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Decision for Disaster: Betrayal at the Bay of Pigs

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I read this book with an insider's knowledge based upon the 18 years it took my family and I to recover my father's remains, which laid frozen in a Havana morgue, hidden by Washington and the Kennedy Administration. My father, Thomas "Pete" Ray was one of the American CIA B-26 pilots who gave his life attempting to save the "Bay of Pigs" invasion. My thanks go to Grayston Lynch for telling the true and compelling story of how Jack and Robert Kennedy betrayed so many in the planning and execution of the invasion, then falsely placed the blame for failure on the CIA and the brave men who actually went into harm's way. Washington even went so far as to terrorize the families of the four lost CIA pilots into silence. This book should be required reading for any politician or senior military officer before they are allowed to commit men or women to combat or covert operations.

As a Cuban, I always knew that the U.S. governments theories on the failed invasion were a total and complete cover-up. After reading this book, it shows how correct I was. This book takes you through the story of the doomed 2506 Brigade from the training in Nicaragua to the desprate search for survivors. The book is written by one of the two American CIA agents sent with the Brigade to maintain communications between the Brigade and Washington. The book is devided into three main parts. The first part describes Castros Revolution, the planning for the attack, and the training of the Brigade. The second part describes the actual attacks on the two landing sites, Blue Beach and Red Beach.The final part of the book compares the government explinations for the faliure against what really happend, showing how the Kennedy administration betrayed not only the doomed men of the Brigade, but the American people, for had the Brigad succeded, there would have been no Cuban Missle Crisis, no civil wars in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Colombia, and the Soviet threat would have been eliminated much earlier. I would recomend this book to anyone willing to learn how their government is betraying them.

Grayston Lynch was one of two American "advisors" who stormed the Bay of Pigs with the 2506 Assault Brigade on April 17, 1961. In Decision for Disaster, Lynch attempts to set the record straight on what caused the mission to fail. He offers a unique perspective in that his position privileged him to the inner happenings of CIA and White House planning, yet he can also give a firsthand account of the battle itself, having fired the first shots of the invasion himself. Lynch is clearly not content in the contemporary historical account of the Bay of Pigs, proclaiming in the preface that "the true story has never been told, until now." Lynch goes on to tell his story with reasoned contempt for Castro and Camelot, and a deep reverence for the 2506 Assault Brigade.

Lynch became a player in the Bay of Pigs in December 1960. The Texan had just retired from a 22 year career with the US Army, most recently as the captain of a US Army Special Forces A-Team in Laos. He had seen combat and was wounded at Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge and Heartbreak Ridge in Korea. He was awarded two Silver Stars and a Bronze Star with Valor. The Cuban cause was something that Lynch took to heart; even after the Bay of Pigs he continued to play a major role in anti-Castro commando raids. His decision to write this book now came from the recent passing away of his fellow "advisor" William "Rip" Robertson and the declassification of items essential to the telling of the story. Besides using his first-hand account, Lynch enlisted the knowledge of commanding officers and 2506 Assault Brigade survivors in writing this book.

Lynch had his book published by Potomac Books which was founded in 1983 as a part of British publishing house Brassey's. Since this books publishing, Potomac was purchased by American book distributor Books International. Potomac has strong roots in military history, but has broadened its range to include general history, world affairs, foreign policy, intelligence, memoirs, biographies, and even sports. Its most successful book to date was Michael Scheuer's American Hubris. Potomac's usual offerings come with a strong dose of realism backed with a healthy dose of knowledge and first hand experience; Decision for Disaster is no exception.

Lynch gets off to a rough start in his account. He attempts to weave together several concurrent stories that will eventually lead to the invasion. A difficult enough task by itself, he attempts to do it as a flashback story while on his voyage to invade Cuba. This continued flashback-fastforward-recollection-juxtaposition can give the reader a mild case of mental whiplash. His constant foreshadowing and alluding to the invasion gave me a strong case of deja vu by the time he was invading in real time. However, whatever Lynch lacks in authorship, he makes up for in laying out an intriguing fact-laden journey through all relevant events leading up to the invasion.

One of the stories Lynch tells exceedingly well in the build up to the invasion is Castro's initial revolutionary undertakings in Cuba. Lynch robs any Bolivarian Romanticism from Castro's invasion, likening him and his cohorts more to a buffoonish F-Troop, who shortly after arriving are gunned down from eighty-three men to twelve. What is especially amazing is that through some perfect storm of idiot journalism, Congressional nativity, and Batista's yellow belliedness, Castro still somehow manages to seize power in two years time. This is something that the US backed 2506 Assault Brigade would fail to do.

