For Your Eyes Only

[Tim Gratz]

Most members are no doubt aware of Ian Fleming's dinner with JFK in the spring of 1960 in which Fleming proposed some rather incredible suggestions on how to deal with Castro. Two years earlier, however, Fleming was apparently pro-Castro and he predicted Castro's victory almost to the month it happened!

In 1958 Fleming wrote a James Bond short story, "For Your Eyes Only", the plot of which bears little relation to the Bond movie with the same name.

In the story Bond is directed by his superior M to murder, assassinate, some men who killed (in Jamaica) two British citizens, the Havelocks who were old friends of M's. The main villain was named Hammerstein. Bond justifies his order thusly:

There were no doubts in Bon's mind. He didn't know the Havelocks or care whjo they were. Hammerstein had operated the law of the jungle on two defenseless old people. Since no other law was available, the law of the jungle should be visited upon Hammerstein. In no other way could justice be done. If it was revenge, it was the revenge of the community [as determined by M and Bond--Tim]."

Vigilante justice, of course.

So who was Hammerstein? The ex-Nazi chief of Batista's counterintelligence!

M:

" . . I told Station C to look into [the murder]. they didn't get anywhere with the Batista people, but we've got a good man with the other side--with this chap Castro. And Castro's intelligence people seem to have the [batista] government pretty well penetrated. I got the whole story a couple of weeks ago. It boils down to the fact that a man called Hammerstein had the couple killed. There are a lot of Germans well dug in these banana republics. They're Nazis who got out of the net at the end of the war. This one's ex-Gestapo. He got a job as head of Batista's Counterintelligence. Made a pocket of money out of extortion and blackmail and protection. He was set up for life until Castro's lot began to make headway. He was one of the first to start easing himself out. He cut one of his officers in on his loot, a man called Gonzales, and this man traveled around the Caribbean with a couple of gunmen to protect him and began salting away Hammerstein's money outside Cuba--real estate and such under nominees. .. Two weeks ago Batista sacked Hammerstein. may have got to hear about one of these jobs. I don't know. But anyway, Hammerstein cleared out and took his little team of three with him. Timed things pretty well, I should say. It looks as if Castro may get in this winter if he keeps the pressure up." [Emphasis supplied.]

[William Kelly]

Most members are no doubt aware of Ian Fleming's dinner with JFK in the spring of 1960 in which Fleming proposed some rather incredible suggestions on how to deal with Castro. Two years earlier, however, Fleming was apparently pro-Castro and he predicted Castro's victory almost to the month it happened!

In 1958 Fleming wrote a James Bond short story, "For Your Eyes Only", the plot of which bears little relation to the Bond movie with the same name.

In the story Bond is directed by his superior M to murder, assassinate, some men who killed (in Jamaica) two British citizens, the Havelocks who were old friends of M's. The main villain was named Hammerstein. Bond justifies his order thusly:

There were no doubts in Bond's mind. He didn't know the Havelocks or care whjo they were. Hammerstein had operated the law of the jungle on two defenseless old people. Since no other law was available, the law of the jungle should be visited upon Hammerstein. In no other way could justice be done. If it was revenge, it was the revenge of the community [as determined by M and Bond--Tim]."

Vigilante justice, of course.

So who was Hammerstein? The ex-Nazi chief of Batista's counterintelligence!

TIM, SOMEHOW I FEEL YOU ARE BAITING ME ON THIS.

ALL OF IAN FLEMING'S FICTIONAL CHARACTERS ARE BASED ON REAL PEOPLE AND HAVE REAL PEOPLE COUNTERPARTS, MOST PART OF THE GREAT GAME OF ESPIONAGE.

WHILE I'VE YET TO IDENTIFY THE HAVELOCKS, AS YOU MENTION WITH HAMMERSTEIN, THERE ARE CLUES TO THE REAL IDENTIES WITHIN FLEMING'S FICTIONAL TEXT AND REAL LIFE.

BESIDES THE REAL JAMES BOND - WHOSE IDENTIFY FOR 007 WAS TAKEN FROM AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGIST JAMES BOND, AN ASSOCIATE OF CUMMINS CATHERWOOD - WHO FLEMING PARODIES AS VILLAN MILTON CREST IN THE HYBIRD VARITY.

WHEN FLEMING WAS IN DC HE RAN INTO A FRIEND, MRS. LEITER, WHO INVITED FLEMING TO DINNER WITH THEN SENATOR KENNEDY. IT WAS LEITER WHOSE LAST NAME WAS APPROPRIATED BY FLEMING FOR 007'S CIA SIDEKICK FELIX LEITER (I MIGHT BE SPELLING THESE NAMES SLIGHTLY WRONG), WHOSE CHARACTER WAS TAKEN FROM FORMER OSS AND BERLIN STATION CHIEF HENRY PLEASANTS (WHO DEBRIEFED GEHLEN).

