perhaps some in cia will still remember it yet appeared my job as a cia historian is to make sure that the cia workforce did not forget certain things. when we intervene in foreign countries, they never forget it. and cuba and the cuban leadership will remind us always that we had attempted this bungled operation to replace the government there. host: let's talk to bill from dover, delaware. good morning. caller: good morning. i wanted to say that 60 years ago, living with my family in northern virginia, my father woke me up and said, hey, get up, you're not going to school today. something is going on. and that he woke my sister up and took us into the living room, sat us before a -- we had a big radio, and he had that shortwave band being used by the cubans brigade to communicate back and forth. we were actually listening to them talking on their radios during the invasion and subsequent to it. basically, it was a horrible disaster, of course, but i remember my father identified voices on the radio, saying i know this guy, that is pepe, he is one of the leaders, and i recognize his v

it's not just cia. cia is not just doing these things as a rogue elephant as once was claimed. >> let's remind everyone we are talking about the 60th anniversary of the bay of pigs invasion here on washington journal. this is coproduction with american history tv and is being simulcast on c-span 3 right now. one of our social media followers has written in with their story of the bay of pig invasion and i want to read to you. this tweet says, i was a child in cuba during the bay of pigs fiasco. we hid in the closet while anti-aircraft fire raged from the nearby hilltop. the next day in the middle of the night we fled the round up in opposition to the country side and hid for weeks until it was over. what was happening with the people of cuba during the bay of pigs invasion? >> well, again, tens of thousands of them were rounded up. the result of the invasion was that even though there'd been a lot of opposition to castro in the country because he stood up to the united states -- here's a latin-american

the cia put its faith in the brigade. small, politically reliable, controlled by united states agents. an attempt was made to use the brigade and the cubans as an instrument of united states policy. the tactics were reminiscent of the days of united states big stick diplomacy. but the days of the united states big stick policies. as a result, the cuban exile brigade was destroyed on the beach, and leaders were held in cia custody and the united states task force stood by helplessly. this was probably the low point, the worst moment for john f. kennedy in his three years in the white house. as president, he took full responsibility for this failure of the united states policy. this misuse of the united states power, although the total blame was clearly not his. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> american history tv on c-span3. exploring the people and events that tell the american story every weekend. thousands of people visit washington for the annual blooming of the cherry blossoms. we'll look at the history of the cherry trees

the cia exceeded its capabilities. this is the cia in 1961. during the 1950s, the cia got, let's argue, too big for its britches, a bunch of successful operations around the world, overthrowing governments in guatemala and iran, fixing elections in italy. they're not yet the cia we know and love today. they're not yet at the capability of running massive para military operation in 1961. they get really good in vietnam, in laos, the secret war on laos, this is not the same thing as fixing an election in italy. this is a massive para military operation. so the idea that the cia is going to run this operation to kick out a very popular president was laughable at this point. let's go to the next bullet point here. say you're to collect and analyze intelligence about cuban forces. that's a problem that the cia is not collecting and analyzing intelligence about cuban forces. that's the basics, peter can tell you that's probably plan number one, you should be doing if you're thinking about an invasion of cuba, and i that didn't take the time to do it

one of my jobs as a cia historian was to ensure that the cia workforce did not forget certain things. but when we intervene in foreign countries, they never forget it. and cuba, and the cuban leadership, will remind us always that we had attempted this, this bungled operation to replace the government there. >> let's talk to bill who is calling from dover, delaware. bill, good morning. >> good morning. i just wanted to say that 60 years ago, living with my family in northern virginia, my father woke me up and said, hey, get up, you're not going to school today, something's going on. and he woke my sister up and took us into the living room and sat us down in front of the -- we had a big old radio with shortwave on it and everything. he had the shortwave band that was being used by the cubans, the brigade, to communicate back and forth. so we were actually listening to them talking on their radios that were during the invasion and subsequent to it. and basically it was a horrible disaster, of course. but i remember my father identified voices on the radio, saying, i know this guy, that

and so it was the cia's and the cia, that's partly the job of the cia. they have to take the heat when things like this happen and they, you know, it was their baby and bissell, it was the end of his career certainly. he wanted a corporation in connecticut the rest of his life and it changed the lives of many people in the cia whose careers were basically not just the top three guys but ended with that kennedy that he wanted to shatter the cia into a thousand pieces. he didn't do that, but he was certainly upset. do we have time for one more? let's do one more question here and then we'll. >> does the book explore the issue of why alan dulles was in puerto rico, left to run probably one of the highest profile operations the cia had planned in many, many years to joe bissell who was, or richard bissell, who was an underling of his, was there any further delving into that situation? >> yeah, it was an imitation that had been to dulles many months before and dulles, i found the invitation.

