Operation SNAFU
The Bay of Pigs. By Haynes Johnson. (Hutchin- son, 40s.)
MR. JOHNSON has not written the definitive his- t9rY of the disastrous invasion of Cuba in 1961, but he has thrown some new light on it which Will prove valuable to a future historian. His largely may be considered one-sided, in that it largely depends on evidence obtained by inter- viewing the Cuban exiles who survived the operation; but from this Mr. Johnson has com- piled an admirably detailed, almost minute-to- Minute account of the fighting, which is made Intensely dramatic by the desperate heroism of the invaders.
What emerges clearly from it is that the disaster was in no way the fault of 'Brigade 2506,' the minute force of 1,500 exiles who were set ashore in the Bay of Pigs to overthrow Castro. Hopelessly outnumbered, without sup- Plies or ammunition except what they had, been aye to take ashore with them, in three days' fighting they inflicted over 3,500 casualties in killed and wounded on Castro's forces. They were well trained, admirably led, morale was high, and in the course of the fighting they dis- PlitYed a courage, skill and discipline which even the most experienced troops might have envied. Indeed, their performance was such that one cannot help speculating what the result would have been if they had been able to fight on any- thing remotely approaching equal terms.
The conduct of the brigade in battle throws into greater relief the almost criminal incompe- tence, frivolity and duplicity of those responsible for planning and mounting the operation, in Which the Cuban Brigade was allowed no say. The culprits included the CIA, the Chiefs of Staff, and President Kennedy himself; between them they assembled all the ingredients required to compose a classic recipe for military disaster. Totally inadequate intelligence; a completely false appreciation of the internal situation in Cuba; a misconceived operational plan; hasty !eParation and poor equipment; neglect to pro- vide air cover; a faulty chain of command; Obscurity of intention and irresolution and deceit 1.n. carrying it out; reckless disregard for men's lives; they neglected' nothing.
In all this the role of the CIA was decisive
alP if any advantage was derived from the Bay of Pigs it was the subsequent attempts to assert constitutional control of that organisation. Yet the lightheartedness with which a secret intelli-
gence service was allowed'to assume operational control of a military and diplomatic adventure of vital importance to the United States still
retnains mysterious; Mr. Johnson is unfortunately net able to give us much help in penetrating
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