Newly unclassified documents report the Bay of Pigs invasion was destined for failure even before it was launched in an effort to topple Fidel Castro.

The 300-page document from Nov. 15, 1960, said the Bay of Pigs assault would not have the backing of “internal unrest earlier believed possible,” and the concept of securing a beach with an airstrip “is also now seen to be unachievable.”

The Miami Herald said it is unclear whether CIA Director Allen Dulles passed the assessment along three days later, at President John F. Kennedy’s post-election national security briefing in Palm Beach, Fla., or whether changes were made as a result of the finding.

On April 17, 1961, Castro’s forces defeated the CIA-trained and backed brigade in less than 72 hours. About 114 men were killed, and more than 1,100 forces were captured and held until the United States traded $53 million in food and medicine for their freedom.

Of course the headline in which I wrote is misleading and biased, but there’s a reason for it. There is no direct proof JFK lied or even knew the assault would be met with failure, however failure is what happened. Without question this one event helped to catalyze the Cold War as Castro now allowed nuclear missiles on Cuban soil thus leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis. How many people died as a result of the Cold War? An untold thousands.

I have not had the time to go through the documents (available here via Babalu Blog), however I will attempt to at the very least scan them later tonight. As with every piece of intelligence though, it should be noted often times intelligence must be presented on both sides of an issue and also such intelligence usually will indicate the dire rather than the probable.

Nevertheless, the Bay of Pigs invasion is one of the larger embarassments in U.S. history and is still used by Fidel Castro to rally his Communist base. Maybe JFK was too concerned with using his second brain than an assault on a small island?

Babalu Blog linked with CIA's Bay Of Pigs history shows betrayal