so it was the cia, and that's partly the job of the cia. they have to take the heat when things like this happen, and it was their baby, and basil, it was the end of his career certainly. he went and worked at a corporation in connecticut for the rest of his life, and it changed the lives of many people in the cia whose careers basically ended with that. kennedy's goal was to shatter the cia into 1000 pieces. he didn't do that, but he was very upset. do we have time for one more? one more question here, and then -- >> just to ask you, does the book explore the issue as to why allen dulles was in puerto rico, left to run probably one of the most high-profile operations the cia had planned and many, many years to geo, richard bissell who was an underling of his? is there any information on that situation? >> it was an invitation that had been crawford to dallas many years before. and dulles's papers i found the note from the young presidents association. it was a retreat for young american executives and the invited island dulles to come talk

he was upset with the cia. he thought the cia had misled him. partly, you have to understand that was scapegoating, and i don't mean that as being highly critical. before the invasion, arthur schlesinger said if something bad should happen, somebody's neck has to go on the chopping block, and it can't be the president's, and so it was the cia's. and that's partly the job of the cia, you know, they have to take the heat when things like this happen, and they, you know, it was their baby, and bissel, it was the end of his career, certainly. he went and worked at a corporation in connecticut the rest of his life, and it changed the lives of many people in the cia whose careers were basically not just the top three guys but ended with that. kennedy wanted to shatter the cia into a thousand pieces. they didn't do that, but he were certainly upset. do we have time for one more? let's do one more question here, and then we'll -- >> just ask you, does the book explore the issue of why allen dulles was in puerto rico left to run probably one of the highe

they don't like the way the cia is dominating the operation. but they assume the united states' participation ensures the effort's success. at this moment in washington, the president is under heavy pressure. he is being pressed to okay the invasion plan. a major source of this pressure is cia reports on what is happening inside cuba. >> we knew that the cuban pilots were being trained in czechoslovakia. we knew they were going to have very shortly available on cuban direction, and i'm inclined to think if a move were to be made short of intervention, probably is the area of time it had to be made. >> another source of pressure is the guatemalanguatemalans. unrest is growing there. the communists and the army are demanding removal of the brigade from the camp. the government feels threatened. the president has not yet made up his mind. go ahead with the invasion or cancel it. on april 4, a decisive meeting is held. obviously nothing official has ever been said about it. but from this perspective, certain facts are now apparent. on april 4, the

cia chief alan dulles is told secretly to organize a cuban exile force. he is not told how the force is to be used. she only told, get it ready. in miami, recruiting for an exile army has begun. the operation is supposed to be secret. but word of what is happening quickly leaks out. six weeks after the secret meeting at the white house, fidel castro has publicly charged that the united states is training an army to invade cuba. [shouting] narrator: meanwhile in miami, there are 50 exile groups of every political hue. from former supporters of batista, to former supporters of castro. they have only one thing in common, they want to overthrow fidel. the cia's problem is to find a way to unify them. >> >> [speaking in spanish] >> the people of cuba will overthrow castro, because normally it is the people who are the ones who overthrow it is leadership. narrator: the announcement of a formation of the frente does not receive the expected attention. the summer of 1960 is about time for the united states. other events occupy the headlines. a u2 shot down over t

