278G. Memorandum from CIA Inspector General Kirkpatrick to Assistant Deputy Director for Plans Barnes, January 221
[Facsimile Page 1]Thank you for your courtesy in sending me a copy of your memorandum of 19 January concerning the Inspector General’s Survey of the Cuban Operation. I do hope that Dick forwards it to the DCI, and I am enclosing a copy of this note to you in case you wish to send a copy to Dick.
I have not had time to study your memorandum, or even in fact do more than glance at the DD/P analysis in view of the meeting with the President’s Board all day Friday and the fact that I am going to be away all this week. However, I will make the following comments. Needless to say, I completely disagree with your statement that it is an incompetent job. I feel that it is competent and I believe that the more than one file cabinet drawer full of background documents will prove its competence. I do not believe that it is biased. We made it very clear at the start of the report that it would only deal with inadequacies and failures and would not purport to be a thorough analysis of the operation.
Most of all I object most strongly to your third observation, namely that it is malicious and intentionally biased. I have asked the men who did this survey to review your memorandum and comment on the reasons you believe that it is biased. I should perhaps acknowledge that more time should have been spent with you or Bissell, but inasmuch as this devolved on me, if there is a fault, it is mine personally. But to imply that for some reason, unknown to me, that we would slant this report is an unfair comment. You apparently feel there was something unusual in the distribution of the final report. The only thing unusual in it was that we had two Directors at the time, and Mr. McCone having asked for it received it as he was leaving for the West Coast on the day before Thanksgiving and everybody else got their copies on the day after Thanksgiving. Your concern as to how the President’s Board and the Attorney General knew of the survey’s existence can be answered very simply. In 1956 the President’s Board in writing advised all agencies that all [Facsimile Page 2] inspector general reports should be forwarded to them automatically. I don’t believe it was a week after the Cuban operation that the direct question came from that Board as to whether [Typeset Page 894] an inspection was going to be done to which an affirmative reply was given. The Attorney General’s source I do not know.
Finally, as far as to what should be done next, you and Dick should know that at the conclusion of my discussion with the President’s Board I urged that a group, or individual, who had not in any way been associated with the operation be charged with taking the Taylor Report, our report and your comments and all background material and writing a truly national and detailed report. I believe that would be a far better solution than trying to develop a CIA position, which really is not very practical inasmuch as there were so many outside factors affecting this operation.
- Response to Barnes’ January 19 memorandum commenting on Kirkpatrick’s survey of the Cuban operation. 2 pp. Secret. CIA, DCI Files, History Staff Files: Job 85–00664R.↩