PRESIDENT ACCEPTS SOLE BLAME FOR BAY OF PIGS FAILURE
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On April 24, 1961, the White House issued a statement telling the American people that President John F. Kennedy, as the "responsible officer" of the executive branch of government, bore sole responsibility for the failure of the recent invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs.
The statement reads...
"President Kennedy has stated from the beginning that as president he bears sole responsibility for the events of the past few days. He has stated it on all occasions & he restates it now so that it will be understood by all."
Walt Rostow* described JFK as being between a rock and a hard place with the Bay of Pigs. Rostow said, "If (JFK)...called it off, he would have been ruined politically at home...but if he engaged American forces to salvage a failing covert operation, he would have been ruined abroad."
Jim Rasenberger concludes that President Kennedy "got the very best he could have desired" with the Bay of Pigs outcome. That must be why Jim titled his book "Brilliant Disaster."
*Walt Whitman Rostow (1916-2003) was born in New York City & educated at Yale University. WWR was an American economist, professor & political theorist. He served as Special Assistant for National Security Affairs 1966-1969.
SOURCES
"April 24, 1961--JFK Stated He Took Sole Responsibility for the Bay of Pigs," Legal Legacy, April 24, 2019, www.legallegacy.wordpress.com/
"Brilliant Disaster: JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs," by Jim Rasenberger, Scribner, New York, 2011.
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On April 24, 1961, the White House issued a statement telling the American people that President John F. Kennedy, as the "responsible officer" of the executive branch of government, bore sole responsibility for the failure of the recent invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs.
The statement reads...
"President Kennedy has stated from the beginning that as president he bears sole responsibility for the events of the past few days. He has stated it on all occasions & he restates it now so that it will be understood by all."
Walt Rostow* described JFK as being between a rock and a hard place with the Bay of Pigs. Rostow said, "If (JFK)...called it off, he would have been ruined politically at home...but if he engaged American forces to salvage a failing covert operation, he would have been ruined abroad."
Jim Rasenberger concludes that President Kennedy "got the very best he could have desired" with the Bay of Pigs outcome. That must be why Jim titled his book "Brilliant Disaster."
*Walt Whitman Rostow (1916-2003) was born in New York City & educated at Yale University. WWR was an American economist, professor & political theorist. He served as Special Assistant for National Security Affairs 1966-1969.
SOURCES
"April 24, 1961--JFK Stated He Took Sole Responsibility for the Bay of Pigs," Legal Legacy, April 24, 2019, www.legallegacy.wordpress.com/
"Brilliant Disaster: JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs," by Jim Rasenberger, Scribner, New York, 2011.
Walt Rostow
White House Cabinet Room
Photo by Yoichi R. Okamato
LBJ Library Image