they don't like the way the cia is dominating the operation. once they resume, united states participation ensures success. they don't want to be left out of any new cuban government. the anti-castro cuban leaders have reached the satisfactory an understanding cia. at this moment in washington, the president is under heavy pressure. he is being pressed ok the invasion plan. major source of this pressure is cia reports on what is happening inside cuba. we knew >> when you the osby train in czechoslovakia. -- cuban pilots were trained in czechoslovakia. i have said before that is a move were to be made short of intervention, this is an area where it had to be made. >> another source of pressure is in guatemala. unrest is growing there. the communists and the army are demanding the removal of a brigade. the government feels threatened. the president has not yet made up his mind. go ahead with the invasion or cancel it. on april 4, a decisive meeting is held. obviously, nothing official has ever been said about it but from this perspective, certain

the cia put its faith in the brigade. small, politically reliable, controlled by united states agents. an attempt was made to use the brigade and the cubans as an instrument of the united states policy. the tactics were reminiscent of the days of united states big-stick diplomacy. but fidel castro did not collapse at the first sign of opposition, as many latin american dictators in the past. as a result, the cuban exile brigade was destroyed on the beach, while the cuban exile leaders were held in cia custody, and the united states task force stood by helplessly. this was probably the low point. the worst moment for john f. kennedy and his three years in the white house. as president, he took full responsibility for this failure of the united states policy, this misuse of united states power, although the total blame was clearly not his. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2021] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy, visit ncica

one of my jobs as a cia historian was to ensure that the cia did not forget certain things. but when we intervene in foreign countries they never forget. cuba and of the cuban leadership will remind us always that we had attempted this bundled operation to place the government there. >> let's talk to bill calling from delaware. bill, good morning. >> good morning. i just want it to say that 60 years ago living with my family in northern virginia, my father woke me up and said hey, get up. you're not going to school today. something is going on. he will nicest her up. he took us to the living room. he sat us down. we had a big old radio. he had the shortwave band that was being used by the cubans brigade to communicate back and forth. we were actually listening to them talking on their radios during the invasion and subsequent to it. basically, it was a horrible disaster of course. my father identified voices on the radio saying i know this guy. that's pepe, one of the leaders. one of the things pepe said in spanish was that -- i've got one bullet left. we've run out of ammun

hall was the first paramilitary cia -- virginia hall was the first paramilitary cia officer. people do not realize how much the women who come before the present day really matter as far as breaking the glass ceiling. in the case of virginia hall, she created the foundation on which our current female leaders stand. in 2020 made history having our first female director and every single -- in every single directorate in our organization was led by a women and we could not have done that by people like virginia hall. edna: was she formally recognized for her achievements? janelle: she was awarded by the british and the french, but in the united states became the most highly decorated female civilian of world war ii. in this picture you will see general donovan, the head of the office of the strategic services is giving it to her, and that is because in true virginia hall fashion she said no to the president of the united states and i love that about her. the president wanted to give virginia hall the cross at the white house, but she wanted to stay in the shadows, she wanted to

the cia, put its faith in the brigade. small politically reliable, and controlled by the united states navy. and attempt was made to use the brigade, and as an instrument of united states policy. it was the united states big stick diplomacy. but fidel castro did not collapse at the first sign of opposition, as many had thought. as a result, the cuban exile brigade was destroyed on the beach, while the cuban exile leaders were held in cia custody, and the united states task force helplessly. it was a low point, the worst moment for john f. kennedy in his three years in the white house. as president, he took full responsibility for the failure of the united states policy. this misuse of united states power, although the total blame was clearly not his. it on april 17th 1961 a group of about 1500 cuban exiles supported by the cia landed on the southern coast of the island nation on the bay of pigs. their goal was to spearhead an uprising and overthrow the revolutionary government of fidel castro. within two days the operation

so one question is, how did i get from the cia to eisenhower? it's quite a story. here's the short version. at the cia i had several jobs but the one i think i enjoyed the most was chief of the soviet -- or the russian leadership division. our job there was to write biographies of russian officials. we'd give these biographies to american diplomats so they would know something about the russians they were dealing with, were they friendly, were they hostile, were they evasive, were they emotional, were they logical? that sort of thing. so -- so when i left the agency, i had so enjoyed this work i decided i wanted to work in biography even more. and to change from russians to writing about 20th century american political figures. and i especially wanted to do personality assessment, which i had been used to doing at the cia. you think of all the personalities, all the politicians, you know, who had big personalities, and -- which fed into their leadership styles, people like churchill and vooz svelte roosevelt and charles dugall and lyndon johnson, of all people. so

