Old Seadog (Always do a little more than is expected, and someday .....it will be expected.)
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To: tired1

“Not possible: FDR wouldn’t allow such a thing.”

FDR admired Patton very much. Patton was in charge of FDR’s security at Casa Blanca. FDR was dead in April and the accident occured in Dec.


56 posted on 12/20/2008 6:39:19 PM PST by unkus
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To: alloysteel

1945, not 1944. In 1944 Patton was nowhere near Berlin.

Patton was stopped in 1944 because allied logistics were in trouble. It does no good to have a few divisions way out in front of everyone, out of support and with vulnerable supply lines. Its just asking for an annihilating counterattack.

And Pattons army was not on the line for the drive to Berlin in 1945, they were going south-east towards Austria and Czechoslovakia.

The article is full of questionable statements.


57 posted on 12/20/2008 6:39:52 PM PST by buwaya
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To: tired1

Not possible: FDR wouldn’t allow such a thing.”

Maybe not, but FDR was already dead in Dec. of ‘45 so he didn’t much to say about things.


58 posted on 12/20/2008 6:40:41 PM PST by beelzepug (the Gadsden flag is now flying in my front yard)
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To: PackerBoy
Only a pimp from Louisana would wear pearl...
59 posted on 12/20/2008 6:40:45 PM PST by GSP.FAN
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To: Phsstpok

1978, “Brass Target”

This is definitely the one. Identical scenario.


60 posted on 12/20/2008 6:42:03 PM PST by buwaya
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