The Bay of Pigs by Zen Luckowski

The Bay of Pigsby Zen Luckowski

“For I am convinced that we in this country and in the free world possess the necessary resource, and the skill, and the added strength that comes from a belief in the freedom of man. And I am equally convinced that history will record the fact that this bitter struggle reached its climax in the late 1950's and the early 1960's Let me then make dear as the President of the United States that I am determined upon our system's survival and success, regardless of the cost and regardless of the peril!”

John F. Kennedy, Bay of Pigs Invasion Speech, ,Aril 20, 1961

• When JFK took office in 1961 he supported the CIA’s plan to conduct a counter revolution to depose Fidel Castro as a socialist leader of Cuba (CIA, 2011).

• The US underestimated Fidel Castro’s connection with The Soviet Union and the counter revolutionary forces failed, further empowering Fidel Castro.

• The US-backed overthrow of the Cuban government failed and the US imposed economic sanctions which have remained for the past 50 years.

The Bay of Pigs1. The Historical Event

The Bay of Pigs2. Background to the Crisis

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• In January 1959 Fidel Castro and Che Guevera were responsible for brining a socialist revolution to Cuba, which concerned the United States.

• This revolution was very troubling to the Eisenhower Administration because they were concerned for the United States' sugar, banking, and tourist interest (Tart, 2010).

• Eisenhower directed the CIA to come up with a plan to overthrow Fidel Castro using Cuban counter revolutionary forces.

There were not many options for JFK to use since the Eisenhower Administration had already decided that communism must be overthrown in Cuba, an idea that JFK supported in his presidential election campaign.

The options were:

1. To maintain the plan of the Eisenhower Administration and support the counter insurgency.

2. To not support the idea of the Eisenhower Administration and to not support the counter insurgency therefore allowing communism to exist close to the U.S.

The Bay of Pigs3. The Options

• JFK decided to chose the option to support the Cuban counter insurgency.

• The U.S. approved $1,700,000 for the operation (Braudel, 2011).

• There was no opposition to the idea because the plan was already made. Prior to his administration. Also, the administration thought it was a good idea because it had already worked in other countries such as Guatemala and Iran.

The Bay of Pigs4. The Decision

• The failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion made Kennedy appear weak, inexperienced, indecisive, and the Soviet Premier, Nikita Khruschev, tried to capitalize on the youthful American president’s failings (Craghwell).

• Four months after the invasion Khruschev began building the Wall to divide Communist East Berlin from West Berlin (Craghwell).

• Less than a year later Khruschev and Castro planned to install nuclear missiles on the island of Cuba only ninety miles from the United States - a decision that precipitated the Cuban Missile Crisis and brought the world to the brink of nuclear war (Craughwell).

The Bay of Pigs5. The Result

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• Cuba is still a socialist country, but the Soviet Union no longer exists and the threat of communism is much diminished world wide.

• The Bay of Pigs further empowered Fidel Castro as a leader and Cuba as a country on the world stage.

• For the last 50 years Cuba has not attacked nor made any threats towards the U.S.

• So the bay of Pigs was an unnecessary approach to solve a problem that we now know would have solved itself.

The Bay of Pigs6. Hindsight

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1. Braudel, F. (2011). History of Cuba: invasion of the Bay of Pigs. Retrieved from http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/baypigs/pigs3.htm.

2. Central Intelligence Agency. (2011). Bay of Pigs release. Retrieved from http://www.foia.cia.gov/bay_of_pigs.asp.

3. Craughwell, T. (2009, January 20). Kennedy’s failure at the Bay of Pigs: top 10 mistakes by U.S. presidents. London, UK: Encyclopedia Britannica Blog.

4. Targ, H. (2010, April 19). Decades of foreign policy folly: Cuba and the Bay of Pigs invasion. Retrieved from http://theragblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/bay-of-pigs-invasion-blows-up-in.html.

The Bay of PigsWorks Cited