◆ SpookStack

TOP SECRET policy affecting the security of the United States. He [Eisenhower] commented that when this is demanded as a right you are "sunk," and wondered how much right have they got, inasmuch as the Constitu- tion says that it is the responsibility of the Chief Executive. 37/ The culmination of the Special Group discussions, which had taken place with increasing frequency between mid-November 1960 and mid-January 1961, was the report of the Joint Planning Committee issued by Willauer on 18 January 1961. The conclusions were predictable there were decisions that needed to be made, but these could not be made until the new administration became fully aware of the extent of the anti-Castro programs that had been evolving. As Willauer himself said in ·his final memo: In the ~bsence of these decisions, or at least most of them, there is a grave danger that the December 6 plan (updated) may have to be abandoned, -as an effective means of overthrowing Castro without more overt support, and that the only practical course of action for the physical'overthrow of Castro, will be either: (1) open U.S. war with Cuba, or (2) a seven-month overt training by .the U.S. on United States soil of a Cuban-Latin American invasion force, which will be planned to strike with at least overt U.s. logistical support.* 38/ * Willauer probably meant to refer to the 8 December 1960 plan. See pp. 173 ff. - 197 - T~ ><E~ET