◆ SpookStack

Group on 8 and 15 December 1960, the issue of spoiling raids and tactical air operations out of Puerto Cabezas had been raised, but not resolved; and in planning for the 5 January 1961 meeting, Tracy Barnes was instructed to ask the Special Group for approval for air strikes cD auo beginning on D-l. ~ The need for such a strike had -- " been advanced as early 16 JanuarY/~y the. Department y of Defense; when the Joint Staff r ~e~ Agency's thinking about the operation against Castro • .3tThe actual responsibility for incorporating theD-2 air strike into the ZAPATA plan as it finally evolved~s been a subject of some speculation; but it appears clear that Col. Jack Hawkins, Richard ,Bissell, and C. Tracy Barnes were responsible for devising the D-2 strike and the "defector" story that went with it. ~/ None of the principal air officers -- Thorsrud, Gaines, Beerli, Campbell -- nor Chief WH/4 was able to pinpoint the actual individual or time when the decision was made that the inclusion of a pre-D-Day air strike was essential to the success of the operation. The records provide evidence that the push for a pre-D-Day air strike received strong support from McGeorge Bundy, President Kennedy's National Security - 179 -