BAY OF PIGS Essay

The Cuban Missile Crisis forever marked 1962 as the year the world almost witnessed a nuclear war. The Soviet Union, Cuba, and the United States were all teetering on the edge of a cliff that was crumbling from the weight of fear, tension, and secrecy. It also marked the official end of Americans innocent belief that they were safe in the glow of Lady Liberty’s torch. Yet amidst the dark shadow of nuclear threat one American president rose to this challenge and proved that peace through strength is the best strategy.

Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis- Believed the US was to weak to oppose Russian expansion to Cuba

The Bay of Pigs was a failed invasion by the United States to overthrow the communist government in Cuba run by the infamous Fidel Castro. The CIA-operated campaign attempted to use Cuban exiles as a Guerilla army in hopes of conducting a secret invasion. The objective was to remove the Cuban leader and establish a non-communist government that would benefit the United States. President John F. Kennedy, Commander in Chief during this time, wanted to prove to China, Russia, and even pessimistic Americans that he was determined to win the Cold War. Unfortunately, the campaign was extremely underprepared, which led to a disastrous outcome with Castro’s troops having the aggressors pinned on the beach under heavy fire. Soon after, the exiles surrendered in less than a single day of fighting, making the assault widely known as the CIA’s “perfect failure”. This topic was selected because the Cold War era intrigues me greatly; there is an abundance of covert operations, heightened tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as technological competitions such as the space race. The Bay of Pigs ties into all of this, which led to the Cuban missile crisis, causing one of the closest calls in history in regards to nuclear war. The information found for this paper is from sources including the History Chanel website, the JFK Library, the CIA website, and the United States History website.

     At first Bush, Nixon, Cabel, and Hunt decided to just go ahead with the corporate/CIA planned invasion on Cuba. Just 2 hours before the invasion General Cabel called JFK and asked for permission to provide U.S. air cover for the CIA invasion. Kennedy said no.

“One of our greatest assets is that all men aspire to be equal and free. This fact haunts the rulers of the Kremlin today for they cannot change the law of nature and they know it.” stated Allen Dulles, the fifth director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The Cold War, Bay of Pigs Invasion began on April 17, 1961 and has had an everlasting effect on the history of the United States and the world. The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an encounter between Cuban exiles, armed and trained by the American Central Intelligence Agency and the military forces of Fidel Castro. The failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion proceeded to unite the Soviet Union and Cuba to create mass terror in the United States and for its allies. The belief was that if the Soviet

Imagine living your life in the US as a normal Cuban exile, then you get pulled away from your family and friends to go fight for the US against the culture you grew up with? How would you feel being captured and beat to the point you really don’t want to be there anymore? During the 1900s, the Cold War was a war of words between the US and the USSR. During the Cold War, the Bay of Pigs invasion happened in which the US trained Cuban exiles to land in Cuba and take over Cuba from the leading dictator, Fidel Castro. In this essay, I will write about one event in the Cold War- The Bay of Pigs: the CIA and the training of the Cuban exiles, the invasion, and the aftermath.

When Fidel Castro took over Cuba by means of a revolution, he quickly established his government as the first openly Communist government in the western hemisphere. He petitioned the Soviet Union for aid, which was cheerfully given him. These events went against our current policies, as well as the Monroe Doctrine, which established us as the police force of the western hemisphere. Ninety miles away from the greatest bastion of Capitalism was now residing its greatest foe. This tense situation was brought to a boiling point by the arrival of

“First, I want to say that there will not be, under any conditions, an intervention in Cuba by the United States Armed Forces. This government will do everything it possibly can, I think it can meet its responsibilities, to make sure that there are no Americans involved in any actions inside Cuba… The basic issue in Cuba is not one between the United States and Cuba. It is between the Cubans themselves.” These words were spoken by President John F. Kennedy at a press conference on April 12, 1961, just five days before the Bay of Pigs invasion took place. Little did the American public know that in five short days, the United States would support an attempted invasion on the Cuban shore—unsuccessfully. The $46

While it may be true that Fidel Castro had a strong impact on the uprising of the crisis, it is crucial to consider John F. Kennedy as the person most at fault for the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy, America's president at the time, is often been called the most to blame because he overreacted to the missiles in Cuba. The question is if it was an overreaction or just a precaution for the safety and security of the American people. After the CIA spotted the missiles in Cuba, they informed Kennedy and he immediately called for a “quarantine” on Cuba’s eastern coast, setting up a blockade of ships along the coastline. Although many perceive this as an act of safety and protection, it is also easy to say that it was in fact “an act of aggression”

“Victory has a thousand fathers while defeat is an orphan,” remarked John F. Kennedy. The Bay of Pigs invasion code named operation Zapata began in March of 1960 one month and a year before the famed invasion took place. United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to begin a covert operation to bring down the pro-communist Cuban government. Nonetheless Fidel Castro’s potential pro-communist beliefs, the seizure of American owned companies and land lead to extreme concern from United States policy makers and officials. The mission, however would become possibly one of the greatest intelligence failures in the history of the United States. The failed Bay of Pigs invasion lead to a new era in the military and intelligence fields that continues to affect foreign policy

In order to understand the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis in American history one must first understand the Cold War drama, Castro’s rise to power, and the American operations that set up the crisis. “The term Cold War refers

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 reflects possibly the most precarious moment in nuclear history. For the first time, the world’s two nuclear super powers, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, were poised to destroy each other in a war of unprecedented proportion. On the brink of what may have escalated into a nuclear war, the leaders of two nations showed courageous restraint and diplomacy to avoid an exchange of brute force and unimaginable desolation. The situation was preempted by the Bay of Pigs, an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro, Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba. Castro had gained authority through a rebellion against Fulgencio Batista, the previous Cuban dictator (Bay of Pigs). America was displeased with Castro, mainly because he was a Communist leader so close to American shores, so a plan to depose him was made, without official United States military support.

John F. Kennedy, in his January 1961 inaugural address, emphasized the desire for peace among U.S. adversaries and the unwavering fear Americans must foster in negotiating with those who oppose the country’s democratic principles. Within the early months of his presidency, Kennedy faced pressure within his administration to combat the rising socialist power of Cuba in Latin America. However, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev forced his position in Cuba, ultimately countering U.S. occupation by deploying Soviet troops and maintaining communist influence in the region. Khrushchev believed that U.S. invasion in Cuba was imminent and prepared to fight against American troops. The Vienna Summit in 1961 outlined the desire to takeover Berlin, a

On April 15, 1961 the Bay of Pigs invasion began to invade Cuba and remove Castro from the leadership. The unsuccessful invasion was stopped two days later. Now Castro needed the strong arm of the Soviets even more. With the Cold War arms race in effect, Castro knew that the Soviets could protect him from future invasions from the United States.

The Movie begins with an intimate scene of a woman and man. In the scene, the woman says “your safe with me, I love you, people who love each other don’t have secrets." This scene becomes significant throughout the entire movie. The movie begins and ends with the Bay of Pigs.