◆ SpookStack

Mr. Bundy also was quite positive in his statements that the President had been assured "repeatedly" that should the Castro opposition pecome too much, the invading forces would have the option of going guerrilla. In reinforcement of this opinion, Mr. Bundy stated: As one listening in the same way that he listened to most of the discussion before him, I was left with the clear irnpre.ssion that unless there was a quite unexpected catastrophe in the beaching process itself, a substantial portion of the force would almost certainly be able to survive for a prolonged period in guerrilla operations •••As I recall it', the report of the Joint Staff on the Zapata plan explicity included as~urances on the guerrilla option. 61/ Mr. Bundy's recollection that the Joint Chief's evaluation of the Zapata plan included assurances on the guerrilla option was completely in error. Nothing in the evaluation of Zapata in JCSM-166-61 touched on the possibility that the invaders could go into the swamps in guerrilla capacity: but the JCSM did note, however, in their evaluation of the proposed but rejected modi:eication of the Trinidad plan that the guerrilla option was available--into the Escambray. Similarly in their evaluation of the alternative of an invasion in the Preston - area o~ northeastern Cuba, the JCS pointed out that the mountanous area was within ten miles of the proposed invasion site. J 72 .. ," 1,~4'