History 65
Papers

PAPER ASSIGNMENTS: Pen a masterful seven-or-so page essay to two of brilliant questions below (no more than one from each section). The paper should thoroughly examine all documents posted for that topic's assignment. It is due at 11.59.59pm on April 22, or any time thereafter before May 22, the day before grades are due.

Group One:

1.) There obviously was some link between PBSUCCESS and the various CIA covert operations to destabilize Castro's regime in Cuba. But exactly how close was that link? Compare and contrast the two operations. Be sure to use the readings (Cullather and Blight) as well as the following documents: Michael Warner, "The CIA's Internal Probe of the Bay of Pigs Affair"; CIA expectations on the eve of the Bay of Pigs operation; Richard Bissell defends his plan; CIA Assassination Manual: Guatemala (1952); CIA analysis: Guatemala; Provocation Plans: Guatemala, June 1954.

2.) Did covert action in Central America change over time? Compare and contrast PBSUCCESS with William Casey's covert campaign in Nicaragua.

Group Two:

1.) Analyze Sam Adams's critique of the US intelligence failure in Vietnam. To what extent could similar things have been said about the intelligence community's peacetime role? Compare and contrast Vietnam with one of the following--the CIA under Truman, Cuba (1961-1962), or Chile.

2.) To what extent did US intelligence in Vietnam function as all intelligence communities do in wartime? Compare and contrast the CIA's experience in Vietnam with that of either French or German intelligence during World War II, as detailed in Strange Victory.

Group Three:

1.) Harry Truman initially resisted establishing the CIA fearful that the US would become a "garrison state." Was he right, or can a successful intelligence community co-exist with the protection of civil liberties and the functioning of a democratic state? Discuss in light of the material we have covered in this course, paying particular attention to the congressional investigations of the 1970s.

2.) Did the CIA function more or less as its framers intended? Again using a blend of primary and secondary sources, compare and contrast the 1945-1947 period (these FRUS sources will help) with EITHER the Guatemalan or Cuban episodes.