John Kennedy's Foreign Policy

[John Simkin]

Alex von Tunzelmann has just published his book, "Red Heat: Conspiracy, Murder and the Cold War in the Caribbean". The book explains how the US and Soviet governments have attempted to control the leaders of Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic over the last 70 years. He argues that Kennedy was no different in his approach to these islands than that of Truman and Eisenhower. "The underlying problem was that Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations were substantially Marxist in their thinking; that is, they believed in the historical inevitability of international communist success - unless they could forestall it by any means necessary."

I have not read the book but Jad Adams' review in The Guardian states: "Robert Kennedy suggested staging a terrorist attack on the American consulate in the Dominican Republic, blaming it on the Dominicans and sending in the marines. With even less restraint, the joint chiefs of staff in March 1962 suggested they could stage a terrorist campaign in Miami and Washington DC and blame it on the Cuban government."