2/7/1961

“FEB 7, 1961: Officials of the Departments of State and Defense, the White House, and the CIA meet to discuss the ‘Agency Plan’ and the ‘JCS [Joint Chiefs of Staff] evaluation.’ According to a memo on the meeting, ‘while the soundness of the plan itself [is] at no time questioned, a number of questions [are] raised.’ Specifically, the group discusses the ability of the strike force to reach the mountains from the landing site, the chances of a popular uprising in support of the invasion, the international political ramifications of the plan, and the need to introduce U.S. forces to ensure success. The group reaches no consensus on what course of action to recommend to the President [John F. Kennedy]. White House Adviser Richard Goodwin points out that the President has ‘made it quite clear that if there were unresolved differences of opinion of the, Cuban problem, the persons concerned should come to the President’s office and in his presence orally set forth their arguments for his consideration and eventual decision.’”

“The Bay of Pigs Invasion/Playa Giron: A Chronology of Events,” The National Security Archive, NSArchive2.gwu.edu