Subject: Rusk: Stop exile raids
Date: 22 Jun 1999 23:46:10 GMT
From: atlasrecrd@aol.com (Atlasrecrd)
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Newsgroups: alt.conspiracy.jfk

 Letter From Secretary of State Rusk to President Kennedy

Washington, March 28, 1963.

Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Countries Series,
Cuba, Exiles, 3/63. Confidential.

Dear Mr. President: I am concerned that hit and run raids by Cuban
exiles may create incidents which work to the disadvantage of our
national interest. Increased frequency of these forays could raise a
host of problems over which we would not have control.

Actions such as yesterday's exile attack which caused substantial damage
to a Soviet vessel may complicate our relations with the USSR without
net advantage to us.

I therefore propose several measures which could impede or deter further
attacks of this nature./1/

/1/In a March 28 memorandum Chase alerted Bundy to the recommedations
proposed in this letter. Chase also informed Bundy of his conversations
at the Department of Justice on March 27. According to Chase, the
discussions "indicated that the FBI is not doing a stellar intelligence
job; they seem to know remarkably little about the activist groups.
However, I have been told that FBI has been shaken up by this episode
and that solid FBI contributions will be forthcoming today."

 Summary Record of the 42d Meeting of the Executive Committee of the
National Security Council

Washington, March 29, 1963, 12:30 p.m.
Top Secret

 The President said he had asked the Council to meet in order to talk
about the two recent hit-and-run raids staged by anti-Castro refugees.
The State Department has twice said that these raids are not
particularly helpful. Even so, we must anticipate that there will be
more such attacks. We have said the raiders do not take off from the
U.S., but it is difficult to maintain that they do not get their
supplies in the U.S.
Director McCone agreed that more raids of this kind are probable. The
anti-Castro groups purchase supplies in the U.S. and come in and go out
of the U.S.  Mr. McCone said his personal view was that there would be
intense
public and press criticism if we stand down these raids. He anticipated
Congressional criticism as well. He recommended that we officially
disallow the raids without acting to prevent the raiders from using the
U.S. as a base.
Secretary Rusk said that the hit-and-run raids against Cuba, in an area
which is under our military umbrella, will be blamed on us no matter
what we say. No one would believe that we do not have the capability of
preventing the raiders from leaving the U.S.
The Attorney General said that we can slow down the raids if we wish and
stop them entirely if we so desire. We can do a great deal more to
stop them than is now being done. The Coast Guard can stop outgoing
ships. We can prosecute cases against those who are supplying ammunition
to the raiders. We can prosecute the the ten Americans who were picked
up recently at sea with arms which were to be used by the raiders. We
can create a deterrent against such raids.
The Attorney General pointed out that we would look ridiculous if the
raids continue and we say we cannot control them or prevent them. The
Attorney
General commented that we did have a problem domestically
of explaining why we were stopping the raids, but we can stop them by
prosecuting those involved and by making the raiders' stay in the U.S.
very unpleasant.
 Secretary Rusk felt there should be a prohibition against attacks on all
kinds of shipping and a halt to all hit-and-run raids.
 The President asked why we could not put pressure on the suppliers of
the raiders. These suppliers would not be Cubans.
 The Attorney General reported that the FBI is investigating the source
of the raiders' supplies. He said the raiding groups were very small and
it might not be possible to communicate with every group. We could
proceed to arrest the raiders and later prosecute those against whom we
had sufficient evidence. It did not appear likely that before the middle
of April we would have a grand jury which would be responsive to our
efforts to indict the raiders. In the meantime, however, we could slow
down the raiders by passing word to them through the Coast Guard, the
FBI, and other channels that we would not permit the continuance of
their activities.