SUPPOSED FLIGHT OF AIRCRAFT BY ANTI-CASTRO PERSONNEL FROM FLORIDA TO CUBA AND BACK WITHOUT DETECTION BY U.S. AIR DEFENSE RADAR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP66B00403R000200170056-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 3, 2005
• Sequence Number: 56
• Publication Date: June 4, 1964
• Content Type: OPEN

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OP JUNE s, 1964
ATIOT,D$ alfcl vas given
permission te;a4diesS the -!C:ii_Se- for '1
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" Mr. ARE14b81' Mr:51SPealei?;,?rhave
asked for this time to inquire of the'ina
jority leader concerning theiii-O0rainlor
zezt week _ ?
Mr;Speaker, wilt th.P.
_ gen:t elnan Add?
Mr. AENS.? yield Ad .the -dentle-
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quiry or the gentleman froin-filinois the
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Of order.
,I.R. i1376, xcise Tax sate Extension
Act of 19G4.
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subject to the usual reservation that con-
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gditleman permit me to saY t -
ttr!.__AL18. Elft.Z. i,p ker, will the
4191*0112,-P4k4?,-P--15,P-- *1,444L-18((i4claY
tit.noq#y as to .Whether or not:thi.,?.,7411_
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aringtat1
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Monday?
U4, saying t4t an
-
anowle?il, wP..be` inade _1O-4day
or Tuesby of next week as to whether
it 70113*,..?6400P next wek.
yir,...?peal,cer,_Xtharik the
gentleman. -Mr vIr Speaker, I thank
_
the gentleman tioni OklahOina.
,
Se 2&5iO11 D 66130040 po2Or11:io66.,
dIIMIONAT, RECORD?HOUSE
brSPENSING WITH CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY BUSINESS NEXT
WEEK
Mr. ALBERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask
unanimous consent that the business in
order under the Calendar Wednesday
rule may be dispensed with on Wednes-
day next.
The SPEAKER. Is there objection to
the request of the gentleman from Okla-
homa?
There was no objection.-
ADJOURNMENT OVER TO MONDAY
JUNE 8
Mr. ALBERT, lvir. ppeaker, I ask
unanimous consent that when the House
adjourns today, it adjourn to meet on
Monday next.
The SPEAKER. Is there objection to
the request of the gentleman from Okla-
homa?
Mr. GROSS. Mr. Speaker, reserving
the right to object?and I shall take
only a minute or two?am I to under-
stand that the debt ceiling increase will
not be taken up next week?
Mr. ALBERT. The gentleman's un-
derstanding coincides with mine.
- Mr. GROSS. Mr. Speaker, I hope that
the distinguished majority leader is go-
ing to be consistent in bringing the debt
ceiling increase bill in before he brings
in the salary increase bill. I should not
like to think that the Members of Con-
gress are going to vote to increase their
-salaries or even have the opportunity to
vote on it before the debt ceiling in-
crease bill is disposed of.
Mr. ALBERT. I believe the Members
of Congress are courageous and will vote
their convictions regardless of when cer-
tain bills are called up.
Mr. GROSS. I believe that in order
to be consistent?and this is going to in-
crease the debt and deficit by a half bil-
lion dollars, the salary grant bill?we
ought to know whether the House is
going to increase the debt limit or not.
Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reserva-
tion.
The SPIAKgR. Is there objection to
the request of the gentleman from Okla-
homa?
There WQ,S no objection.
3.35
'Cuba and back without detection by U.S.
air defense radar.
Upon receipt of this i\-iformation I re-
lated it to the House, and urged that an
investigation of the circumstances sur-
rounding this story be launched. Chair-
man CARL VINSON of the House Armed
Services Committee was good enough to
honor my request, and he urged the Sec-
retary of Defense to look into the mat-
ter and make a full report.
You will recall that this flight was re-
portedly to have been made for the pur-
pose of airdropping medical equipment
for anti-Castro guerrillas inside Cuba.
'My concern was that U.S. air defenses
had again been eluded as they had been
._earlier this year when a Cuban helicopter
landed in Florida without being inter-
cepted by U.S. authorities.
The results of the Defense Department
investigation have just been reached,
and they have been turned over to Chair-
man VINSON, who is to be commended
for expediting this entire matter. The
Defense Department has given assur-
ances that the flight did not take place,
and that the Nation's air defenses were
not eluded.
This assurance should be related to the
American people. It is good to know
that our Armed Forces are maintaining
careful vigilance in this troubled area of
the Caribbean, and that every precau-
tion is being taken to guard gainst im-
pulsive acts which might originate from
the Cuban situation.
THE DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE,
Washington, D.C., June 4, 1964.
lion. CARL VINSON,
Chairman, Committee on Armed Services,
House of Representatives,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Reference is Made to
your letter of May 28, 1964 enclosing a letter
from Hon. PAur., G. ROGERS of Florida concern-
ing an alleged undetected flight of an air-
craft from Miami, Fla., to Cuba and return.