THEN THERE'S WILLIAM GRACE OF J.P. GRACE LINES, WHO SHARED A GUANO ISLAND WITH DR. NO., AND COULD BOFIELD BE BLOOMFIELD AND PERMINDEX BE THE REAL LIFE MIRROR ORG FOR SPECTRE?

I WOULD VENTURE THAT THE REAL LIFE CHIEF OF BATISTA'S COUNTERINTELLIGENCE FITS THE DESCRIPTION OF FLEMING'S HAMMERSTEIN VERY CLOSELY, AS FLEMING, LIKE THE PARALEX VIEW'S SINGER, KNEW WHAT HE WAS WRITING ABOUT, BUT HE COULDN'T WRITE NON-FICTION.

BK

BKJFK3@YAHOO.COM

Edited November 18, 2005 by William Kelly

[Tim Gratz]

Mr. Kelly, I was not baiting anyone but I was hoping for a response because I was wondering if the character Hammerstein was based on a real person from the Batista regime. I am sure one member knows who was the chief of counterrintelligence for Batista.

Edited November 19, 2005 by Tim Gratz

[William Kelly]

Mr. Kelly, I was not baiting anyone but I was hoping for a response because I was wondering if the character Hammerstein was based on a real person from the Batista regime. I am sure one member knows who was the chief of counterrintelligence for Batista.

JHC, Tim,

stop calling me Mr. Kelly, I keep snaping to attention.

I don't think you were baiting me now, it just so happens that I have a lot of information on this line of inquiry, re: Ian Fleming and company.

While I have spent a considerable amount of time lining up Fleming's fictional characters with their real life counterparts, I have yet to get to Mr. Hammerstein. Maybe we can cut to the chase and see if there are any real researchers on this forum who can narrow it down a little bit.

If his real life counterpart was the head of Batista's counter-intelligence, I'm sure JPH can fill us in, complete with the personal neuances of same.

And btw, Joan Mellen, unintentionally exposes another Fleming character - Clay Shaw = Scaramanga.

JM mentions in her attention to detail in one of the most disquisting paragraphs of AFTJ, "....Logan's testimony is in part cooroborated by his knowledge that Shaw had only one nipple...." a unique infliction and characteristic of Ian Fleming's fictional villan Scaramanga, played by Roger Moore in the movie.

Now let's ID Hammerstein.

BK

[John Dolva]

Mr. Kelly, I was not baiting anyone but I was hoping for a response because I was wondering if the character Hammerstein was based on a real person from the Batista regime. I am sure one member knows who was the chief of counterrintelligence for Batista.

JHC, Tim,

stop calling me Mr. Kelly, I keep snaping to attention.

I don't think you were baiting me now, it just so happens that I have a lot of information on this line of inquiry, re: Ian Fleming and company.

While I have spent a considerable amount of time lining up Fleming's fictional characters with their real life counterparts, I have yet to get to Mr. Hammerstein. Maybe we can cut to the chase and see if there are any real researchers on this forum who can narrow it down a little bit.

If his real life counterpart was the head of Batista's counter-intelligence, I'm sure JPH can fill us in, complete with the personal neuances of same.

And btw, Joan Mellen, unintentionally exposes another Fleming character - Clay Shaw = Scaramanga.

JM mentions in her attention to detail in one of the most disquisting paragraphs of AFTJ, "....Logan's testimony is in part cooroborated by his knowledge that Shaw had only one nipple...." a unique infliction and characteristic of Ian Fleming's fictional villan Scaramanga, played by Roger Moore in the movie.

Now let's ID Hammerstein.

BK

William, I don't have it on hand. But I remember browsing through Time from second half '64 and noted that a few issues pre WC report that Dulles had an article in front of issue. He was described as 'special correspondent' or some such thing. Anyway, in this particular issue his 'topic' was Fleming. I can't remember context. (I got the impression he was an irregular contributor to the magazine, so may have written other pieces as well)

EDIT:: hmm... It may have been Time Life (internantional), however, in one of them. Next I'm in library I'll try to remember to check.

Edited November 19, 2005 by John Dolva

[Tim Gratz]

Thanks, Bill!

Fascinating about Scaramanga.

One small quibble, though. Moore did not play Scaramanga. He played Bond!

Christopher Lee played Scaramanga in "The Man With the Golden Gun".

An interesting web-site on "The Search for Scaramanga".

http://www.bakerstreetdozen.com/scaramanga.html

In "AF2J" not only does Mellen reveal that Shaw had only one nipple, she has deTorres describing Garrison's testicles! Bizarre!

