390. Editorial Note
On December 27, 1963, Director of Central Intelligence McCone met with President Johnson at his ranch in Texas. According to McCone’s December 29 memorandum for the record Johnson told McCone that he wanted to “‘change the image of the DCI’ from a cloak and dagger role to the role of adviser to the President.”McCone responded that was very much in line with his thinking and he was prepared to do anything the President desired. McCone and Johnson then discussed specific items, one of which was Cuba. Their discussion on Cuba went as follows:
“I reviewed briefly the most recent summary (the CIA-DIA assessment of 20 December) of the situation in Cuba, advising the President that there had been no additions to the Soviet forces but no appreciable withdrawal. There had been a substantial turnover in recent months and the probability was that a few hundred—and not more than a few hundred—Soviets had departed. This was about the extent of the net reduction. I said that it appeared that the Soviet activities were entirely of a training nature, that the Cuban SAM traineeshad been deployed at SAM sites and that there was a possibility that autonomous Cuban control of the SAM sites would present us with a very difficult situation in the immediate future. The President then asked what could be done if the Cubans decided to use the SAMs against our U-2’s. I stated that we could not go without continuing aerial surveillance. We had two choices: either use our ‘new development,’ which I opposed because of its importance for other purposes, or tentatively to actually ‘take out’ the SAM sites. The President remarked that this would then mean war and I responded that certainly the destruction of the SAM sites would mean war, that the degree of escalation could not be determined in advance. I stated that this was the most ominous situation that confronted us in Cuba in the immediate future. The President made no comment.” (Central Intelligence Agency, DCI/McCone Files, Job 80-B01285A, DCI Meetings with the President, 23 November-31 December 1963)
The CIA-DIA summary, December 20, entitled “Status of Soviet Military Personnel in Cuba,” is in Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OASD (C) A Files:FRC 71 A 2896, Cuba 381, May through Dec. 1963. See the Supplement.