a spirit of resistance and disaffection which could lead to significant defections and
other by-products of unrest.” The CIA also now came under the supervision of
the president’s brother Bobby, the Attorney General. According to Lucien S.
Vandenbroucke, the outcome of the Bay of Pigs failure also made the White House
suspicious of an operation that everyone agreed to, made them less reluctant to
question the experts, and made them play “devil’s advocates” when questioning
them. In the end, the lessons learned from the Bay of Pigs failure may have
contributed to the successful handling of the Cuban missile crisis that followed.
The long term ramifications of the Bay of Pigs invasion are a little harder to assess. The ultimate indication of the invasions failure is that thirty-four years later Castro is still in power. This not only indicates the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, but
American policy towards Cuba in general. The American policy, rather than
undermining Castro’s support, has probably contributed to it. As with many wars,
even a cold one, the leader is able to rally his people around him against an
aggressor.
When Castro came to power he instituted reforms to help the people and end
corruption, no longer receiving help from the Soviet Union things are beginning to
change. He has opened up the Cuban economy for some investment, mainly in
telecommunications, oil exploration, and joint ventures. In an attempt to stay in
power, he is trying to adapt his country to the new reality of the world. Rather than
suppressing the educated elite, he is giving them a place in guiding Cuba. The
question is, will they eventually want more power and a right to control Cuba’s fate
without Castro’s guidance and support? If the collapse of past regimes is any
indication, they will eventually want more power.
The failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion was caused by misinformation and mismanagement, the consequences of that was egg in the face for the Americans and an increase in tension between the superpowers at the height of the cold war.Now, over 30 years later, the target of that invasion, Castro, is still in power the Americans are still trying to get rid of him. The failure also caused the CIA’s image to fall in front of the American public. The once prestigues agency became tarnished with their involovement with Cuba and the cloak and dagger operation that failed. Many believe now that the US government does not need the CIA to function fully. That is completely untrue. This government does need the CIA so as to deture other countries from rising up and aquiring powerful weapons of destruction. They are necessary to the safety of this nation and of the world. They keep the peace between nations and keep psychos from coming into power. Even though the CIA has dirtied its hand in the foreign relations realm, it does serve a useful purpose and it is a part of what we call American.
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