649. Memorandum for the record by McCone, April 101
SUBJECT
- Executive Committee of the NSC Meeting—12:00 noon—10 April 1963
IN ATTENDANCE
- The President, Secretary Ball, Governor Harriman, Amb. Thompson, Mr. Bundy, Admiral Anderson, Secretary Johnson, Mr. McCone, Mr. Kaysen and others
[Here follows discussion of other subjects.]
[Facsimile Page 2]7. I then had a private meeting with the President. At this time I read my memorandum of April 10 covering the initial report on the Donovan negotiations. He noted numbered paragraph 2 with considerable interest and raised the question as to Castro’s future in Cuba, with or without Soviet presence. I told him this matter was under study, that I felt the Donovan relationship was valuable, and my intent to send Donovan back on April 22 to secure the freedom of the remaining Americans and also I intended to keep the channel of communication open.
I expressed concern over the delay until April 22, indicating to the President that this might very well be a ploy and that there was a possibility of a confrontation in connection with our aerial surveillance. The President said we must continue aerial surveillance and be prepared to act if a plane is shot down. I stated that while this was a possibility, an alternative might be that Cuba, with or without the Soviet Union, would go before the United Nations [Facsimile Page 3] and insist that we stop violating Cuban air spaces. The President said he felt this was a definite possibility, that he thought we could meet such a diplomatic maneuver, and that under any circumstances we must maintain aerial surveillance.
- Executive Committee of the NSC meeting including: Donovan negotiations; aerial surveillance. 3 pp. Secret. CIA, DCI McCone Files: Job 80–B01285A, DCI Meetings with the President, 1 April–30 June 1963.↩