The war that never was: An insider's account of CIA covert operations against Cuba

By Bradley Earl Ayers

Book by Ayers, Bradley Earl This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0672521806
• ISBN13: 9780672521805
• Release Date: January 1976
• Publisher: Bobbs-Merrill
• Length: 235 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Exciting Adventure

As a longtime student of the JFK assassination, I recently read this book, mainly because it has been mentioned in several books dealing with the assassination. The potential reader should know, however, that this is not a JFK assassination book. It only peripherally touches upon the case in a couple of instances. The book appears to be the true personal story of the author, in which he tells of his involvement with the Cuban so-called exiles in southern Florida, how he helped to train them, keep them supplied and even accompany them on raids against Cuba in the months leading up to the president's assassination. The story starts with the author's account of his specialized military training (he was an active duty U.S. Army officer, Captain, as I remember) and his orders for the undercover CIA assignment with the exiles. He tells of his trip to Washington D.C., where he meets with high level military officers, such as General Victor Krulak. Later on, after arriving at the CIA's Miami station, he recalls his association with people such as as Ted Shackley and David Morales. In all of these cases, the author changed the names slightly, but readers who are familiar with the subject matter of the assassination should recognize them. There are no big revelations here, except perhaps that the author inadvertantly (apparently) establishes that David Morales did go by the alias 'El Indio', a pseudonym that some people have linked to the assassination. This is actually the main reason I decided to read this book although I'm a little concerned about a possible red herring being provided here, as the subject of the JFK assassination is awash with disinformation. Regardless, it's a small point in the overall scheme and the informed reader should be the judge. (See below for my recommendation for a good book on the JFK assassination.) As well, the author tells of his meeting Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. The main substance of the book deals with the author's account of his logistical support of the exiles, his supervision of their tranining and his participation in some of their raids against Cuba, much of which made for some fairly exciting reading. Toward the end, after the assassination and as the Johnson administration shifts the CIA's focus from Cuba to Vietnam, the author's life with the exiles changes drastically, as everything he had hoped and worked for apparently comes to naught. His disillusion is complete, as he can't fathom why a country half-way around the world could possibly be more important than one only 90 miles off the coast of Florida, among other things. In any case, students of the assassination should give this book a read, maybe just for a change from the usual analytical assassination fare. For others, this is a fairly exiting book of political and military intrigue which took place not in a faraway land, but right here at home. This is a paperback book and I don't think it was ever published in any other format. As