◆ SpookStack

available and was knowledgeable about all of the areas on which questions were be.ing raised. Having the advantage of more than 20 years of retrospective views of would-be-authorities on the Bay of Pigs (committee witnesses and non-witnesses alike), access to the Agency's records, and the cooperation of many of the key personnel who, for the first time since the collapse of the operation, were willing (even eager} to talk to an "insider" with no axe, to. grind, it was decided that review on a meeting-by-meeting basis and identification of the most critical and controversial issues as they were surfaced would provide the most meaningful insight to the committee's operations. In some instances, this led to a degree of overkill because of the recurrence of a given issue. In the context of the modification, exaggeration, or ignorance of the individual witnesses, however, nuances of the repetition are important. To the extent possible, documentary evidence which should have been known to given witnesses has been cited to illustrate various of the controversial issues; and in othe~ instances pertinent information subsequent to the event are. recognized. The first meeting of the Cuban Study Group (CSG) was held - from 1400. - 1800. hours, 22 April 1961, and it was heavily attended by senior CIA personnel. In addition to l1r. Dulles (as a member of the committee) were: DDCI, Gen. C. P. Cabell; 25 ....