the cia was one. the person who was in charge of all of those as the director of central intelligence was also the head of the cia. so we had this strange situation in which we had all of this different intelligence reporting but obviously, the director of the cia was human. he trusted his own intelligence agency more than all of these others that he was supposed to be over. and we found that some of the counter evidence about what was going on in iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs probably didn't get the airing and the hearing that it might have been. so we created the director of national intelligence, who is not the director of the cia, he's a separate person, to cull the intelligence, help the president understand when there are disagreements in the intelligence agency, and give more of a total picture of what's going on within intelligence. so that was the big reform that was made. >> you also have talked in at least one speech that i know of about anticipatory self-defense as part of th

it's that around the cia has one. the person who is in charge of all of those as the director central intelligence was also the head of the cia. we had the strange situation which we had all this different reporting but obviously the director cia was human. he trusted his own intelligence agency, more than the others that were supposed to be over. and we found that some of the counter evidence about what was going on in iraq's mass destruction programs, probably did not get the airing and the hearing that it might have, so we created the director of national intelligence, who is not the director of the cia. it's a separate person who colt intelligence, helped the president understand when it was a disagreement in the intelligence agency, and give more of a total picture of what's going on with intelligence. that was the big reform. >> you also have talked in at least one speech i know about. the disciplinary of self-defense as part of the context we're making the decision to go into iraq i really want to ask you when

and something about my background at the cia. and a summary of my first two books. went on nixon that i mentioned. you're kind of looking at right now. the one right below it. big a depression era governor of california named james ralph, which i assume most of your audience would not be greatly interested in, but the common element in all of these books is the people i choose to work on and with have personalities that fed into the politics and leadership styles and sometimes their insecurities. and you had to focus on more than what they said. you had to focus more on what kind of people they were. each of the people are right about kind of needs that criteria. >> i'm sure once we reopen we will have your book in our gift shop. >> good, i hope. so >> that will be another opportunity. big >> weeknights this month, we are featuring american history tv programs as a preview of what is available every weekend on c-span 3. friday night, we look at the cherokee nation. in the 18 thirties under president andrew jackson, the cherokee's were forcibly removed from their lan

it's interesting a place to work at the cia. it's i feel almost bad today because that kind of job is fast disappearing the kind of job where you you go into one. line of work and you stay there, you know for your entire career and that just doesn't happen any longer. it's sort of like cia at least was kind of joining a big family family of you know security measures and doors that were vaults and you know classified material everywhere and you know precautions of various kinds. it was really kind of a wonderful world and i feel very lucky. to have worked in an environment where you know where? your longevity was kind of assured as you can stay there as long as you wanted and have a number of different kinds of jobs a lot of variety within a 30 year career and i think the only kinds of careers where that still possible is is in government. primarily federal government and maybe even less often there. that's true. we have a we have a handful of employees who have been here for their whole careers someone listening right now. we d

we'll look back at the invasion and its consequences with former cia historian nicholas dumavich. and sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern on reel america, four films on u.s./cuban relations, an edited version of an nbc report, "cuba: bay of pigs." a compilation of universal newsreels on the cuban revolution through the bay of pigs invasion and a 1960 broadcast, "cuba: the battle of america." exploring the american story. watch american history tv this weekend on c-span3. [ singing ] >>> in england, in the early 1600s, there was a tiny band of people who called themselves separatists. they wished only to worship in their own way. [ knocking ] >> open up in the name of the king! open up, ye heretics! [ singing ] >> silence! [ singing ] silence, i say! master brewster, be warned that the king of england knows of your sins. >> and we of his, i warrant. >> enough! you shall disperse to your homes. you shall meet no more either secretly or in public to worship in this heretical way. so you objective to your so-called priest wearing clerical garb. you object and object. >> captain, you well know

we'll look back at the invasion and its consequences with former cia historian nicholas dujmovic. and sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern on reel america for films on u.s./cuba relations, an edited version of the 1961 nbc report "cuba: bay of pigs." president john f. kennedy's 1961 speech after the failed invasion. a compilation of universal newsreels from 1959 to 1961 on the cuban revolution through the bay of pigs invasion. and a 1960 broadcast "cuba: the battle of america." exploring the american story. watch american history tv this weekend on c-span 3. >>> american history tv on c-span 3, every weekend documenting america's story. funding for american history tv comes from these companies who support c-span 3 as a public service. ♪♪ ♪♪ >>> in plymouth harbor, england, the may flower ii lies at anchor. she's as accurate a replica o

