This Week in History
October 13 - 19, 1962
One of the leading shocks, which the utopian faction of the Anglo-American Establishment applied to the world, but especially, U.S. population in the postwar period, was the Cuban Missile crisis of 1962. This crisis took off in earnest on Oct. 14 of that year, when U.S. reconnaissance flights over Cuba, got photographic evidence of the Soviet construction of intermediate-range-missile sites being constructed on the island, 90 miles off the shores of the continental United States. Coming in the wake of the crisis over Berlin in 1961, and ongoing tensions, this discovery precipitated a confrontation which brought the two superpowers to the brink of nuclear war.
Unlike other confrontations which occurred between the two nuclear powers, this one unfolded before the eyes of the world, and terrorized many peoples, including that of the United States. The standoff was publicly announced on Oct. 22, and did not officially come to an end until Oct. 28-29, when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's letter, promising to dismantle the missiles, was made available to the U.S. press. In the intervening week, or more, school children all around the U.S. went through nuclear air-raid drills, where they were told to duck under their desks, and the churches and synagogues were filled with those who suddenly "found religion" in the face of a mortal threat. Yet, even when the crisis formally "ended," it lived on in the psyches of those children and their parentsand was reinforced with the ongoing U.S.-Soviet confrontation, and the assassinations of leading American politicians over the next few years.
The message of this crisis to many was: The world is irrational and terrifying, and there's nothing you can do about it. Have fun while you can, because a nuclear bomb could definitely arrive at any time to destroy you and your country. There is nothing you can do to protect yourself or your future, so don't even try.
This is precisely the paradigm, resurrected today under the threat of nuclear war, from the coterie of Vice-President Dick Cheney, which has to be reversed.
'Thirteen Days'
The chronology of the emergence of the Missile Crisis makes for chilling reading and viewing, even today, as did the famous book and movie Thirteen Days. We review here the highlights:
Oct. 14U.S. reconnaissance planes pick up evidence of construction of Soviet missile sites, which could hold intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
Oct. 16After the military and NSC have confirmed their findings, President Kennedy is briefed on this development, and forms a special "Ex-Committee" of the NSC to deal with it.
During this time, discussions and debate with Soviet representatives begin.
Oct. 18President Kennedy and Russian Ambassador Andrei Gromyko meet, but fail to reach an agreement, as Gromyko asserts that the missiles are simply for "defensive" purposes.
Oct. 21President Kennedy opposes proposals made for an immediate strike, but approves, at a National Security Council meeting, the drawing up of a plan for quarantine of Cuba, against any Soviet ships with military supplies.
Oct. 22The U.S. announces the quarantine plan, privately to governments, and publicly, with an address to the nation by President Kennedy. Kennedy declares, in a terse 17-minute speech, that there will be a strict quarantine, beginning in 48 hours, against all offensive military equipment. At the same time, the U.S. government prepares to go on a nuclear alert, with all planes loaded with nuclear weaponsa state of alert called DEFCON-1.
Oct. 23Premier Khrushchev declares that the missiles are only defensive. On the same day, President Kennedy holds a public ceremony signing the quarantine order.
Oct. 24UN Secretary General U Thant intervenes with an appeal to both sides to put a hold on both construction, and the quarantine. At this point over a dozen Soviet ships are steaming toward Cuba, with no indication that they are going to honor the quarantine. But finally, that evening, there are signs that the ships have stopped. At the same time, Premier Khrushchev issues a statement denying that the Soviets will comply, and the U.S. orders an even higher military alert, called DEFCON-2.
Oct. 25President Kennedy responds with a hard line, but discussions of a possible trade-off of the U.S. removing Jupiter missiles from Turkey, in exchange for the dismantling of the missiles in Cuba are going on heavily behind the scenes.
Oct. 26Khrushchev sends a letter proposing the above trade-off, and Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Ambassador Dobrynin meet.
Oct. 27The CIA reports that the Cuban sites are now operational, and Khrushchev issues a public message on the desire for joint withdrawal from Turkey and Cuba, with UN inspections to verify both. A U.S. reconnaissance plane is shot down over Cuba.
Kennedy refuses to accept a public trade-off on Turkey and Cuba, but indicates privately that a Soviet backdown would ensure both no invasion of Cuba, and the eventual dismantling of the Turkish weapons.
Oct. 28Premier Khrushchev publicly declares that he has ordered the dismantling of the Soviet missiles on Cuba.
It's a close call, for which both President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev take a lot of flak from their respective oppositions. While the ultimate damage was not done, the psychological impact took its toll for decades to come.
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