Minutes from the Meeting of the Special Group on Operation Mongoose, 4 October 1962. Declassified Top Secret.
The Attorney General opened the meeting by saying that higher authority is concerned about progress on the MONGOOSE program and feels that more priority should be given to trying to mount sabotage operations. The Attorney General said that he wondered if a new look is not required at this time in view of the meager results, especially in the sabotage field. He urged that “massive activity” be mounted within the entire MONGOOSE frame work. There was a good deal of discussion on this, and General Lansdale said that another attempt will be made against the major target which has been the object of three unsuccessful missions, and that approximately six new ones are int he planning stage.
The Attorney General is none other than the beloved Robert F. Kennedy.
Operation Mongoose, was a covert operation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) aimed at removing the Communists from power in Cuba. It entailed a wide range of activities, including intelligence collection, sabotage operations, searching for leaders within Cuba who could overthrow Castro, and more.
So what did Kennedy want?
Arthur Schlesinger recounted in his biography Robert Kennedy and His Times:
The Attorney General was always dissatisfied with Mongoose. He wanted it to do more, the terrors of the earth, but what they were he know not.
There you have it. The beloved “liberal” wanted “terror” in Cuba!
Any questions?
Thanks for reading,