history tv and washington journal we will look back at the invasion and its consequences with former cia histrionic lass dujmovic. and sunday four films op u.s.-cuba relations, an edited version of the 1961 nbc report, kwgs, bay of pigs, president john f. kennedy's 1961 speech after the failed invasion, a compilation of universal news reels from 1959 to 1961 on the cuban revolution through the bay of pigs invasion. and a 1960 broadcast, cuba, the battle of america. exploring the american story. watch american history tv this weekend on c-span 3. >> founded in the early 17th century the massachusetts bay colony had a predominantly puritan hospitalization. up next on american history tv we hear a presentation from the nantucket historical association about the history of this new england settlement and the tumultuous period when quaker missionaries arrived.

. >>> on april 17th, 1961, a group of about 1500 cuban exiles supported by the cia landed on the southern coast of the island nation at the bay of pigs. their goal was to spearhead a popular uprising and overthrow the government of fidel castro. within two days, the operation failed. on april 20th, 1961, president kennedy spoke before a meeting of the american society of newspaper editors in washington, d.c., and outlined his policy towards cuba and fidel castro. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. [ applause ] >> members of the american society, newspaper editors, ladies and gentlemen, the president of a great democracy, such as ours, and the editors of great newspapers such as yours, owe a common obligation to the people. an obligation to present the facts. to present them with candor and to present them in perspective. it is, with that obligation in mind, that i decided within the last 24 hours, to discuss briefly at this time the recent events in cuba. on that unhappy island, as in so many other arenas of the contest for freedom, the news has grown worse inste

than 1 40ishgs 0 cia trained crew ban exiles launched a failed invasion to overthrowfy dell castro at bay of pigs. we'll look back at the invasion and its consequences with former cia historian nicholas dumavich and sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern, four films on u.s./cuba relations. an edited version of the 1961 nbc report "cuba:bay of pigs." a compilation of universal news reels from 1959 to 1961 on the cuban revolution through the bay of pigs invasion. and a 1960 broadcast "cuba: the battle of america." egs exploring the american history. watch american history tv this weekend on c-span3. >>> next we visit plimoth patuxet in plymouth, massachusetts, and talk to interpreters about daily life. the year depicted is 1627, seven years after the mayflower landed when 160 pilgrims lived there. >> i am richard pickering, executive director at plimoth and we're in the 17th century english village, a recreation of plymouth as it looked seven years after "mayflower" landed. when our guests enter the historic site, they encounter living history educators who are portraying men and women who lived i

. >> 60 years ago on april 17, 1961 approximately 1500 cia trained cuban exiles lumps and invasion at the bay of pigs on the southern coast of cuba. their goal was the overthrow of communist leader vito castro who had taken power two years earlier in the cuban revolution. we look back on u.s. cuban relations. first, cuba: bay of pigs. a documentary tracing the different expo between the u.s. and cuba describing exile groups opposed to the castro government , the cia's role in training and equipping in evasion force, and president kennedy's's decision not to to play the u.s. military when the plan faltered. in 30 minutes from april 1960 one, president kenny outlines his policy towards cuba and fidel castro in the aftermath of the failed operation. in 45 minutes, a compilation of universal newsreels from >> they covered the cuban revolution to the aftermath to the bay of pigs invasion. in an hour, cuba, the battle of america from 1960. educational tv pioneer posts a broadcast exporting the causes of the cuban revolution. >> the bay of pigs. [inaudible] >> in the year since he took power

history tv and washington journal, we'll look back at the invasion and its consequences with former cia hissorn nicholas dujmovic. and sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern on reel america for films on u.s./cuba relations, an edited version of the 1961 nbc report "cuba bay of pigs." president john f. kennedy's 1961 speech after the failed invasion. a compilation of universal newsreels from 1959 to 1961 on the cuban revolution through the bay of pigs invasion. and a 1960 broadcast, "cuba: the battle of america." exploring the american story. watch american history tv this weekend on c-span 3. funding for american history tv comes from these companies who support c-span 3 as a public service. >>> it is 1626. along the new england coast, there are several new settlements. it's a small community,

