Posted on 04/17/2009 9:58:02 PM PDT by zaphod3000
Forty-eight years ago today, 1,500 Cuban exiles landed on the beach of a desolate area of Cuba's southern shore known to the locals as Bahia de Cochinos -- the Bay of Pigs.
Authorized by a young and inexperienced President John Kennedy -- who had been in office fewer than two months when he green-lighted the plan -- the Central Intelligence Agency had recruited and trained the exiles in the hopes that their landing would spark a nation-wide uprising.
But Kennedy's insistence on reducing the U.S. military role in the invasion, in the hope of maintaining plausible deniability, doomed to failure what had been a risky proposition from the start.
What followed over the next 72 hours remains to this day one of the greatest debacles in American history -- a disaster of epic proportion on the military, diplomatic, ideological, and humanitarian fronts.
Within three days, 200 rebels were dead -- killed at the hands of Fidel Castro's forces -- and 1,197 were captured.
President Kennedy -- who had declared just days before the invasion that the United States had no plans to invade Cuba -- was proven a liar before the world.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.cqpolitics.com ...
Don’t worry. I’m just waiting for the movie about Obama planning and executing the Navy Seal ops for the rescue of the ship captain.
The Cuban invasion force, the Tibetan army, and the Viet Nam counter insurgency.
In short order he dropped the Cubans onto the beach into the waiting arms of Castro's army. He abandoned the Tibetans to the Chinese, and he pulled Lansdale out of Viet Nam and “accidentally” assassinated Diem.
Kennedy was a disaster.
"President Kennedy -- who had declared just days before the invasion that the United States had no plans to invade Cuba -- was proven a liar before the world."
Of course that was the cover, to use non U.S. backed supporters, to hopefully maintain plausible denial.
Problem is...the do it all the time in portraying Repub leaders.
He may of had some problems, but all was completely overshadowed when he stood firm against the Soviets, that put this planet as close to total nuclear war, than many people probably realize.
During the missile crisis, off the coast of Cuba, Kennedy ordered one of our ships to depth charge a Soviet Sub....It was not known until much later, that submarine we were dropping depth charges on, was armed with nuclear missiles....It's reported a near brawl on board the Soviet sub broke out, over whether to launch or not. If they had, a total nuclear exchange would have taken place.
That close.
Just for the record, the CIA plan preceding the landings included B26 airstrikes on the Cuban airfields to eliminate the Cuban Air Force. After they had commenced but before these strikes were concluded, JFK canceled this phase of the operation. The Cuban Air Force had taken heavy losses but was not destroyed.
Consequently the half-dozen surviving Cuban fighters and bombers quickly eliminated each of the invasion transports before they had been unloaded of their heavy weapons, medical supplies, and the food and ammunition. And obviously with the transports sunk, there was no route of withdrawal.
The invasion was doomed before it even left port. And this was thanks to the White House.
And also for the record, the operation was planned by the Eisenhower Administration, not Kennedy. That however does not absolve Kennedy from its ultimate failure. I think the plan was doomed from the start.
I also don’t understand how they expected 1500 men to overthrow Castro. I know they expected to start a popular revolt (itself a dubious expectation), but when you’re invading from the sea and the enemy has the advantage to bring up reinforcements, you should expect high casulties on the beach.
You fail to mention Kennedy's removal of Jupiter IRBMs from Turkey and Italy in exchange for the Soviets removing their missiles from Cuba. That's a quid pro quo not standing firm.
No, what you fail to mention is we put those "guns" in Turkey pointed point blank, right at the Soviets head.
Lemme ask ya...If I have a gun pointed at your wife's head, and you have one pointed at my kids head, are you going drop your gun, or negotiate that we both drop them?
Take your time.
Kennedy withheld air support (I believe our Air Force, but if not, certainly U.S.-backed air support). That was what left those brave souls to be slaughtered on the beaches.
With minimal training, no air cover, no armor, no resupply, no avenue of escape, against an enemy who is entrenched and fighting on his home turf - what could possibly go wrong? I've never served in the military and even a piss ant arm chair general like me can see the issues with that plan. You have to wonder who actually planned that idiocy.
It was Eisenhower that originally went along with the CIA to get Cuban exiles to go up against Castro. It was Eisenhower that said it was U.S. government policy aid anti-Castro guerrilla forces.
What's up with that? We were not being attacked at the time, in addition to the fact that Cuba at that time was zero zip threat to the U.S.
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