19-08-2016, 05:09 AM
(This post was last modified: 19-08-2016, 05:39 AM by Rolf Zaeschmar.)
There is no way the 4000 or so Brigade members could have taken the fight all the way to Havana. I believe the original plan called for the airfield at the Bay of Pigs to be captured, the exile government to be flown in, where they would make radio broadcasts appealing for international aid. Thereupon the Marines would land, and do all the heavy lifting until Castro was killed or captured. Did JFK know of this? I doubt it. I think the CIA and Pentagon were confident they could force his hand in approving military aid once the landing had been made.
https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-2649299...ay-of-pigs
.... the CIA task force in charge of the paramilitary assault did not believe it could succeed without becoming an open invasion supported by the U.S. military. The assessment was part of a brief prepared for President-elect Kennedy that he never saw.
Anyway I don't believe there was ever any hard evidence that it was Kennedy who canceled the second round of airstrikes. Certainly when he appeared in front of thousands of Brigade members repatriated from Cuban prisons in a Miami stadium 18 months later, he received an enthusiastic welcome. In his book "Bay of Pigs," author Howard Jones traces the cancellation order to Deputy CIA head Charles Cabell, leaving open the possibility that the CIA sabotaged its own operation. I think what happened is that the President got wise to what the real plan of the CIA was, and told them again in no uncertain terms that US military involvement was not an option. The CIA guys then knew their plan was doomed, so they cancelled the other planned B-26 airstrikes, leading to a quick end for the Brigade. A little disaster being better than a big one.
https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-2649299...ay-of-pigs
.... the CIA task force in charge of the paramilitary assault did not believe it could succeed without becoming an open invasion supported by the U.S. military. The assessment was part of a brief prepared for President-elect Kennedy that he never saw.
Anyway I don't believe there was ever any hard evidence that it was Kennedy who canceled the second round of airstrikes. Certainly when he appeared in front of thousands of Brigade members repatriated from Cuban prisons in a Miami stadium 18 months later, he received an enthusiastic welcome. In his book "Bay of Pigs," author Howard Jones traces the cancellation order to Deputy CIA head Charles Cabell, leaving open the possibility that the CIA sabotaged its own operation. I think what happened is that the President got wise to what the real plan of the CIA was, and told them again in no uncertain terms that US military involvement was not an option. The CIA guys then knew their plan was doomed, so they cancelled the other planned B-26 airstrikes, leading to a quick end for the Brigade. A little disaster being better than a big one.