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AreF'SECRET So concerned was Castro at this time that he put his armed forces in a state of alert for a two week period, covering the transitton from the Eisenhower to the Kennedy administratioi:l.41/ The other. principal protagonist at this time, to remembered it in a somewhat different manner. The former US President wrote of this period in the fol- lowing manner: Covert training of exiles for any pos- sible future operations against Castro was going forward. Units were growing steadily in strength and efficiency against the time when actual tactical planning could be undertaken. In Decem-. ber (1960], I suggested to the State Department that the time might be pro- pitious for organizing a "front" against. Castro among the r~fugees, with the United States recognizing the leader and his associates as the legal govern- ment of Cuba, with the priviso,however, that the exiles themselves would volun- tarily select from their own number an acceptable "head of government. 1Il I added that if they could do so at once, Iid like to see recognition accorded promptly if possible, before January 20 So, to the incoming administration, we left units of Cuban refugees busily training and preparing hopefully for a return to their native land. Because they had as yet been unable to find the leader they wanted -- a national leader to be both ariti-Castro and anti-Batista -- it was impossible to make specific - 199 - TOP SeCREI