| After the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961, the United States put a new large-scale covert action in practice——the Mongoose Operation. CIA, Department of State, Department of Defense and the United States Information Agency all involved in the operation. It was very wide-ranging, covering the aspects of politics, economy, psychology and paramilitary. It quietly ended with the Cuban missile crisis. To a certain extent, the operation also served as a catalyst for the Cuban missile crisis. So far, domestic academic research on this issue is still very weak. Based on documents newly decoded and other research achievements, this issue will be analyzed in this paper.This paper can be divided into five parts. The first part introduces the background of the Mongoose Operation. The peak of the Cold War appeared in 1960s. After revolution, Cuba increasingly became the focus of the United States and Soviet Union. The United States cannot tolerate the appearance of a Soviet's satellite country in their backyard. Therefore it did everything possible to contain the Cuban revolutionary regime. Besides open economic blockade and embargo, the United States Government also carried out covert operations against Cuba. Kennedy who continued to implement Pluto Project whose object was to overthrow the Castro government, which inherited Eisenhower's policy against Cuba after taking office. The effort failed with the Bay of Pigs fiasco. The fiasco declared the failure of the United States policy toward Cuba. In the self-reflection of the fiasco, the United States Government began brewing a new covert action plan.The second part introduces the proposal of Mongoose Operation and describes the progress of the initial stage. President Kennedy authorized the development of the covert action program designed to undermine the Castro government in Cuba on November 3, 1961. Subversion of the Castro regime was the United States policy toward Cuba from the very beginning. The Mongoose Operation was proposed both in the context of the Cold War and the self-reflection the Bay of Pigs fiasco. During the initial stage, it established the mechanism, concept of the action and gradually formed a basic plan of the action. They also discovered that the action had some difficulties in operation. This stage made preliminary preparations for the implementation of Mongoose Operation.The third part analyzes the implementation process of the Mongoose Operation. The process was divided into two phases. Taking into account of the difficulties in operation which discovered during the initial stage, the primary objectives of the first phase was to acquire hard intelligence on the target area, undertaking all other political, economic and covert actions, short of inspiring a revolt in Cuba or developing the need for U.S. armed intervention. But as the United States intelligence agencies confirmed that the Soviet Union had accelerated supply of personnel, material and possible medium-range ballistic missiles to Cuba, then the United States Government changed the course of the Mongoose Operation. It lifted some restrictions on the operation and stepped up its progress. Cuban missile crisis dramatically changed the destiny of the Mongoose Operation. As the crisis intensified, Kennedy decided not to stimulate the Soviet Union and ordered to cease the operations in Cuba. It's the end of the Mongoose Operation.The reason for the abortion and impacts of the Mongoose Operation will be analyzed in the forth part. The outbreak of the Cuban missile crisis directly caused the abortion of the Mongoose Operation. But even without this crisis, it would unlikely lead to the road of success. Due to the operation's objectives were too high, the Kennedy government made many restrictions on its noise level in view of the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the mechanism were too miscellaneous, it's not surprising that the Mongoose Operation failed in the end. The implementation of the Mongoose Operation further damaged the relations between Cuba and the United States, which pushed Cuba to the Soviet Union and made Cuba suspecting that the United States was planning a second invasion, so Castro regime decided to accept the Soviet Union's missiles. Actually, the Mongoose Operation was the catalyst of Cuban missile crisis. In addition, it also had some influences on the United States judicature and so on.The fifth part estimates the Mongoose Operation as a whole. The characteristics of the Mongoose Operation and the characteristics of the Bipolar pattern international relations will be analyzed. The Mongoose Operation was a "the third option" with smaller price, which was a decision the U.S. government can be made in that situation. But as a covert action which aimed at subverting a legal regime, its illegality and amorality is obvious. It violated the international law and undermined the well-being of the people in that country as well as the international stability. It will be nailed in historical pillar of shame in the end. |