When all members of the invasion force meet in Nicaragua, Decision for Disaster takes off. From here Lynch takes command of the story and tells it with an earnestness and humorous wit that allows the reader to experience a real empathy for him and the 2506 Assault Brigade. The story that follows is so outlandish and multi-dimensional that it left me wondering why fictional war stories exist. The politicking, bravery, cowardice, mutiny, and chance that make up the Bay of Pigs invasion is mind numbing. There is no way an academic or bureaucrat could deliver a better synopsis of the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

All good stories have a villain, and Decision for Disaster's is not who you might think. Though Lynch makes no doubt about his contempt of Castro, he dismisses him as a thuggish opportunist who only reigns due to the failing of our true villain: JFK. Lynch begins his case against Kennedy during his presidential race with Nixon. He quotes Kennedy arguing with Nixon, "If you can't stand up to Castro, how can you stand up to Khrushchev?" Kennedy played this weakness card throughout the election, and was befuddled to learn of the extensive invasion plan already in place when he arrived in office. From here, Lynch documents action after action that Kennedy takes to push the project closer and closer to failure. Against the heeds of all military advisors, Kennedy relocates the invasion spot, restricts Air Force use, and delays the project enough to allow Castro to receive his first shipment of Soviet tanks and arms.

What is especially frustrating about Kennedy's actions is that not only did they doom the invasion, but they did absolutely nothing to meet his misguided intention of hiding the obvious US involvement. Kennedy's inexcusable pussyfooting around the invasion offers a case example of what happens when the US tries to placate international concerns. A more Machiavellian approach, using overwhelming power to achieve decisive victory, would have brought success and avoided the missile crises that followed due to its failure. Lynch succeeds in painting Kennedy as an incompetent boob, who should be held ultimately responsible for the deaths and loss of American respect that resulted from the Bay of Pigs fiasco. For those who would like to place blame elsewhere, Lynch starts his book with the following quote, "For the greatest enemy of truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, pervasive, and unrealistic". This is quoted from none other than JFK himself.

Decision for Disaster is an excellent book that succeeds in telling the story in a believable manner. There is no circular logic or excuses made in Lynch's book. His humbleness while telling the story makes it clear that he has no agenda outside of relating the story as it should be told. Though Lynch occasionally stumbles to tell his story coherently in the beginning, he builds enough momentum through humor and insightfulness that it is easily overlooked. With Decision for Disaster, Lynch offers a great opportunity to relive the macrocosm of the Bay of Pigs with a genuine and witty tour guide, highly recommended.

During the invasion of Girón, the truth was twisted, and facts hidden. Mr. Lynch's accountability, as one of the first men on the beach at Girón and one of the last out of the surrounding swamps, gives us the details that have been denied by the US government. I, as a Cuban, appreciate how he describes the folks that doomed our nation and handed over the island to the communists. Much blood was shed, much blood continues to be shed, all do to the one fact which stands out clearly from Mr. Lynch's statement: a `Decision for Disaster'. Thank you Gray!. ¡Viva Cuba Libre!.

This book is honestly one of the best political books that I have read to date. Well written, never wanted to put the book down!

This is a very revealing story about the fabled "Bay of Pigs" invasion that is so often called a failure. Grayston Lynch, one of two CIA agents on the beaches with Brigade 2506, tells the story from the ground up and makes a compelling case that the Brigade did not fail, but they were betrayed by an indifferent President John Kennedy and his Secretary of State Dean Rusk. Although I personally wished that Lynch had shared more information about other CIA figures who were involved with the "Bay of Pigs" invasion, he nonetheless clearly reveals the frustration, anger, and bitterness shared by those CIA operatives who lived through a betrayal from Washington. I'm looking forward to Lynch's follow-up book on his years following the failed invasion as part of the CIA's Miami JM/Wave Operation. Too many adults today do not understand the debt owed the warriors of WWII who devoted a life fighting communism. This book helps set the record straight.

This is the story that should have been told long ago. However, as usual our country prefers to lie to its people and the world to save embarrassment. Grayston Lynch gives us the truth, from first hand experience. I have spoken to many of the men that were there on that doomed invasion. I have read numerous books on this subject from others that were there and some that were not. However, Mr. Lynch is the only one that I am aware of that was not only there, but was privy as to the decisions that were made in Washington, why they were made and by whom they were made. It's almost incomprehensible that the original plan designed by true warriors, that was as close to perfect as could be would be changed so dramatically by someone that had absolutely no clue as to what he (they) were doing. (Not incomprehensible to me since I too have had first hand experience with people like these.) It's actually down right scary! This is the one to read on this subject. Grayston Lynch is a true American. Thank you my friend, for risking your life for us, the Cubans and for risking your life for us the Americans. Most of all, thank you for telling the truth!!

This book is definitely an eye opener. I remember as a child my father telling me of the cover-ups and distortions created by the Kennedy administration. The real truth about what happened at the Bay of Pigs is finally out. JFK's mistake caused untold missery to millions of people. Not just Cubans, but also Nicaraguans, Guatemalans, Colombians, and now Venezuelans. Cubans, and Americans as a whole, should be extemely grateful to Mr. Grayston Lynch for writing this book. I know I am. Thank you, thank you Mr. Lynch.

An exceptional portray of actual events, which led to the betrayal of extraordinary, patriotic, and courageous men. Lynch's unmasking of "Kennedy's Camelot" reveals heart-wrenching facts, which continue to stir emotions among Brigade 2506 veterans. This book is clear, concise and above all...Factual! "Decision for Disaster" is a sanctuary for readers and historians seeking the truth about the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

Glad Mr. Lynch left us this riveting narrative.

Condolences to his widow.