◆ SpookStack

the President, briefed him on the course of events, and explained that he was go- ing to New York to backstop Stevenson in the UN, and to help him deal with the inevitable furor over the second air strike. "What second air strike?" asked the President. He had been well briefed, but apparently he had forgotten this part of the plan. In any case, the evidence of American duplicity produced by the Cubans in the UN and Adlai Stevenson's anger at being misled had both deeply worried the President. So, he told Bundy to order Rusk to cancel the second air strike. 110/ There is a difference of opinion reflected be- tween the Schlesinger book and the Alsop book, also in terms of how the word of the cancellation was passed on to CIA. According to Schlesinger, Bundy, upon hear- ing from the President "promptly passed on the word to ( General C. P. Cabell." 111/ According to Alsop, when Barnes, who was still in the State Department reading Stevenson's speech presented himself back to Rusk's office, Rusk told Barnes that there would be no second air strike, and at that point, according to Alsop: With Rusk's assent, Barnes called his superior, Bissell, and asked him to come right over. He told Bissell of the Presi- dent's order, but told him not to worry - 267 -