◆ SpookStack

In addition to the ferment of his own administration's shakedown, when competition for presidential attention, ap- proval, and favor was extreme, President Kennedy inherited the anti-Castro program which had been initiated formally and offic~ally on 17 March 1960 by President Eisenhower and handed over to the Central Intelligence Agency and the De- partment of State for implementation. Following his own initial interest in the developing program, President Eisenhower's personal involvement dropped off sharply by the late summer of 1960. Follow~ng the November elections, however, there was a resurgence of interest on the President's part, and it was clear that he favored the planned use of the Cuban exile force which. was being supported by the US Government. President Eisenhower, however, deferred to the incoming administration ,rather tha.n authorizing implementation of the paramilitary plan. By the time that the new President was sworn in, what had been planned in. the spring of 1960 as a program to infiltrate the necessa~y experts, expertise, and supplies to develop the strength of anti-Castro elements inside Cuba had been abandoned as a result o~ effective security measures developed by Castro. By early fall 1960, CIA's revised plans called for an air supported, amphibious invasion by a force of no less than 600 troops, and mo~e likely by 1,200-1,500 men. /