| Summary: | 碩士 === 淡江大學 === 美國研究所 === 89 === This thesis examines intelligence intervention in politics using the Bay of Pigs episode as a case study. In theory, intelligence work should be objective, autonomous, and free of political influence. At its best, it should be done solely on the basis of professional intelligence ethics. In reality, however, unavoidable political pressures and bureaucratic and personal interests can influence the conduct of the intelligence work. With its institutionalized secrecy, its special mission, and its vast resources, the CIA has become one of the most powerful bodies in the structure of the American government. The direction of American national security policy is to a large degree dependent on the performance of the CIA.
This study explains the behavior of intelligence organizations and individuals with a focus on how they intervened in politics and the conditions that made such intervention possible. Senior CIA officers overestimated their operation’s likelihood of success in order to elicit presidential support for this venture, believing that the operation should go ahead regardless of the political and operational limitations set by President Kennedy. To that end, CIA planners purposely concealed important intelligence from the President, key cabinet officials, and the Cuban exile force. By so doing, they not only violated professional requirements, but also contributed to the first foreign policy setback facing the Kennedy administration.
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