we will look back at the invasion and its consequences with former cia historians, nicholas doom of. itch sunday at 4 pm eastern on real america, or films on u.s. cuba relations, a version of the 1961 nbc report, cuba, bay of pigs. president john f. kennedy's 1961's speech after the failed invasion. a compilation of universal news reels from 1959 to 1961 on the cuban revolution through the bay of pigs of asian. and in the 1960 broadcast, cuba, the battle of america. exploring the american story, watch american history tv this weekend on c-span three.

i know my colleagues at cia deeply appreciate your personal commitment on this issue. with regard to afghanistan, i'll begin and then turn to director haines. i guess what i would say at the start is i think we have to be clear-eyed about the reality, looking at the potential terrorism challenge that both al qaeda and isis and afghanistan remain intent on recovering the ability to attack u.s. targets, whether it's in the region and the west or ultimately in the homeland. after years of sustained counterterrorism pressure, the reality is that neither of them have that capacity today and that there are terrorist groups, whether it's al qaeda in the arabian peninsula or other parts of the world that represent more serious threats today. it is also clear that our ability to keep that threat in afghanistan in check from either al qaeda or isis in afghanistan have been fueled by intelligence, by the cia and our other intelligence partners. when the time comes for the u.s. military to withdraw, the u.s. government's ability to collect and act on threats will diminish. that's

and cuba, and describes the cia's role in helping to train and equip the invasion force, and president kennedy's role. >> the bay of pigs. ♪ [speaking in spanish] narrator: in the years since he took power, fidel castro has become an enemy of the united states. in the eyes of washington, the united states security in the caribbean, a plan of action against him is drawn up. march 17, 19.

and the cia did not even have very good numbers on what was happening in the soviet union. but he recognized. that money was important and that money was needed. so he worked closely. with his colleague in germany hands deep creek cancer and the president worked closely with helmut cole. so that an agreement that could be a reached whereby. gorbachev had money and jim the german's head unity. so let's go on to that personal relationship, and i want to take you from europe and take you right? to syria in 1919 the fall of 1990 the united states needed syrian support in building a coalition to repel saddam hussein from kuwait syria was key. now president assad did not like saddam hussein. they were not friends. in fact, they were enemies. but to persuade president assad required sitting for hours. in the syrian palace and drinking lots of sweet tea. well, you know up to three or four hours of drinking sweet tea you do need a bathroom, but sad dad. sorry president assad was giving no bathroom breaks. and therefore they could decide it that although his relations with our sad we

we'll look back at the invasion and its consequences with former cia historian, nicholas dumovic and sunday at 4pm eastern on reel america for films on us cuba relations an edited version of the 1961. nbc report cuba bay of pigs president. john f. kennedy's 1961 speech after the field invasion a compilation of universal newsreels from 1959 to 1961 on the cuban revolution through the bay of pigs. asian and a 1960 broadcast cuba the battle of america exploring the american story watch american history tv this weekend on c-span 3 each week american history tvs american artifacts takes viewers behind the scenes at archives museums and historic sites. next a tour of the japanese-american national museum museum in los angeles's little tokyo our tour guide is docent bill shishima who was born in a little tokyo in 1930 and spent three years at heart mountain relocation center during world war ii. located near downtown los angeles little tokyo is one of three remaining in california. whereas many as 40 japantowns thrived prior to world war ii. los angeles first started way back in 1781 when 1

story every weekend. 60 years ago this weekend, more than 1,400 cia-trained cuban exiles launched a failed invasion to overthrow fidel castro's government at the bay of pigs. live saturday at 9:00 a.m. history, on american history tv. we will look back at the invasion and its consequences with historian nicholas dumovich and sunday, four films on u.s./cuba relations. an edited version of the nbc report, "cuba, bay of pigs," president kennedy's speech after the failed invasion. a compilation of news reels from 1959 to 1961 on the cuban revolution through the bay of pigs invasion. a 1960 broadcast, cuba, the battle america. exploring the american story. watch american history tv this weekend on cspan3. >>> founded in the early 17th century, the massachusetts bay colony had a predominantly puritan population. up next, we hear a presentation from the nantucket historical association about the history of the new england settlement and the period when quaker missionaries arrived. >> what we wanted to do today -- there's going to be a merging of styles. i need to turn you into puritans, if you ar