At the time of receipt of your letter, the De-
partment of Defense had already initiated a
thorough investigation of this matter, which
was brought to our attention as a result of
news stories in the Florida press.
We have now completed two separate but
coordinated investigations conducted by the
North American Air Defense Command and
the Defensse Intelligence Agency, with the
assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investi-
gation and the Central Intelligence Agency.
As a result of these investigations one of the
individuals involved in the alleged "Phantom
,,,,Raid" has indicated to our investigators that
the raid did not take place. Mr. Frank
Fiorinl, president of the International Anti-,
Communist Brigade, which allegedly Con-
ducted the raid has signed the following
statement:
"To the best of my knowledge a so-called
"Operation Phantom,' a raid in Cuba on May
25, 1964, did not take place. I declare that
U.S. radar defenses were not violated while
leaving or entering U.S. territory."
On the basis of the investigations we con-
51,31:TOktp FI4OH71" OF AIRCRAFrBY
ANTI-CA.5TR? ?PBRSONNEL FROM
FLORIDA TO CUBA AND BACK
- WITHOUT DETECTION BY U.S. AIR
DEFENSE RADAR
5 (Mr. ROGERS of Florida asked and
Was' given permission to address the
House for 1 minute to revise and extend
his remarks, and to include a letter from
the Deputy Secretary, of Defense.)
Mr.Speaker, in a sopyrignted news story
which, appeared, last week, a- claim
made that a civilian aircraft_ Was flown,
by anti-Castro personnel from Florida to
(a) The 30th of November revolutionary
_ _ 1:40Yement used the alleged incident for pub-
licity.
_(b) The flight as alleged in some pub-
lished reports did not take place.
Release 2005/01/27 : 666004
#0.4,
Approved For Release 2005/01/27 : CIA-RDP66B00MR000200170056-9
12336 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? HOUSE June 4
(c) The radar defenses of southern Florida
were not evaded on May 25.
We are grateful for your interest in this
matter.
Sincerely,
Crane VANCE.
Mr. EDMONDSON. Mr. Speaker, will
the gentleman yield?
Mr. ROGEEtS of Florida. I am glad to
yield to the gentleman from Oklahoma.
Mr. EDMONDSON. I thank the gen-
tleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the
gentleman from Florida for bringing the
results of this investigation to the atten-
tion of the Members of the House. I
know that a lot of Members shared the
gentleman's concern about the report
when such report appeared in the news-
papers.
Mr. Speaker, it is reassuring to know
that no such flight has taken place off
our shores.
DAUGHTER OF HENRY FORD TO BE
ON ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF
YOUNG UrriZENS FOR PRESIDENT
JOHNSON
_ (Mr. PUCINSKI asked and was given
permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend his re-
marks.)
Mr. PUCINSKI. Mr. Speaker, the As-
sociated Press carried the following story
today, which I believe is of significant
Interest to many Members of the Con-
gress, and particularly to those Members
on this side of the aisle.
The story which appeared under a
Washington dateline by the Associated
Press is as follows:
Miss Charlotte Ford, daughter of auto-
maker Henry Ford IT, will be on the advisory
committee of the newly organized Young
Citizens for Johnson, an official of the group
said today.
Gene Theroux. assistant director, said Miss
Ford and several other members of the ad-
visory committee will be on hand for a news
conference tomorrow kicking off the Young
Citizens group's activities.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to see
the daughter of the distinguished presi-
dent of the Ford Motor Co. join the
young people of this country in support-
ing the cause and impressive program of
President Johnson.
Mr. Johnson has followed the tradition
of former President Kennedy in realiz-
ing the many problems of the young
people of America. President Johnson
Is carrying on a program which provides
the young people of this country a rally-
ing point for all of their hopes and, I am
sure, for progress in America.
Mr. Speaker, I am sure all of us are
proud that Miss Ford will play an un-
portant role in this Young Citizens group
for President Johnson., Certainly, I hope
that her example will draw many, many
other young people into the political
arena. It is good for the young people
of this country to take an interest in the
body politic. We, as Democrats, are par-
ticularly pleased that Miss Ford, like her
distinguished father, hai chosen to use
her energy in support of President John-
son.
POLITICAL POLLSTERS: "THE MORE
I'M WRONG, THE BETTER I
GET"
(Mr. HALL asked and was given per-
mission to address the House for I min-
ute, to revise and extend his remarks, and
to include extraneous matter.)
Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, I suppose
that today Mr. Lou Harris is saying to
himself, "The more I'm wrong, the bet-
ter I get."
When the Literary Digest made its
famous miscalculation about the out-
come of the Roosevelt-Landon race, it
went out of business. But the more the
Lou Harris poll guesses wrong, the more
Insistent his clients are in using his
Democrat Party inspired propaganda.
Unfortunately these clients include
newspapers, magazines and television
networks who insist on giving him a
platform to try to sink the Republican
Party, especially the popularly phrased
conservative wing.
In view of his "accuracy" to date, I
think Republicans should take heart in
the Harris allegation that "40 percent of
the GOP voters prefer Lyndon Johnson
to either Goldwater or Rockfeller."
