POL SCI 164A Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Cuban Revolutionary Air And Air Defense Force, Cuban Exile, Escambray Mountains
30 Apr 2018
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PS164A Reading
Groupthink
CH 2: A Perfect Failure - The Bay of Pigs
Janis
- Failure: attempt to place small brigade of Cuban exiles secretly on a beachhead
in Cuba with aim of throwing the Castro government
- Mask the fact of American orchestration
- Kennedy administration briefed on the proposal originally put forth by Nixon as a
full scale invasion
- Deliberations led to a few modifications of details
- Early April 1961, all key advisors approved the CIA plan
- Nothing went as planned
- None of the four ships with reserve ammunition and supplies arrived
- First two sunk by planes in Castro’s air force
- Other two fled
- Brigade surrounded by twenty thousand troops of the army on day 2
- Twelve hundred of the brigade (almost all who had not been killed) were
captured and led off to prison camps on day 3
- Catastrophic fallout and international condemnation
- Core members of the advisory group qualified to make objective analyses of the
pros and cons of alternative courses of action on vital issues of government
policy
- Including the political consequences of the proposed invasion
- Shrewd thinkers, capable of objective, rational analysis, and accustomed
to speaking their minds
- 6 assumptions made - all wrong
- 1. No one will know U.S. involvement, most will believe the CIA cover
story and it would easy to refute the skeptics
- Because no American personnel involved, only the Cuban exiles
and dissidents
- Never discussed possibility of a leak
- 2. Cuban air force is so ineffectual that it can be knocked out completely
before the invasion begins
- Plan began with surprise attack by American bombers to destroy
air force from the ground, before the invaders moved in
- Did happen, but only a small percentage of planes were
destroyed
- Air force actually powerful and efficient
Document Summary
Ch 2: a perfect failure - the bay of pigs. Fail re: a emp o place small brigade of c ban exiles secre ly on a beachhead in c ba wi h aim of hrowing he cas ro governmen . Kennedy adminis ra ion briefed on he proposal originally p for h by nixon as a f ll scale invasion. Delibera ions led o a few modifica ions of de ails. Early april 1961, all key advisors approved he cia plan. None of he fo r ships wi h reserve amm ni ion and s pplies arrived. Firs wo s nk by planes in cas ro"s air force. Brigade s rro nded by wen y ho sand roops of he army on day 2. Twelve h ndred of he brigade (almos all who had no been killed) were cap red and led off o prison camps on day 3.
