Cullen nodded. "Tell you what, lieutenant, let me find out about either or both."
Elena Sandano was not overly impressed by powerful men, but she was uneasy in the presence of President Kennedy. Granted, she was not alone in the Oval Office. Director McCone and Vice President Johnson were there as well. Still, she had the feeling that the President of the United States was mentally undressing her. Perhaps it was her imagination, although she'd heard many, many rumors of his womanizing. And Lyndon Johnson was staring at her like a wolf at raw meat. She thought she should have worn a longer skirt, like something from the Victorian age that loosely covered her to her toes or whatever the heck it was that Moslem women wore.
She made a point to look around and try to memorize her surroundings. She suspected that this, her first time in the Oval Office, could easily be her last. She wanted to remember it all, especially since her mother would pester her for every possible detail.
McCone had done the introductions and told them her professional and academic background. They seemed to be impressed. She wondered if that would be the case when she finished her presentation.
"Mr. President," she began, "you have asked for an honest and candid assessment of the situation in Cuba regarding the people of Cuba and their attitudes regarding the refugees in Miami."
Kennedy grinned. "Give me a one sentence synopsis."
Elena smiled grimly. "The people in Cuba love Fidel and they hate us and they hate the refugees in Miami."
"Not bad for one sentence," Vice President Johnson said.
"Will they fight for Fidel?" JFK asked.
"Definitely, sir. And the reason is simple. He has given them a much better life than they ever had under Batista or anyone else."
Johnson leaned forward and glared at Elena. "But Castro and his boys are communists who stole property from others."
He was trying to intimidate her, but Elena would have none of it. "The people now in Cuba consider the ones who have left to be the criminals. They hated the casino owners, the drug dealers, the prostitutes and their pimps, the factory owners, and the large landowners who, in their opinion, made the farm workers little more than serfs. Are you aware that some organized crime groups sent their thugs out in the countryside to kidnap young girls and turn them into drug addicted whores?"
"You sound like you admire Castro," Kennedy said with a smile, "Are you sure you're not a communist or a socialist?"
"Hardly, sir. I own stock in GM, IBM, and a host of others. My future is tied to the free market system. I plan on getting rich by being better and smarter than anybody else at what I do. What I'm trying to tell you is that many people in Cuba lived lives of incredible misery before Castro and under Batista, and they now see hope. They are starting to get food, medical care, schooling, telephones, and electricity. Sanitation is improving along with the Cuban people's overall health, and, if we don't consider them free by our standards, then it doesn't matter because they weren't free before Castro. Maybe they'll tire of his act in a few years, and maybe he won't be able to continue to deliver on his promises, but right now he's considered a saint, and his taking of Guantanamo has made him a hero both in Cuba and in many, many other countries, especially those in south and central America."
McCone interrupted. "In support of what Dr. Sandano is saying, every indication is that many thousands of Cubans are rushing to join the militia or Cuba's regular army to help defeat the American invaders. Castro’s military is not having to conscript anyone. These new troops won't be a factor in any coming fighting but they do show the high level of Castro's popularity."
"Just like what didn't happen at the Bay of Pigs," Elena bluntly added and the president winced. "Everyone told you there'd be an uprising against Castro and the experts were wrong, nothing happened. Now we're telling you that the situation is even worse than before. The whole of Cuba will fight against you if we try to re-take Guantanamo."
Kennedy rose from behind the massive desk in the Oval Office. He wondered just how different the world would now be if the CIA had given him that kind of candid information before he authorized that disastrous attack just after his inauguration. He hadn't been involved in the planning for the Bay of Pigs, and had allowed himself to be swept along by events. Would he have cancelled it? No one would ever know.
Kennedy asked. "And the people in Miami, Dr. Sandana, what will they do?"
Nearly two hundred thousand Cubans had fled Castro's Cuba for sanctuary in the United States and more were coming on an almost daily basis. Not even the state of war between Cuba and the United States had stopped the flow of refugees.
"The refugees in Miami are in ferment, sir. As you are well aware they are demonstrating in the streets of Miami right now and they are very close to rioting. They want a chance to fight Castro and get their lost properties back." Elena swivelled her head so her gaze took in Kennedy and Johnson. "With respect sirs, both of you have made speeches encouraging the refugees in Florida to stand firm and be prepared to return to their homeland when Castro and the current government fall. If they do, the refugees will have to fight tooth and nail against the people who now live in their houses and farm their fields."
"Those people are thieves," LBJ snapped. He had been extremely vocal and outspoken in his support of the Cubans in Miami, much to the annoyance of President Kennedy who saw his vice president laying the groundwork for another run at the White House.
"Not in the minds of the people still in Cuba," she answered firmly. "In their eyes, the government has legally given them that property. They have had it for up to four years now and absolutely feel that it is legally theirs. I don't want to make too much of a comparison with our government's right of eminent domain to seize private property for the public good, but some comparisons are valid. The people now in Cuba will kill the refugees if they come back and try to take back what was once theirs. I very strongly feel that the American government must be prepared to confront this ugly reality."
Elena took a deep breath. Had she said too much? Both the president and vice president appeared angry. Oh well. She could always find a job selling insurance.
She tried to smile warmly. "Mr. President, I understand that literally hundreds of boats of various sizes and full of armed refugees are planning to go to Cuba and that some of them may have already left."
McCone injected. "Miss Sandano is correct, Mr. President. Some may have left and they all are planning to go, but they don't have the numbers or the weapons and therefore don't stand a chance in hell of succeeding if they do invade. It will be a tragedy of epic proportions even if we do provide them with air and naval cover, which was not provided during the Bay of Pigs attack. We are trying to stop them but we may not be able to without the use of force."
Kennedy was appalled, particularly at the thought that he might have to use force to stop the Miami-based pro-American Cubans from returning to their homeland in order to protect them. He thanked Elena and McCone and dismissed them. McCone returned to his office while Elena waited outside for Charley Kraeger. When she saw him she smiled in relief.
"Who's watching your phones?" she asked.
He laughed. "They gave me a couple of guys to help me so I could eat, sleep, and go to the john. How'd it go?"
"He and Lyndon Johnson listened. They seemed to take it in, and they asked the right questions. They weren't at all happy with what I told them, but I think they understand that making them happy isn't in my job description. I'm supposed to tell them the truth."
"Were you nervous?"
"Only until I started talking. Then I could take my mind off the fact that the president and leader of the free world was trying to stare up my skirt."