“FEB 9, 1961: Admiral [Robert L.] Dennison, Commander-in-Chief, [United States] Atlantic [Fleet], meets with the President [John F. Kennedy] and asks him if the Navy needs to prepare for any possible bail-out operations. The President responds definitely no, that if anything went wrong the force would fade into the hinterland…” “The Bay of Pigs Invasion/Playa […]
Tag: quotes
2/8/1961
“FEB 8, 1961: In a memo to the President [John F. Kennedy], McGeorge Bundy [National Security Adviser] highlights the difference of opinion on the Cuba operation between the State Department, and CIA and Defense: Defense and CIA now feel quite enthusiastic about the invasion from Guatemala. At worst, they think the invaders would get into […]
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] […]
2/4/1961
“FEB 4 and 6, 1961: President [John F.] Kennedy writes to Security Adviser [McGeorge] Bundy inquiring whether the sharp differences of opinion on the Cuban operation have been settled, and two days later asks again whether the differences between the departments of State and Defense and the CIA have been resolved. The President asks if […]
2/3/1961
“FEB 3, 1961: The Joint Chiefs of Staff [JCS] approve JCSM 57-61, the Military Evaluation of the CIA Para-Military Plan for Cuba and forward it to Defense Secretary [Robert] McNamara. The evaluation concludes that ‘since the Cuban Army is without experience in coordinated offensive action, the invasion force should be able to successfully resist the […]
2/1/1961
“FEB 1-5, 1961: In another act of sabotage, a tobacco warehouse burns down in Cuba; losses are estimated at 12 million pesos. Three bombs explode in Havana and one in Santa Clara. Three people are arrested for the Havana bombings…” “The Bay of Pigs Invasion/Playa Giron: A Chronology of Events,” The National Security Archive, NSArchive2.gwu.edu […]
1/30/1961
“JAN 30, 1961: …Jake Esterline [CIA specialist] attends a briefing given by Colonel Jack Hawkins [US Marine Corps] and members of the [deleted] PM Section to Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, Admiral Wright, General Bull, and General Barnes in preparation for the January 32 briefing of designees of the Chairman of the JCS [Joint Chiefs […]
1/28/1961
“JAN 28, 1961: [President John F.] Kennedy receives his first briefing as President on the Cuban operation in a meeting attended by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy, CIA Director [Allen W.] Dulles, General [Lyman] Lemnitzer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of […]
1/27/1961
“[January 27, 1961] Sherman Kent, chairman of the CIA’s Board of National Estimates, sends Allen Dulles [Director of CIA] a secret memorandum entitled ‘Is Time on Our Side in Cuba?,’ concluding that [Fidel] Castro’s position in Cuba is likely to grow stronger rather than weaker as time goes on. The board, which does not know […]
1/25/1961
“JAN 25, 1961: President [John F.] Kennedy meets with the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the White House. According to a memorandum on the meeting, Gen. [Lyman] Lemnitzer [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff] tells the President that in light of the ‘shipment of heavy new military equipment from Czechoslovakia-30,000 tons or more-clandestine forces […]