journal will be live to look back at the failed invasion and its consequences joining us as former cia historian nicholas dumovich who will take viewer calls and tweets. the c-span cities tour travels the country exploring the american story since 2011. we've been to more than 200 communities across the nation like many americans our staff is staying close to home due to the coronavirus. next a look at one of our city's tour visits.

in 1975 vang pow and some military leaders were airlifted by the cia cia out of laos. but most hmong people were less fortunate. of the 10,000 hmong who flooded the headquarters at longchang only a small fraction were evacuated by the united states. thousands among people therefore embarked on the treacherous westward exodus to thailand carrying their possessions on their back families traveled by foot through the jungle and journeyed at night to avoid capture by the communists. by 1979 nearly 30,000 hmong refugees attempted to make the dangerous crossing each month. so that crossing of the river is such a powerful part among stories of their refugee migration. and you can see it powerfully depicted here. now americans today have paid attention to news a refugee crises overseas. they've been following news reports. they've been watching footage on nightly news. they've been following it on social media and americans in the 1970s were just like us today. they were following developments overseas with great interest. and americans who were moved by news accounts of this

. ♪ ♪ >>> 60 years og in 1961, exiled forces backed by the cia mounted a failed invasion at cuba's bay of pigs. next, on "reel america," a come bylation of news reels from the 1959 cuban revolution, through the end of april 1961. the chronology reveals how initial enthusiasm for castro turned to skepticism, then opposition, as the island nation allied with the soviet union and china. ♪ ♪ >>> cuba's fidel castro emerged triumphant. the revolution that began with castro a fugitive, landing with 82 followers, nearly wiped out, ended with the dictator and the entry of havana of rebel forces to be acclaimed by the city. the forces of castro's 26th of july movement, named for the anniversary of his first attack on the regime in 1953, have grown vastly. nearly two years of hit and run warfare, aimed at toppling batista's government by paralyzing cuba's economy, culminated in victory in 1958. castro led an offensive with a counterattack. and won the crucial victory. batista resigned to prevent more bloodshed and fled the country. that touched off wild rejoiing in the capital and the rebel

we will look back at the invasion and its consequences with former cia historians, nicholas doom of. itch sunday at 4 pm eastern on real america, or films on u.s. cuba relations, a version of the 1961 nbc report, cuba, bay of pigs. president john f. kennedy's 1961's speech after the failed invasion. a compilation of universal news reels from 1959 to 1961 on the cuban revolution through the bay of pigs of asian. and in the 1960 broadcast, cuba, the battle of america. exploring the american story, watch american history tv this weekend on c-span three. it is 1626. along the new england coast there are several new settlements. it's a small community, nothing scares me more than 30 people. robert cramped here is a fisherman. built this barked way guam with albert sims and jason conway. there are a few women. the beds are hung up lightly every morning but the fire is dining out. it's a rare occurrence over at the fox dugout nearby, morning tests are likewise underway. mr. fox is hearing something -- that has to be done in carving a home out of the wilderness. she is grinding indian corn.

military, the cia, as translators or in the diplomatic corps. americans who had worked in vietnam felt terrible about potentially abandoning their southeast asian colleagues. other refugee advocates argued that americans must aid and admit southeast asian refugees whose suffering was the direct consequence of u.s. military action. for some religions people, accepting refugees for resettlement of was an act for america's sins in vietnam. just as powerful as american guilt was the idea of american goodness. pride in american compassion and generosity spurred americans to take action. the idea that the united states with the benevolent leader of the free world converged with religious ideas, the idea that the united states needed to be the good samaritan. finally, refugee advocates argued that americans should not admit refugees because americans are good. but because refugees are good for america. one senate resolution from 1975 declared, this period of influx of refugees in and exiles conserve to keep us humble, saving us from the sins of arrogan