ABSTRACT
This chapter covers the Kennedy administration’s discussions in the beginning of 1963 concerning the fact that CIA–led Operation Mongoose had become a dead end, and that a new, more flexible policy toward Cuba was needed for reaching the overall goal of eliminating Fidel Castro and terminating the Cuban Revolution. These discussions led to the establishment of a coordinator, and an interdepartmental committee, for Cuban Affairs in the beginning of 1963, within the framework of the new “multiple path” policy. The chapter also presents the discussions concerning the tasks of the new body, as well as the reasonings behind the appointment of Sterling J. Cottrell as coordinator and the framework for the coordinator and the interdepartmental committee within the U.S. administration.
