The Mystery of Cuba | The Castro Obsession: U.S. Covert Operations in Cuba, 1959-1965

Examines the covert U.S. operations against Cuba at the height of the Cold War | The Castro Obsession: U.S. Covert Operations in Cuba, 1959-1965 | Don Bohning

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	• The Castro Obsession: U.S. Covert Operations in Cuba, 1959-1965 Don Bohning Potomac Books Inc., 2006 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 3 reviews view larger image
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Understanding the Cuban Problem

Don Bohning, an experienced Latin American journalist and former Miami Herald Latin American Editor enjoyed a personal relationship with the key players, US & Cuban nationals, to accurately write an outstanding story of what has occured in actions against Cuba and why they failed. A must read for those interested in foreign affairs.
Manuel J. Chavez
Lt. Col. USAF (Ret)

The Mystery of Cuba

Now at about 75 years old, Fidel Castro is in ailing health. Cuba's economy, as with most of the communist centrally planned economies, is at subsistence level. Average annual per capita income is about $1,500 per person. But still it survives. Two new books go a long ways towards explaining why.

Don Bohning's "The Castro Obsession", talks about the secret (and not so secret) operations conducted against Castro from 1959 to 1965. The appearance of a giant country like the United States arrayed against a small insignificant country like Cuba, and then failing created a groundswell of respect and support for Castro among people and countries that root for the underdog.

Humberto Fontova's "Fidel: Hollywood's Favorite Tyrant", is really two books in one. The main theme talks about the comments from selected Hollywood types, media and political left wing liberals, praising Castro (shades of Hanoi Jane Fonda). The secondary theme is that Castro has instituted a bloody repressive regime that attempts to control all life in Cuba. While this is not a surprise, the details are shocking in that we have so much more information because of the communication with large numbers of Cubans now living in the US but retaining close links with the island.

These two books provide interesting background for the actions that will be playing out over the next few years.

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Examines the covert U.S. operations against Cuba at the height of the Cold War

Any in-depth political science library, particularly those with close coverage of Cuba, will want to be sure The Castro Obsession: U.S. Covert Operations Against Cuba 1959-1965 is in their collection. Journalist Don Bohning was Latin American editor for the Miami Herald, and here uses his reporter's inspection eye to examine the covert U.S. operations against Cuba at the height of the Cold War. The U.S. tried for economic and political destabilization, hit-and-run raids, and assassination plots during this time: Bohning's The Castro Obsession basically asks "was it worth it" and supports the conclusion "no".

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At the height of the Cold War, the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations made removing Fidel Castro?s regime one of their highest foreign policy priorities. The Castro Obsession provides new insight into the bold U.S. covert war against Cuba that lasted from 1959 until 1965. Eisenhower and Kennedy?s fervent desire to get rid of Castro led to the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, but the efforts to oust his regime did not end there. It became an obsession. Primarily through the CIA and the military, the United States resorted to economic and political destabilization, propaganda, sabotage, hit-and-run raids, and assassination plots to try to topple the regime. This secret war was one of the most wide-ranging, sustained, expensive, and ultimately futile covert action campaigns in history.

Was this secret war wise, and did it ultimately promote U.S. interests? Don Bohning says no. Even if the details were murky, the extreme American pressure on Cuba was apparent to all, and this heavy-handedness severely damaged the U.S. image in Latin America and much of the Third World. Instead of ridding the hemisphere of a dictator, these efforts increased his international political fame and provided him the excuse for more repression in Cuba. U.S. attempts to overthrow Castro also had dire unintended consequences, such as contributing to the Soviet decision to install nuclear missiles in Cuba, which produced the most dangerous crisis of the Cold War. Bohning sheds new light on this covert war, revealing that it was even more extensive, risky, and long-lived than previously thought.

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