one of my favorite scenes in a movie is in casablanca, when claude reins character, cpt. renault is in the ricks casino and says "im shocked, shocked to find gambling going on here" and just then the croupier hands him his winnings and he thanks him.. well, i am shocked, shocked to find that a kennedy did something as scummy as this!!! this is one of those things we always knew but didnt have "proof"..

If Kennedy knew beforehand that the Bay of Pigs was going to fail, it was because he had made up his mind to do everything in his power to make it fail, which he did. In any list of the Worst American Presidents for Cuba, Kennedy would capture top honors. His predecessor, Eisenhower, would come in second, as his State Department installed Castro in power. Third would be Theodore Roosevelt, who established a protectorate in Cuba under the Platt Admendment when a Congressional Joint Resolution had declared in 1898 that "Cuba was and of right ought to be independent." Teddy also named his dog "Cuba." If anyone is interested, I will continue the list. By the way, the best U.S. President for Cuba would be Lyndon Baines Johnson. Look at your feet and where they are planted and you'll know why Johnson holds that distinction.

Hey how's it going everyone. I'm new here but I just thought I'd comment because I'd like to see your point of view. If Kennedy thought the bay of pigs was going to fail why did he go though with it? As far as I understand from reading about it the bay of pigs was a P.R. disaster for the United States. A couple of servicemen lost their lives because he didn't provide air support and it made him look like an asshole to the rest of the world as well as making Castro look like the good guy. That doesn't sound like the goal of a military operation against a country that you declare hostile whether it's a covert operation or not.

I read the Herald article this morning - I was struck by its lack of context, but then it's a newspaper story, not a history book.
It fails to consider that the Brigade accomplished what it set out to do - initially. The Brigade did, in fact, capture the beach head. It did capture the airfield. It held enough defendable territory for the exile government to land.
However, for the Brigade to be successful, fidel's small air force (a few B26s and two T-33 jets) had to be knocked out by the Brigade's planes before the landing, and it was those planes that Kennedy stopped. The two T-33 jets were able to prevent the Brigade from unloading the rest of its supplies from ships, particularly ammunition, and kept the Brigade's air transports from being able to use the captured air field for resupply.
I don't know how this failure could have been anticipated - unless the powers that be planned that far in advance to stop the Brigade airstrikes.
The article says one of the history volumes is declassified and seems to say it's available on the Internet, however it doesn't give a URL (old media). It will be interesting to read this more in depth.

"By the way, the best U.S. President for Cuba would be Lyndon Baines Johnson."

But wasn't it LBJ who made the Dominican and Costa Rican governments shut down bases where Cuban counter-revolutionaries were training?

One of the reasons for kaSStro's survival, this long, has been his ability to judge his enemies, determine who is a real threat and who is not, and take necessary action based on the threat assessment. A childhood friend, whose uncle, Juan Orta, was kaSStro's personal secretary at the beginning of the revolutionary period, relayed a story from his uncle which is quite revealing.

On the eve of the 1960 US presidential election, a meeting was held somewhere in Havana, where Orta took minutes. kaSStro and all his "high" hierarchy were present. kaSStro's comment regarding the significance of the election was reportedly as follows:

"If Nixon wins, the revolution is lost...but if Kennedy wins, the revolution will have an opportunity to survive..."

Lyndon Johnson is the reason we are all here. He signed the Cuban Resettlement Act (1965) which made it possible for more than one million Cubans to find refuge in America. He came to Liberty Island to sign it into law, and declared with the Statue of Liberty in the background, that "When the earliest settlers poured into a wild continent there was no one to ask them where they came from. The only question was: were they sturdy enough to make the journey, were they strong enough to clear the land, were they daring enough to make a home for freedom, and were they brave enough to die for liberty if it became necessary to do so? It is in that spirit that I DECLARE TO THE PEOPLE OF CUBA THAT THOSE WHO SEEK REFUGE IN AMERICA WILL FIND IT -- the dedication of America to our traditions as an asylum for the oppressed is going to be upheld."

The Texan who occupies the White House today could learn a great deal from this original Texan. George Bush II, however, prefers to copy Bill Clinton when it comes to dealing with Cuban fugitives from injustice.

And LBJ was right to! And I'm glad he did! And the US is better for it. But I seem to remember that when I was a kid that there were training camps in the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, and it seems to me that LBJ twisted some arms to get them shut down.

I wonder why he would, on the one hand, welcome refugees with open arms, but on the other hand attempt to prevent people from taking the island back. Did it have to do with the deal JFK made with Khrushchev to take the missiles away?

And I also wish that the US would accept Cuban refugees found on the seas, and not only the ones that make it to shore.

We should do better than that, we should open our borders to Cubans, special background checks provided by hand picked members of the Miami Mafia and then go clean up the Island and give it back to the people. Yes, a real revolution and it should have happened 45 years ago.

Remember, bibliotecario, that President Johnson liberated the Dominican Republic from Communist control in 1965. And you have answered your own question regarding the Kennedy-Khruschev Pact: it was Kennedy who pledged the United States to be the guarantor of Communism in Cuba in perpetuity. Johnson was kept out of the loop on that decision and every important decision taken by the Kennedy administration. It is inconceivable that a man of honor--which Johnson was and Kennedy was not--would have accepted quietly the betrayal of the Bay of Pigs or the capitulation to the Soviets in the Missile Crisis. The Kennedy brothers kept him in the dark because they knew he was not like them. Johnson proved it when he became president.

