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Decision for Disaster: Betrayal at the Bay of Pigs
"A rousing military adventure written by one of the [CIA's] best and bravest....Convincing and infuriating." Grayston Lynch presents an exceptional portrayal of actual events that led to the betrayal of extraordinary, patriotic, and courageous men. Lynch's unmasking of "Kennedy's Camelot" reveals heart-wrenching facts that continue to stir emotions among Brigade 2506 veterans.
- GenresHistory
208 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 1998
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September 8, 2016
Decision for Disaster: Betrayal at the Bay of Pigs by Grayston L. Lynch
About the Author
The author, Grayston L. Lynch, was a captain of a U.S. Army Special Forces A-Team who was recruited by the CIA in 1960. Lynch had fought in World War II and the Korean War. He personally participated, on the ground, in the 1961 doomed invasion of Cuba.
Fidel Castro, Closet Communist
Most of the fighting against the Batista regime was done by non-Castro forces. Castro hid his Communism until he had eliminated his rivals, the other anti-Batista forces, and the Batista supporters. Fidel Castro lied about not being a communist and wanting to establish a democracy and a free press. Roy Rubottom and William Wieland were State Department officials who denied that Castro was a Communist, even though there was already evidence available to them while Batista was in power that showed that Castro was a Communist.
The CIA and the Cuban Brigade
Jake Enterline headed the Cuban Task Force in the CIA, set up by President Eisenhower. He was supervised by Richard Bissell. The goal was to replace Castro by someone friendly to U.S. interests. The CIA trained the Cuban Brigade in Guatemala. It was made up of Cubans who hated Castro. The Cuban invasion was originally scheduled to occur before Castro received the first shipment of heavy arms from the Soviet Union on March 15, 1961, but the incoming President, Jack Kennedy, delayed the invasion until after Castro received arms from the Soviet Union.
The Kennedy Administration
After Jack Kennedy was elected, but before he took office, Allen Dulles briefed Kennedy on the planned Cuban invasion. During his presidential campaign against Richard Nixon in 1960, Kennedy promised United States support for the anti-Castro Cubans. But after Kennedy took office, Kennedy did not discuss the matter with his cabinet until March 1961. The State Department raised numerous objections. Even thought they were not military men, they wanted to micromanage the invasion plan. Mainly, they wanted to scale down the size of the operation. They also wanted to obscure U.S. involvement and make the invasion appear to be an internal rebellion. Kennedy approved going forward with the reduced Cuban invasion plan. Kennedy changed the landing site from Trinidad to the Bay of Pigs. At the time, no one thought to bring up the fact that the new site was too far from the mountains for the anti-Castro rebels to escape to the mountains if things went wrong. Presidential advisor Arthur Schlesinger persuaded Kennedy to make a public announcement on April 12, 1961 that the armed forces of the United States would not in any way be involved in an invasion of Cuba.
Cancelled Air Strikes Doom the Invasion
There was only one attack on the Cuban airfields prior to the invasion. The cover story was that the raid was made by defecting pilots from Castro’s air force. However, there were photographs of the attacking planes that showed they were of a type not possessed by Cuba. So America’s cover was blown. Under the counsel of dovish members of his administration, Kennedy cancelled any further air strikes against Castro’s air force air fields. Dean Rusk allowed United States airplanes to fly only over the Bay of Pigs beaches themselves; he forbad our planes from attacking any of Castro’s aircraft on the ground at nearby airfields. Several of our planes circling the beaches were shot down by Castro’s fighters. Kennedy even refused to provide air cover for our ships outside Cuban territorial waters. Castro’s airplanes were able to inflict much harm on the anti-Castro forces.
Castro Captures the Freedom Fighters
The pro-Castro forces also used their Soviet Stalin tanks against the anti-Castro forces. The author and William “Rip” Robertson were the only two Americans to accompany the anti-Castro Cubans to the beaches of the Bay of Pigs. Some other American soldiers helped from ships and airplanes. The battle lasted three days. The anti-Castro soldiers could not fight any longer, because they had run out of ammunition. The Americans rescued a few soldiers from Zapata Swamp, but most of the men left behind were killed or imprisoned by Castro’s forces.
Blaming the Victim
The holdovers from the Eisenhower administration who had warned that the Cuban invasion would fail if Castro’s air force was not first destroyed on the ground, were instead blamed for the failure and dismissed from their jobs. The Kennedy administration lied about the Eisenhower team, saying that they had told the Kennedy team that the invasion could succeed even without first taking out Castro’s air force. Because of classification restrictions, those who knew the truth were not allowed to tell it. Richard Bissell and Colonel Jack Hawkins were two of the main scapegoats. Rip Robertson died of malaria in Laos in 1973. Gray Lynch died in 2008.
About the Author
The author, Grayston L. Lynch, was a captain of a U.S. Army Special Forces A-Team who was recruited by the CIA in 1960. Lynch had fought in World War II and the Korean War. He personally participated, on the ground, in the 1961 doomed invasion of Cuba.
Fidel Castro, Closet Communist
Most of the fighting against the Batista regime was done by non-Castro forces. Castro hid his Communism until he had eliminated his rivals, the other anti-Batista forces, and the Batista supporters. Fidel Castro lied about not being a communist and wanting to establish a democracy and a free press. Roy Rubottom and William Wieland were State Department officials who denied that Castro was a Communist, even though there was already evidence available to them while Batista was in power that showed that Castro was a Communist.
The CIA and the Cuban Brigade
Jake Enterline headed the Cuban Task Force in the CIA, set up by President Eisenhower. He was supervised by Richard Bissell. The goal was to replace Castro by someone friendly to U.S. interests. The CIA trained the Cuban Brigade in Guatemala. It was made up of Cubans who hated Castro. The Cuban invasion was originally scheduled to occur before Castro received the first shipment of heavy arms from the Soviet Union on March 15, 1961, but the incoming President, Jack Kennedy, delayed the invasion until after Castro received arms from the Soviet Union.
The Kennedy Administration
After Jack Kennedy was elected, but before he took office, Allen Dulles briefed Kennedy on the planned Cuban invasion. During his presidential campaign against Richard Nixon in 1960, Kennedy promised United States support for the anti-Castro Cubans. But after Kennedy took office, Kennedy did not discuss the matter with his cabinet until March 1961. The State Department raised numerous objections. Even thought they were not military men, they wanted to micromanage the invasion plan. Mainly, they wanted to scale down the size of the operation. They also wanted to obscure U.S. involvement and make the invasion appear to be an internal rebellion. Kennedy approved going forward with the reduced Cuban invasion plan. Kennedy changed the landing site from Trinidad to the Bay of Pigs. At the time, no one thought to bring up the fact that the new site was too far from the mountains for the anti-Castro rebels to escape to the mountains if things went wrong. Presidential advisor Arthur Schlesinger persuaded Kennedy to make a public announcement on April 12, 1961 that the armed forces of the United States would not in any way be involved in an invasion of Cuba.
Cancelled Air Strikes Doom the Invasion
There was only one attack on the Cuban airfields prior to the invasion. The cover story was that the raid was made by defecting pilots from Castro’s air force. However, there were photographs of the attacking planes that showed they were of a type not possessed by Cuba. So America’s cover was blown. Under the counsel of dovish members of his administration, Kennedy cancelled any further air strikes against Castro’s air force air fields. Dean Rusk allowed United States airplanes to fly only over the Bay of Pigs beaches themselves; he forbad our planes from attacking any of Castro’s aircraft on the ground at nearby airfields. Several of our planes circling the beaches were shot down by Castro’s fighters. Kennedy even refused to provide air cover for our ships outside Cuban territorial waters. Castro’s airplanes were able to inflict much harm on the anti-Castro forces.
Castro Captures the Freedom Fighters
The pro-Castro forces also used their Soviet Stalin tanks against the anti-Castro forces. The author and William “Rip” Robertson were the only two Americans to accompany the anti-Castro Cubans to the beaches of the Bay of Pigs. Some other American soldiers helped from ships and airplanes. The battle lasted three days. The anti-Castro soldiers could not fight any longer, because they had run out of ammunition. The Americans rescued a few soldiers from Zapata Swamp, but most of the men left behind were killed or imprisoned by Castro’s forces.
Blaming the Victim
The holdovers from the Eisenhower administration who had warned that the Cuban invasion would fail if Castro’s air force was not first destroyed on the ground, were instead blamed for the failure and dismissed from their jobs. The Kennedy administration lied about the Eisenhower team, saying that they had told the Kennedy team that the invasion could succeed even without first taking out Castro’s air force. Because of classification restrictions, those who knew the truth were not allowed to tell it. Richard Bissell and Colonel Jack Hawkins were two of the main scapegoats. Rip Robertson died of malaria in Laos in 1973. Gray Lynch died in 2008.
July 14, 2024
Birds eye view of the Bay of Pigs disaster by one of the CIA agents who led the mission from the ground. A depressing read of an event that was one of the steppingstones to the weakening of our country's position as a world leader. All the more tragic in that it could have been avoided.
June 28, 2021
We are doomed to repeat history, this is why one must learn.... If we had aircover it would have helped. but we were betrayed.
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