That is a typical statement to be ex-
pected from one who has spent much of
his career in the emnloy of a Demo-
crat Senator and the Democrat National
Committee. But if his statement is on
a par with his predictions in the New
Hampshire. Oregon. and California pri-
maries, then L.B.J. has cause to worry
about a possible 40-percent defection of
Democrats to the Republican standard
bearer next November. Indeed the out-
come of the Wisconsin. Indiana, and
Maryland Democrat primaries are more
cause for L.B.J. worry than the Harris
propaganda is for GOP worry.
Attached is a story in the New York
Times by Earl MaZO which bears out this
contention:
CALITORNIA REPUBLICAN PRIMARY TRIM TELE
POLLSTERS roe THIRD Tuts IN Row
By Earl Maze)
Major opinion polls went wrong again in
forecasting the winner of the California
Presidential primary.
Erroneous predictions by nationally pub-
lished and broadcast polls in three successive
Republican primaries have caused the opin-
ion research profession to approach the
election this year with a reputation recalling
1948. when nearly all polls picked Gov.
Thomas E Dewey to defeat President Tru-
man.
The setback is evident from mounting
criticism in Congress and elsewhere, even
though only a few of the Nation's 200 pro-
fessional pollsters conducted surveys in the
California. Oregon, and New Hampshire
primaries.
Among others. Senator Wm-um PRORMIRR
Democrat, of Wisconsin, charged in the Sen-
ate yesterday that pollsters were getting
such a reputation for failure this year that
their currently unanimous victory forecasts
for President Johnson could mean "the Re-
publicans will win the greatest victory in the
history of this country."
And the Senate Republican leader, Evesrrr
MCKINLEr DraxsEN. of Illinois. joined the
chorus by characterizing the California pri-
mary as "a computed election to end all
computers."
Experienced politakers are painfully aware
that prophesying a primary result is more
difficult than calling a general election.
Also, there are additional hazards this year
because of the unusually volatile situation
Within the Republican Party.
But what counts to poll readers?laymen
and politicians?is whether the professional
pollster is right or wrong in naming the
winner.
And only in an election itself can the pub-
lic check pollster reports.
Thus, when Senator BMIRY GOLDWATER won
California with 53 percent of the vote, it
was obvious that the pollsters who had pre-
dicted otherwise were in error.
For example, readers of Louis Harris' elec-
tion eve newspaper column could judge the
accuracy of its report that Governor Rocke-
feller was leading by 2 percent.
HARRIS PREDICTION
But the public may have to await the elec-
tion in November before checking another
report made by Mr. Harris:
"The plain fact is that 40 percent of these
GOP voters prefer Lyndon Johnson to either
Goldwater or Rockefeller."
None of the professionals who polled in
California called it right, not even Samuel
Lubell, whose election eve report came closer
than any other that was published.
Mr. Lubell, published in the Scripps-How-
ard newspapers, found Governor Rockefeller
to have "the edge of victory through the
whole State." but he reported Senator BARRY
GOLDWATER was gaining rapidly enough to be
given "a fair chance of winning."
The Lubell poll accurately pointed to Gov-
ernor Rockefeller's surprise victory in the
Oregon primary on May 15 and Ambassador
Henry Cabot Lodge's write-in triumph in the
New Hampshire primary on March 10.
Mr. Harris, the only other nationally syn-
dicated opinion researcher in the three Re-
publican primaries, failed to predict the
whiner of any.
Two pollsters who operate at the State
and regional level also inaccurately forecast
victory for Mr. Rockefeller.
They were Mervin D. Field, whose poll is
published in newspapers throughout Cali-
fornia, and Don Muchmore, polltaker for
the Long Beach Independent Press Telegram.
Mr, Field explained the error in his poll
in terms of its timing.
"Our Anal preelection surveys have to be
terminated a week or more before an elec-
tion," he said. "A lot can happen in the
closing days, if not the closing hours of a
campaign."
Mr. Harris, who was a confidential opinion
sampler for President Kennedy and now is
pollster for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate.
Newsweek magazine, and the Columbia
Broadcasting System, insisted yesterday that
his polls have been "absolutely right as of
when they were taken."
But he conceded, indirectly, that his
figures and findings may have become out-
dated when published a few days later.
Mr. Rockefeller lost to Mr. CloLnwsTra in
California "on Sunday, Monday, and Tues-
day," Mr. Harris said. He listed a range of
reasons, including "the birth of the Rocke-
feller baby."
Critics of pollster performance this year
also have raised questions about the speed
with which Mr. Harris and other experts de-
clared Senator GOLDWATER to be the victor in
California on primary night.
The Columbia network was first. Just 22
minutes after the first polls closed, Mr. Har-
ris announced Mr. GOLDWATER had swept the
primary with 53 percent of the vote.
Eyebrows were raised when Mr. Harris later
revised that margin downward, finally set-
tling on 51 percent.
Meanwhile, other networks came through
with Goldwater declarations. And as the
vote between the rival cOndidates narrowed
through the night, those early announce-
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