Although “Operation Northwoods” had been blocked by the president, General Lemnitzer kept pushing on behalf of the Joint Chiefs for a preemptive invasion of Cuba. In an April 10, 1962, memorandum to McNamara, he stated: “The Joint Chiefs of Staff believe that the Cuban problem must be solved in the near future . . . they believe that military intervention by the United States will be required to overthrow the present communist regime . . . They also believe that the intervention can be accomplished rapidly enough to minimize communist opportunities for solicitation of UN action.”[16]
