Bay of Pigs Invasion A Story of Lies
... None of these operations, however, were as highly publicized and criticized as the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. The actual incident and failure of the invasion were not the only parts of the operation that posed controversy. ... The CIA and Kennedy’s Administration disregarded the constitution and the United States Foreign Policy in the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Before one can examine the actual Bay of Pigs incident, a historian must examine the events preceding the invasion. ... Without seeking or receiving permission from congress, a small CIA offshoot called the Western Hemisphere Division 4 (WH/4) began the task of preparing an invasion of Cuba and overthrowing of Castro. ... Once the WH/4 acquired some of this property, they worked alongside the Cuban Exile Organization to train Cuban exiles for the invasion. ... This “Special Group” (Wyden 24) called the 5412 Committee that was run under the National Security Council Directive, suggested and discussed plans with Dulles, Bissell, and Eisenhower regarding the neutralization of Fidel Castro and the invasion of Cuba. ... It interesting to note that the United States spent close to one million dollars on a propaganda campaign that solely distributed lies, tainted news, and other information that inflamed attitudes and instilled jingoistic feelings in the citizens. It is difficult to understand how the government justified using one million dollars to support lies and distortions of the truth. ... Radio Swan broadcasts were mostly exaggerations and blatant lies. ... This unconstitutional act accomplished the goal of getting Castro into a spot in which Kennedy could rush in and quickly make short work of Castro with a full-scale invasion and the overturning of the Castro Regime. ... Despite publicly denouncing military action against Cuba, Kennedy privately permitted the CIA to follow the four point plan that Eisenhower had ratified during his presidency, which was a plan to prepare for the invasion of, or war, against Cuba, Castro, and communism. During the Kennedy administration, the CIA continued to lure Cuban exiles to the United States where they could be trained for the invasion of Cuba. The luring and training of a Cuban exile invasion army was a way in which the United States could use the idea of plausible deniability to avoid all blame for a Cuban invasion. ... However, editors Lee Hills and George Beebe could not decide whether they should risk the nation’s security by printing the story. Eventually, Allen Dulles contacted the editors and requested that they not print the story because it would not be in the nation’s best interest. ... Once again, there was little American response until The New York Times picked up the story, publishing an article entitled “U. ... However, there was almost no American response to this breaking news about the American lies and deception of its population regarding the state of Cuba and the United States plans regarding Castro. ... Kennedy insisted that the plans be reworked, and the CIA managed to change the plans to invade Cuba in the Bay of Pigs at night, which severely decreased the chance of success for the operation. The plan was to capture the Bay of Pigs and set up a CIA trained Cuban government that would take over for the Castro Regime when the war was won. ... Kennedy also had more reason to worry about the attack because five days before the start of the invasion he gave a speech in which he stated: First, I want to say that there will not be, under any conditions, an intervention in Cuba by the United States Armed Forces. ... (4) While Kennedy was giving this speech, the troops he had authorized were gathering outside of the Bay of Pigs preparing to commence the illegal, undeclared war against Cuba and the Castro Regime. ... On April 15th the invasion began with United States’ B-26 bombers attacking Cuban airfields and the destruction of nearly half of Castro’s air force. ... However, the CIA’s cover story was not anywhere close to being plausible. ... This failed cover up on the CIA’s part was just one of the many lies that unraveled the truth about American involvement in the attack on Cuba. ... Late in the night on April 16th the Cuban forces assembled and began the war by invading the beaches of the Bay of Pigs. ... This was one of the biggest lies propagated by the United States because April 17th was the day that the Bay of Pigs invasion officially began. ... After the supposedly secret invasion of the Bay of Pigs, the United States was caught in a hole they had dug for themselves. ... After examining all of the facts regarding the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, one can see that the CIA and Kennedy’s administration were in fact guilty of disregarding the United States and the foreign policy. ... Even after the embarrassment from the Bay of Pigs fiasco, the CIA continued on with “Operation Mongoose” in which there were several attempts to assassinate Castro. ... The mantra that history always repeats itself has proven itself in the years following the Bay of Pigs invasion. ... However, one can only hope that the lies, unconstitutional behavior, violations of the foreign policy, and other distortions of the truth presented to the American public via the government manipulated media can come to an end before the United States encounters a result similar to that of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion.