Bay of Pigs

11 Pages 2716 Words

or the New York Times, summarizes the situation in Cuba by saying, “Little by little, the vise tightened. Little by little the free people of Cuba came to realize it could happen there. The grim facts of life on an island that became a police state” (Frankel 59). Every day, Castro came closer to controlling every aspect in life in Cuba. Fidel Castro even took control of the schools in Cuba, throwing out any teacher who he thought might be “disloyal” or disagreeing with Communism. Castro gave long speeches on television, with colorful banners flapping, and bands playing music as patrolmen covered the streets (61). As Kennedy viewed everything happening politically in Cuba, he began to think of what America could do to help. Former President Lyndon B. Johnson attended many of the meetings and helped advise Kennedy in these conferences. After a meeting with Kennedy in early March in 1961, Johnson told news reporters, “We don’t intend to sit here in our rocking chair with our hands folded and let the Communism set up any government in the Western Hemisphere” (If U.S. 47). U.S.

Senator William Fullbright of Arkansas was concerned over newspaper stories that predicted an invasion on Cuba (Schlesinger 251). If anyone in Cuba expected an attack, it would ruin the surprise attack, and the mission would have less chance for success. Fullbright wanted to let Cuba solve their problems, as long everything was contained in only Cuba (252). William Fullbright advised Kennedy and other U.S. leaders, “The Castro regime is a thorn in the flesh; but it is not a dagger in the heart” (252). Fullbright admitted to the fact that there was a problem in Cuba, but he did not view Communism as a big problem. Meetings continued through March and April, and the American people wanted to know if anything was going to be done. On April 8, Kennedy stated in a news conference, “There will not, under any circumstances, be an intervention in Cub...