RUM AND COKE
Newly elected president Kennedy initially approved this crackbrained scheme; hatched by cold warriors of the Eisenhower administration, it was a big departure from the official policy of merely “containing” communism. But in the end Kennedy refused to provide the military support the insurgents required, and Fidel Castro’s troops captured and killed most of the betrayed exiles. CIA chief Allen Dulles resigned, saying philosophically, “Obviously you cannot tell of operations that go along well. Those that go badly generally speak for themselves.”
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Certainly Reddin has done his homework, throwing in revealing details for ironic effect, such as the fact that the U.S. flew prostitutes to Guatemala to service the horny rebels while they were training. He also has a good ear for those casual, devastating words that indict imperious policymakers (“We have no time to be consulting the Cubans on this thing,” says the chief CIA plotter about the future martyrs).
