CUBAN RANSOM . . .WHY IT HAD TO BE PAID

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000100380079-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 7, 2000
• Sequence Number: 79
• Publication Date: December 20, 1962
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2000/06/13
FOIAb3b
Why I ,Had to Be Paid
CPYRGHT
ian Ransom
WILL 'ME KELEAbh to
freedom of the 1113 brave
anti-Castro Cuban rebels -
the Bay of Pigs invasion pris-
nnnrc cxihn
CPYRGHT
ma e it on
t o Havana'
jails-bring
sigh of relie
from th
American pe
ple or a sens
of shame th
the Unite
States got i
self trappe
in internation-
al extortion? ,
e s or noneSL
ifferences of opinion. One
haxrnaceutical
Arm honorably declined to
ntribute medical instru
i ents on the ground that it
would . be . paying "Castro.`
ackmail." There is no
ubt that`the Federal Gov-
nment has given active, of-
f vial aid to private, efforts
t raise $53 million worth of
edicine and food.
The fd raising and nego-
t ations to release the Cuban
isoners have it a
wholly spontaneous private
enterprise''. It li s had of-
f cial encouragement, guid-
ce, and financial assist-
ce. This means that the
United States Gov, rumen, is
p"artnerw.in'is ransom..
And I think righily.
IT IS RIGHT for three rea-
1. It is an act of necessity.
oin fighters. They chose to
sk their lives fpr the free-
om of the country but we
e also respobsible for their
light. We helped ti plan
uld `isyc arge its respon-
s bility to llese Cuban free-
I is the only way the Gov-
nmept of tie UnitedStates
CPYRGHT
By Roscoe Drum.monc
nd carry out the fumbled
lay of. Pigs invasion. We
ow know that military sup-
ort which had been com-
itted to it in advance was
ut back after the invasion
egan. For that reason we
hare additional blame for
hat happened. In his re-
ent television interview
resident Kennedy referred
o "the Cuban disaster of
961," and added: "I was re-
ponsible." The fate of these
risoners has long been on
he conscience of the Presi-
ent and, I feel, on the con-
cience of many Americans.
2. It is an act of mercy. The
ives, of these prisoners are
ore precious and more im-
ortant than' any benefit
hich will accrue. to the
astro regime from the medi-
aI supplies and food given
n exchange.
3. It yields the minimum
ssistance to Castro. The
edical supplies and food
will not boost the long-terns
conomy, they contribute pri-
arily to the human welfare
f some of the Cuban people.
I would be the first to
gree that there are disagree-
ble circumstances attending
his transaction. But the cold
war and the effort of the
ofnmunists to suffocate hu-
an freedom by force creates
disagree'ab'e world in
hoose the lesser of two
oils: It seems to me that the
esser of two evils-whether
o allow therm` to linger in
ail or be shot or to pay the
lackmail even with official
ssistance-is the ransom.
APART FROM THIS hu-
ane and obligatory action,
urely nothing should be
one by the United States to
maintain Castro's repressive
dictatorship over the Cuban
people. In a recent interview
in New York a Turkish news-
paper correspondent, who
had spent several weeks in
Cuba, confirmed the judg-
ment of others, that today
the Cuban people are over-
whelmingly-he put it at 90
per cent-hostile to the re-
gime. They would like noth-
ing better than to get rid of
it, lock, stock, and sickle.
But .all the instruments of
power, terror, and coercion
are in the hands of Castro
and the Russians. A civilian
uprising is utterly impossible
as long as the Kremlin is
prepared to pay the bill of
supporting the Cuban econ-
omy with massive economic
aid.
This is why the widest pos-
sible quarantine on trade
with Castro's Cuba is vital.
It increases the already
heavy economic burden
which Moscow has to bear
to keep its satellite afloat.
Our central objective must
be to-make that burden as
great as possible in the hope
that, as it mounts, Khru-
shchev will decide that it is
an unfruitful enterprise pour-
ing Soviet resources down a
rathole,.
Many Americans would, I
am sure, like to see Presi-
dent Kennedy publicly con-
firm that the conditional
pledge not, to invade Cuba is
no longer applicable because
Khrushchev failed to make
good on his promise of in-
spection. I " am not advocat-
ing invasion; I am aavocating
uncertainty as to what we
might do: The more uhcer-
tainty Castro has hanging
over him, the better.
C:opi'rlght, 1962,
New York Herald Tribune, Inc,
CPYRGHT
CPYRGHT
Approved For Release 2000/06/13 : CIA-RDP75-00001 R000100380079-0