73. Editorial Note
At a meeting of the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff on February 23, 1961, there was some discussion of Latin America during a general discussion of guerrilla and counter-guerrilla warfare. According to a memorandum of the meeting by Defense Liaison Officer Brigadier General C.V. Clifton, USA, dated February 27, JCS Chairman General Lemnitzer reported briefly on a meeting with Latin American military representatives, and the President asked Lemnitzer to try to find out “how these military Latin Americans feel about Castro; from a military viewpoint, what would they do from their countries to offset his regime; and does Castro represent a threat to their countries?” The President requested a JCS analysis of what the United States could do around the world to build anti-guerrilla forces, and indicated that he especially wanted comments on each Latin American country. (Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Clifton Series, JCS Conferences with the President) The text of Clifton’s memorandum of the meeting is printed in Foreign Relations, 1961–1963, volume VIII, Document 18.