Posted on 09/28/2002 10:53:56 PM PDT by MadIvan
Others, myself included, will say that Kennedy's cowardice during the Bay of Pigs was such a sign of weakness that the Soviets thought that they could get away with something that they would not dream of trying with Eisenhower.
The original Bay of Pigs invasion plan dictated that Castro's air force, which consisted a few obsolete jet trainers, must be completely destroyed prior to the invasion landing.
That's Amphibious Invasion Planning 101:
Rule #1: Estasblish air superiority over the invasion beach.
Rule #2: See Rule #1.
The initial air strikes by Cuban exile pilots knocked out the majority of Castro's air force on the ground. The invasion plan called for repeated strikes until Castro's air force was completely destroyed in order to ensure air superiority over the beachead.
At this point, Kennedy put his tail between his legs and panicked. He was afraid that the U.S. role in the invasion may be discovered when it was obvious to anybody with an IQ above room temperature that the U.S. was involved. Kennedy ordered that the follow up air strikes agasinst Castro's air force be cancelled.
Now that a key point in the invasion plan, air superiority over the beachead, had been thrown out the window, Kennedy should have:
A. Reconsidered his order and carried out the original plan or
B. Called the whole thing off.
Instead, Kennedy opted for:
C. Give the Green Light to a fatally gutted invasion plan and dump those men on the beachead while Castro had complete air superiority over the landing beach.
At the landing beach, Castro's few remaining jet trainers roamed the invasion beach at will, sinking the invasion transports along with equipment and ammunition. World war II era B-26 bombers flown by Cuban exile and CIA pilots went on suicide missions against those jet trainers. Dogfighting against jet aircraft was not what B-26's were designed for.
As the invasion fleet was sunk and the B-26's were massacred by a handful of Castro's jet trainers, U.S. Navy aircraft carriers were off the beach with orders not to engage Castro's jet trainers. Airborne Naval aviators had to listen to Mayday calls from the B-26's and follow orders to do nothing. While in the Navy, I heard stories from one Naval aviator aboard the carrier about how those Naval aviators would land on the carrier with tears of rage and frustration. They could have so easily blown away those few Communist jet trainers out of the sky with their A-4 Skyhawks and yet they had to allow the CIA and Cuban exile pilots to die in their B-26's because President Kennedy had so ordered.
Of course, in the Kennedy mythology, poor JFK was the victim of a bad CIA plan. How Kennedy's cowardice gutted the plan and doomed it to failure before the invasion landing even began is swept under the rug by the Camelot crowd.
It is my opinion that Kennedy's cowardice led the Soviets into believing that they could get away with putting nuclear missiles in Cuba. Weakness breeds contempt. Without Kennedy's initial cowardice, there would have been no 1962 Missile Crisis.
It is also worthwhile considering if the the subsequent emphasis on Vietnam was a reaction by the Kennedy-Johnson Administration to compensate for the Bay of Pigs humiliation.
After his venerable body has breathed its' last...
Ronald Reagan's body will EVEN then possess . . .
more than one Bill Clinton has known or will ever know about:
truth, freedom, or integrity,
Even while Clinton still draws a million breaths.
This is a time when we need to be reminded of the difference between a great President and scum that somehow managed to invade the office. W is much closer to Reagan than he is to his immediate predecessor. We were either right or lucky twice in my lifetime to have been given good Presidents when we needed them.
I hope one day soon we'll find the cure for this disease. Right now the only available treatment that I know of are drugs which merely improve intellectual performance in some patients but death generally comes within eight to 12 years of the diagnosis.
Thank you for that one.
I have no doubt that she will follow him shortly afterwards. You can easily see her complete love and adoration of Ronnie in pictures like the ones in replies #41 and #62. God blessed them with a wonderful marriage.
Eight to 12 years, huh? Well, from this article then, it sounds like he is near the end of that range and beyond....
Reagan’s descent into Alzheimer’s was remarkably rapid after he left the White House in 1989 and soon became impossible to conceal.
Michael said Reagan’s great ally, Margaret Thatcher, was guest of honour at a birthday party for him in 1993.
I know that there is an article just posted on FR here that concerns the stem cell research and the promise it may hold for Alzheimer's patients. Too late for Ronald Reagan, but maybe it can help future Alzheimer's victims.
"At the launch of the battleship USS Ronald Reagan last year..." We have a battleship? News to me...
We’re not like every family — I was at boarding school from the age of five, so I’m seeing him more than I used to. It’s the way our family works, by appointment — it’s always been by appointment.”
How sad.
Yes, I too dreaded that the Clintons would be hosting the State Funeral. PIAPS would have pushed the body into the grave with a nasty smirk on her face.
Now we can be comforted that the outpouring of love from the American people will be honored by a president and first lady who genuinely loved the man, too. It will be handled with tact, good taste, and sincerity, character traits the Clintons have never possessed.
That is nothing for you to worry about, Mrs. Reagan. He will be remembered as one of the great leaders of the 20th century, and his place in history will perpetually be one of honor and immense respect.
His detractors, if remembered at all (which is doubtful), will be only a hackling crowd of wannabe, has-beens nipping at the heels of greatness, never able to attain it themselves. They will be remembered only for being in the great man's shadow, never for anything they have done on their own.
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