Cuba and the Bay of Pigs

The story has been told many times. The Hispanic American Report, the journal of Stanford's Bolivar House, warned that the CIA was planning the Bay of Pige invasion and that it was a horrible miscalculation. This was denied by those who should have known but did not, including Adlai Stevenson, a member of Kennedy's cabinet and U.S. representative at the United Nations. While this reinforced the reputation of the "Hispanic American Report" as the most reliable source of information on Latin America, it resulted in the closing of the journal, the most blatant violation of Stanford's "winds of freedom."
Now there is another twist: Richard Holbrook, famous now for his role as mediator in Bosnia, was on the Cuban watch of the National Security Council at the time of the Bay of Pigs. He admits ruefully that he did not know about the plan and denied it existed. In other words, two top intelligence agencies were not talking to one another, even though the Central Intelligence Agency was set up to coordinate intelligence--hence the name.
The situation is better now, but I am wondering about the Middle East. Some Washington officials seem to be living in a dream world--or perhaps they are just putting on an act.
Ronald Hilton, 12-16-97

Re: Cuba and the Bay of Pigs

In response to my memo on the Bay of Pigs, General Robert Gard , President Emeritus of the Monterey Association of International Studies, who has had a distinguished military and academic career, writes to justify the secrecy of covert actions. I will not go into the wisdom of covert actions, getting involved in the domestic politics of another country, or backing an armed invasion. The issue here is "secrecy." The simple truth is that the Bay of Pigs was what in Spanish is called un secreto a voces. When I arrived in Guatemala, everyone was talking about the camp at Retaluleu and the planned invasion of Cuba. It was in the press, on television, and the Vice-President of Guatemala and others were loudly protesting against it. Clearly Castro knew all about it. The news was not known in the U.S. simply because the local stringers had been bribed.
I withdraw my statement that the end of the Hispanic American Report was the worst violation of Stanford's "Winds of Freedom" principle. That honor still goes to the famous Ross case, concerning which I had yesterday a good conversation with Norman Tutorow, who is uniquely well informed about the history of Stanford. His new book on Leland Stanford, when published, should enjoy a wide circulation.
Ronald Hilton, 12-18-97