American Military History, Volume 2 by Richard W. Stewart

The United States had severed diplomatic relations with Cuba dur- ing the closing days of the Eisenhower administration, but the presence of a Communist satellite so close to the American mainland remained a constant source of irritation. In April 1961 a band of U.S.-sponsored Cuban exiles moved to remedy that problem by launching an invasion of the island at the Bay of Pigs. When the Cuban people failed to rally in support of the attack, the operation collapsed, damaging American prestige and emboldening the Russians. Khrushchev seized the moment to drop dark hints that he was ready to employ Russian missiles in sup- port of his Communist ally if that became necessary.

The timing of the fiasco was particu- larly unfortunate. President Kennedy was scheduled to meet with Premier Khrush- chev in Vienna during June to discuss Ber- lin, where the growing prosperity of the Western zone contrasted sharply with the poverty and drabness of the Soviet sector. In that sense West Berlin had become as great an irritation to the Communists as Cuba was to the United States.