Who served as United States National Security Advisor to Kennedy and Johnson, involved in Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis, and chaired the 303 Committee?

Who served as United States National Security Advisor to Kennedy and Johnson, involved in Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis, and chaired the 303 Committee?

• A. McGeorge Bundy
• B. Henry Kissinger
• C. Dean Rusk
• D. Robert McNamara

Answer: (A)

The question focuses on who held the National Security Advisor role for Kennedy and Johnson and also chaired the 303 Committee, coordinating covert operations, including actions related to Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis. McGeorge Bundy fits this profile: he served as National Security Advisor from 1961 to 1966 under Kennedy and continued to influence policy into Johnson’s early years. He played a central role in managing the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis and chaired the 303 Committee, the NSC body responsible for overseeing covert CIA actions. This combination of being the senior adviser on national security matters for both presidents and leading the covert-action committee is what makes Bundy the correct choice. Henry Kissinger later became National Security Advisor under Nixon, but not during Kennedy and Johnson, and he did not chair the 303 Committee in that era. Dean Rusk was Secretary of State, not National Security Advisor, and Robert McNamara was Secretary of Defense, so neither of them held the NSA post or chaired the 303 Committee.

The question focuses on who held the National Security Advisor role for Kennedy and Johnson and also chaired the 303 Committee, coordinating covert operations, including actions related to Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis. McGeorge Bundy fits this profile: he served as National Security Advisor from 1961 to 1966 under Kennedy and continued to influence policy into Johnson’s early years. He played a central role in managing the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis and chaired the 303 Committee, the NSC body responsible for overseeing covert CIA actions. This combination of being the senior adviser on national security matters for both presidents and leading the covert-action committee is what makes Bundy the correct choice.

Henry Kissinger later became National Security Advisor under Nixon, but not during Kennedy and Johnson, and he did not chair the 303 Committee in that era. Dean Rusk was Secretary of State, not National Security Advisor, and Robert McNamara was Secretary of Defense, so neither of them held the NSA post or chaired the 303 Committee.