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The only witness at the eleventh meeting of the Cuban study Group on 5 May 1961 was Adolf A. Berle who had been serving President Kennedy as a special adviser on Latin American affairs. The most important point of Berle's testimony was his view on the question of non-attributability. To a question concerning the need for non-attribution, Mr. Berle's response was as follows: Non-attribution was not altogether necessary. The conventions protecting against intervention did not apply because the Communists had intruded in this hemisphere, and second because Castro's government was an openly con- stituted totalitarian government which is clearly outside the provisions of the treaty of Rio de Janeiro. They attacked the Organization of American States, announced they would not be bound by the rules of the treaty of Rio de Janeiro, and announced they were going to export the revolution. They . had actually invaded two or three other states, and were in no position to claim the protection of the inter- national system. This is still true. As far as non-attribution is concerned, we had assisted Cubans that wished to fight for freedom in their own country. As a matter of fact, it seemed that it was the last clear chance that the Cubans would have to fight for freedom in their own country. The danger, then, was not of non-attribution but of failure. Clearly it must not be an American invasion. The attribution of assistance to the Cubans by the United States under all circum- stances did not seem too serious. 105! This statement of Mr. Berle's was followed by a subsequent C01'lUI\ent that: 107