Tim Gratz

Edited November 19, 2005 by Tim Gratz

[Tim Carroll]

...I was wondering if the character Hammerstein was based on a real person from the Batista regime. I am sure one member knows who was the chief of counterrintelligence for Batista.

While I have spent a considerable amount of time lining up Fleming's fictional characters with their real life counterparts, I have yet to get to Mr. Hammerstein. Maybe we can cut to the chase and see if there are any real researchers on this forum who can narrow it down a little bit.

Rolando Cubela had experience as an assassin even before Castro came to power in 1959. Cubela had killed Batista's chief of military intelligence, Blanco Rico, on behalf of Castro.

Tim Carroll

*Did Scaramanga have one nipple or three?

[Tim Gratz]

But Cubela killed Blanco Rico in October of 1957. Surely Batista must have replaced him!

Tim, there is a great account of the Rico murder in Thomas' "Cuba".

Tim Gratz

Edited November 19, 2005 by Tim Gratz

[Gerry Hemming]

Mr. Kelly, I was not baiting anyone but I was hoping for a response because I was wondering if the character Hammerstein was based on a real person from the Batista regime. I am sure one member knows who was the chief of counterrintelligence for Batista.

JHC, Tim,

stop calling me Mr. Kelly, I keep snaping to attention.

I don't think you were baiting me now, it just so happens that I have a lot of information on this line of inquiry, re: Ian Fleming and company.

While I have spent a considerable amount of time lining up Fleming's fictional characters with their real life counterparts, I have yet to get to Mr. Hammerstein. Maybe we can cut to the chase and see if there are any real researchers on this forum who can narrow it down a little bit.

If his real life counterpart was the head of Batista's counter-intelligence, I'm sure JPH can fill us in, complete with the personal neuances of same.

And btw, Joan Mellen, unintentionally exposes another Fleming character - Clay Shaw = Scaramanga.

JM mentions in her attention to detail in one of the most disquisting paragraphs of AFTJ, "....Logan's testimony is in part cooroborated by his knowledge that Shaw had only one nipple...." a unique infliction and characteristic of Ian Fleming's fictional villan Scaramanga, played by Roger Moore in the movie.

Now let's ID Hammerstein.

BK

----------------------------

Within Batista's Chief's of Staff at Camp Columbia, there was a General designated as "G-2" -- but he and his minions were just figureheads -- who were denied authority and jurisdiction so as not to present, once again the threat of a coup d'etat. This was the result of the coup attempt by Colonel Ramon Barquin's "Los Puros" ["The Pure Ones"] at overthrowing Batista using high ranking military officers. This happened during April of 1956; whilst Fidel, et al. were still inside Mexico, and undergoing training by Col. Albert Bayo.

Amongst the many Barguin "Puros" officers sent to the Isle of Pines Prison was my future commanding officer of The Parachute Regiment; Cmdte. [Major] Enrique Borbonnet Gomez. "Came the Revolution" -- and since Barquin was considered a potential threat to the new revolutionary government [1959], Fidel very soon had Barquin shipped off to Spain. He later defected and took up residence in Puerto Rico. He was oneof the VIP founders both of Alpha-66 and later J.U.R.E. !!

The most trusted [and effective] boss of Batista's CI entities was one Mariano Faget. Faget was the director of B.R.A.C. [loosely translated as -- "Bureau for the Repression of Communists"]. He fled Havana after having received safe passage from an embassy, and upon arrival in Miami was soon hired by the CIA.

Faget continued with his BRAC type work, and assisted the CIA "Gringos" in building a family tree of all known leaders and cell members of the PSP [Partido Socialista Popular], and naturally included former anti-Batista rebels and underground figures in his thousands of dossiers. And this was irrespective of the fact that MOST of those listed in his dossiers were never even close to the PSP, much less members.

One of the names at the top of his "short-list" was one Manuel "Manolo" Ray, who later formed the "Junta" styled as J.U.R.E. !!

A few years ago, one Mariano Faget was charged with being a Castro spy and is currently serving a lengthy federal prison sentence.

CHAIRS,

GPH

_____________________________

[Tim Gratz]

Gerry, you never cease to amaze!! Great information.

I had to restrain myself from inquiring about the "sexual orientation" of the gentleman.

[William Kelly]

Tim Carroll

*Did Scaramanga have one nipple or three?

Tim,C., I think three, in the movie, though the books are always different.

Thanks to Mr. Gratz, The Man With The Golden Gun - is the one.

And a tip of the hat to Mr. Hemming for his well earned insight.

BK