09-10-2012, 10:18 PM
Phil,
IMO, the "plan" unbeknownst to JFK was insidious: Allow the anti-Castro Cubans to become pinned on the beach by Castro's forces.
This was insured by Bundy delaying the pre-dawn airstrikes until after Brigade 2506 had landed on the beach thus alerting the
remainder of the small Castro Air Force, who then went airborne, disallowing their own destruction while still on the ground. This
was in direct opposition to Kennedy's last standing order. The gambit was simple: The Agency and the JCS were convinced that
the former Captain of PT-109, the same man who wrote Profiles in Courage, the same JFK who refused to leave any of his crew
behind and literally swam with the strap from one guy's life preserver clenched between his own teeth as he tugged him to safety,
they were certain that his will would be broken during crunch time when the reports of these men being pinned down came in. They
believed that only under such dire circumstances could they break him and force his hand to do their bidding by launching an all out
invasion, thus breaking International Law.
To accomplish this they needed to provide him with an "easy" alternative to the plan that they had "misconceived" once it went awry.
So they maneuvered the USS Essex close enough to make it the "go to" military bail out for the anti-Castro Cubans for whose cause
Kennedy was sympathetic. Never mind that such an act risked the eastern seaboard by pulling that carrier off of its current mission:
submarine watch. Never mind that employing the use of US military personnel and/or equipment violated NSC Directive 54/12 and
very likely could have sparked a Soviet reaction in Berlin thus creating an even more dangerous situation than that which we already
were facing.
They thought he was dangerous. They were intent on breaking him early in his first term. They miscalculated.
Then they attempted to throw him under the bus by blaming him for the fiasco. Of course, Kennedy being somewhat of a Truman
"The buck stops here" president, would have nothing to do with shirking his responsibility in the whole matter, and rightfully, took full
responsibility for it. Truth be told: JFK was bamboozled by the Intelligence Community and the military. His own "Best and Brightest"
whiz kids were completely outmatched, and some--one at the very least--appear to be complicit.
IMO, the "plan" unbeknownst to JFK was insidious: Allow the anti-Castro Cubans to become pinned on the beach by Castro's forces.
This was insured by Bundy delaying the pre-dawn airstrikes until after Brigade 2506 had landed on the beach thus alerting the
remainder of the small Castro Air Force, who then went airborne, disallowing their own destruction while still on the ground. This
was in direct opposition to Kennedy's last standing order. The gambit was simple: The Agency and the JCS were convinced that
the former Captain of PT-109, the same man who wrote Profiles in Courage, the same JFK who refused to leave any of his crew
behind and literally swam with the strap from one guy's life preserver clenched between his own teeth as he tugged him to safety,
they were certain that his will would be broken during crunch time when the reports of these men being pinned down came in. They
believed that only under such dire circumstances could they break him and force his hand to do their bidding by launching an all out
invasion, thus breaking International Law.
To accomplish this they needed to provide him with an "easy" alternative to the plan that they had "misconceived" once it went awry.
So they maneuvered the USS Essex close enough to make it the "go to" military bail out for the anti-Castro Cubans for whose cause
Kennedy was sympathetic. Never mind that such an act risked the eastern seaboard by pulling that carrier off of its current mission:
submarine watch. Never mind that employing the use of US military personnel and/or equipment violated NSC Directive 54/12 and
very likely could have sparked a Soviet reaction in Berlin thus creating an even more dangerous situation than that which we already
were facing.
They thought he was dangerous. They were intent on breaking him early in his first term. They miscalculated.
Then they attempted to throw him under the bus by blaming him for the fiasco. Of course, Kennedy being somewhat of a Truman
"The buck stops here" president, would have nothing to do with shirking his responsibility in the whole matter, and rightfully, took full
responsibility for it. Truth be told: JFK was bamboozled by the Intelligence Community and the military. His own "Best and Brightest"
whiz kids were completely outmatched, and some--one at the very least--appear to be complicit.
GO_SECURE
monk
"It is difficult to abolish prejudice in those bereft of ideas. The more hatred is superficial, the more it runs deep."
James Hepburn -- Farewell America (1968)
monk
"It is difficult to abolish prejudice in those bereft of ideas. The more hatred is superficial, the more it runs deep."
James Hepburn -- Farewell America (1968)