Right you are, M.A.T. To me, LBJ has always been a bit of an enigma. I've never been able to figure the guy out to my satisfaction. He throws half a million soldiers at the viet cong, but hires ramsey clark as attorney general. But I think you're right, Johnson would not have done the same deal JFK did.

And Kathleen - Why not? I wonder how many would come. Any guesses?

Thank you, Mora. I appreciate the kind words.

Well I reviewed this Article and if you ever had to go Court here in the USA on the flimsy evidence that Kennedy was told(doomed operation) the Judge would tossed it out of his/her courtroom. I ask; what, when and by who/whom(exactly) was Kennedy informed that the operation was doomed to failure? We have reviewed this article(3 attornies)and from the evidence we saw in writing, not even an indictment would have been handed down. Little wonder they wanted to keep this article hidden in the Box! Too Funny!

el bibliotecario - How many? I can only guess, but based on history and the waiting list? It would be clear to the world that the beast is not the "elected" leader of the Cuban people.

Would that CIA document be public domain now? I mean it should be published in html for easy reading. Is it allowed to do this freely?

Mr. Mora, on your comment "Worst of all, JFK knew very well that the operation would fail and went ahead and did it anyway"

Please, could you show us concretely where it says, or by witness(es)that now deceased Pres. Kennedy knew this Operation would fail? We have reviewed this newly released article and cannot SEE anywhere where Kennedy was informed of this. It fails to meet the test of when, what, how, by whom.Please enlighten us and be VERY specific on your sources; cut and paste your sources here for our viewing pleasure and put the matter to rest once and for all. Thanks. Mike

Kennedy didn't know the operation would fail, but he insured that it would. He betrayed not just the Cuban people, but the very principles of liberty upon which this nation was founded. He was the most incompetent naval officer ever produced by the US, and the most incompetent president ever elected, even worse than Clinton. He was a philandering scumbag who couldn't keep his hands off of girls long enough to do anything right, and he was the first president to use the American military against the American people. He was a traitor to everything this country stands for. I don't know who was behind his assassination, but I don't care, I just wish they had done it before the 1960 election.

Lyndon Johnson told his biographer Doris Kearns on several occasions that it was Fidel Castro who put the hit on Kennedy, and Johnson should know.

Well, if Castro did it, I only wish he hadn't taken so long. I just finished reading Fidel, by Humberto Fontova, and I still feel sick. Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy all failed miserably, and an entire nation has been enslaved for half a century because of their timidity, incompetence, and corruption. I hope they all have to share a bunk in hell with Castro.

Sadly, the politicians(both parties) play the Cuban Exiles like a Bad Fiddle. They show up at Election time and bla bla bla hasta los codos and after the Election? Hasta la Vista Baby! Sad but true! 2004 was no different! The Bitter Truth be told, is that if CUBA Had meaningful Fields of OIL, He(castro) would have been gone 40 years ago. Why do you think Saddam is gone?? One word-Oil! If Mr. Bush was seriously interested in Liberating an Oppressed group of People(as he claims about Iraq) He FIRST would have went and liberated the Cuban people, only 90 miles off our shores,enslaved by Fidel for over 40 years!! What is the old saying, "Always clean up your own neighborhood first" No es la Verdad? Our Family, ALL from the Working Class, support Politicians who Effect Meaningful Legislation that enchances our lives. I ask you, as far as anti-discrimination laws, Voting Rights, Social Security, Medicare, Cuban Freedom Act of 1967, Operation Pedro Pan, Mariel Boatlift, Family Friendly Leave act, Labor Law and pension benfits(and guarentee), The FDIC(federal agency that guarentees your Bank savings up to $100,000)the GI Bill for Veterans---what party has enacted these Bills that enchance the life of the American Worker? These Benefits are enjoyed by Many Cuban/American Citizens Daily here in Miami. I know,I have many of them as Patients and visit them Daily. Sincerely, Mike, Military Veteran(65-69 VietNam Era) Merchant Marine Veteran 1979-1987(Military sealift Command Pacific) My Papi always told me, After the Fight, when the Dust clears and the shouting dies down, never forget who butters your Bread. And I haven't!!

"Lyndon Johnson told his biographer Doris Kearns on several occasions that it was Fidel Castro who put the hit on Kennedy, and Johnson should know"

You very well may be correct; the only thing for sure I know is true is that I have not been told the Truth by my Goverment! That Oliver Stone Movie, JFK, may have contained more truth then many want to admit, regardless of how you feel about the producer. As far as I am concerned, I still have not seen the indisputable proof, the "Smoking Gun" if you will, as to all that transpired in the leadup to the actual Bay of Pigs Invasion. All that is out there are theories. Can't win in court on "Fuzzy Evidence"!

Yes Mike, it's all about oil, and nothing else. In fact, all the world's problems can be expressed in such simple one dimensional terms, because things like support for terrorism and development of weapons of mass destruction are irrelevant, and as you said, it's all about the oil. I wish I lived in a world where things were so simple.