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One core aspect in this regard was the government’s insistence on noninvolvement. In this regard, the training locations of Guatemala and Nicaragua were very unsuitable. The CIA was much worried about the training being conducted in Florida or Puerto Rico which were nevertheless appropriate.
The location of the invasion was also very inappropriate considering the lack of an escape route at the Bay of Pigs. The location had been chosen quite hurriedly without consideration of many factors. It proved very hard for the attackers to escape and engage the government in guerrilla warfare. President Kennedy was much worried about the obvious involvement of America in the operation and therefore supplied the operation with only sixteen obsolete aircraft. However, this was done without consideration of the Cuban fleet.
Another major mistake arose when against the advice of the military officials the President reduced the initial fleet from sixteen to eight. That decision was an indication that the whole operation was headed for failure. At the planning stage, the Secretary of Defense admitted that the plan was bound to fail considering the haphazard manner in which the operations were conducted. It was much more important to focus on destroying the Cuban air force at the outset of the operation.
However, this was impossible considering the limited attacking fleet1. Part of the failure of the invasion is attributed to the poor coordination between intelligence and operations. Indeed, it is seen that Kennedy did not have much knowledge of intelligence-related affairs and did not, therefore, regard it as essential. For the success of such an operation, such information should have been gathered on the Cuban regime. Information on the training of the soldiers, demography, and the defense ability of the military should have been gathered effectively.
It was important to have a close association between intelligence and operations to provide the necessary preparation and preparedness for the invasion. Indeed, the fear of exposure was the major concern of America in the whole operation. In this case, everything was done with a need to ensure that such exposure was not possible. However, this was also the major cause of failure in the operation since it led to the wrong decisions being made. Kennedy ignored many initial plans which could have been successful and insisted on a plan which less obvious but likely to fail2.
However, this was a way of motivating them. In any case, the United States did not send its fighters after behind them. It is therefore seen that the invasions faced several challenges and were therefore bound to fail.
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