Eyeball To Eyeball

The words say it all. They are chilling to the bone.... ''Good evening, my fellow citizens. This government, as promised, has maintaned the closest surveillance of the Soviet military build-up on the island of Cuba. Within the past week unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island. The purposes of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere. Upon receiving the first preliminary hard information of this nature last Tuesday morning [ October 16 ] at 9:00 am, I directed that our surveillance be stepped up. And having now confirmed and completed our evaluation of the evidence and our decision on a course of action, this government feels obliged to report this new crises to you in fullest detail... Each of these missiles, in short, is capable of striking Washington, D.C., the Panama Canal, Cape Canaveral, Mexico City, or any other city in the southeastern part of the United States, in Central America, or, in the Caribbean area.... Acting, therefore, in the defense of our own security and the entire Western Hemisphere, and under the authority entrusted in me by the Constitution as endorsed by the resolution of the Congress, I have directed that following initial steps be taken immediately.... To halt this offensive build-up, a strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba is being initiated. All ships of any kind bound for Cuba from whatever nation or port will, if found to contain cargoes of offensive weapons, be turned back... Our goal is not the victory of might but the vindication of right-- not peace at the expense of freedom, but, both peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere, and, we hope, around the world. God willing, that goal will be achieved''.... President John F Kennedy, October 22, 1962.... And, the world came close to being destroyed for close to a week. It is the 50th anniversary of this terrible scare. We have had many crisis in our history--- of course, 9/11 being the most recent--- but, none can compare to these thirteen days in October, 1962. The United States and the Soviet Union met in a showdown over these missiles in Cuba... As Kennedy stated, he first became aware of the installation of the missiles on the 16th of October. The CIA, in their daily U2 spy flights over Cuba, had discovered the missiles. With pictorial evidence, one of JFK's men, McGeorge Bundy, brought the matter to the attention of the President. He immediately called a meeting of his National Security Council to discuss this very serious threat. At the meeting, the ''Best and the Brightest'', as they were called, alternated between shock and horror about what the Russians had done. The implied threat to us and our safety could not be denied. Something had to be done to remove the missiles. The most obvious was military intervention. We had been flirting with invading this island, just 90 miles away from Florida, ever since Castro came to powere in 1959. The CIA led ''Bay Of Pigs'' in 1961 [ where we trained and armed Cuban rebels to overthrow the Cuban government ] had been a terrible failure. That invasion, sans military support by the U.S., died on the beaches soon after they landed. The rebels were captured and tortured and many were killed. The bitter aftertaste-- along with both sides bracing for more bloodshed--- were on the forefront of the Russians when they installed the missiles, starting in August, 1962. By October, the missiles were nearly ready...... At the meeting with the Kennedy team, the military spoke the loudest. Led by General Curtis LeMay, the brass hats demanded immediate and bloody action. They wanted an invasion of the whole island. While this was on the minds of many of the men at the table, the military, as it often does, played the macho card. The losses of human life--both Cuban and American-- were of no concern to them. They wanted action. John Kennedy wisely demurred. He wanted to know from LeMay what the Russians would do if we invaded. Surely, they would not sit quietly by and let us take Castro out. This was no concern for the military, for they thought the losses would be inconsequential. Kennedy and his team, rightly appalled by the cavalier atittude of LeMay, declared that military intervention would be the last resort if all else failed. LeMay and his team were angry. He told Kennedy that it would be a terrible mistake to wait. His exact words were, ''You're in a tough mix, Mr. President''. To which Kennedy famously replied, ''You're in it with me''...... The meeting broke without a decision. This is where Robert Kennedy, as he had done so often for his brother, stepped forward and took control. He correctly surmised that the men around the table--- Kennedy men-- would feel more free discussing their options without the President around. Ideas could be pitched and argued without the pressure to give JFK an answer. So, the President went on with his regular schedule while Bobby took the reins. The military idea was still supported by many, but, a new idea emerged: a blockade, or quarantine. If the Russian ships that were secretly delivering the missile parts to Cuba could be stopped, then some kind of leverage could be gained by not using the invasion idea. Bobby took to the idea of a quarantine like a duck to water. He presented the idea to the President, who endorsed the suggestion. While still fending off the military hawks who wanted blood, JFK put forth the blockade idea. Now, our navy ships would meet the Russina ships head-on, hopefully, without firing a shot, and, stop their progress towards Cuba. After several days of planning and debate, Kennedy went forward with the story to the public in his speech on October, 22..... In Moscow, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev was outraged that his secret arming of Cuba had been discovered. But, Khrushchev, for all of his famous bluster, was a sensible man. They had been caught, so, he knew he must find a way to keep those missiles in Cuba without the threat of nuclear war [ back then, a missile fired from either the U.S. or Russia would take about 15 minutes to hit the other country. Now, it would be in the seconds ]. Dealing with his higher ups in Russia, the Presidium, Khrushchev had to save face for both his country and himself. Meanwhile, the Russian ships and the American ships were closely in on each other..... The ships faced off at each other on October 24th from a distance. On both sides of the world, Kennedy and Khrushchev anxiously waited for the other to crumble. The stakes were the highest of the whole crisis. The Americans were prepared to stop the Russian ships. At first, there would be a peaceful request. If the Russians ignored the request and ran the blockade, then we would forcefully stop them through fire. For several tension filled hours the world waited on the brink of war. Who would give up?.... The Russian ships stopped in the water. They would not move forward. Finally, they turned around and went back towards Russia. A great cheer went up in the room of Kennedy men. As Secretaryof State Dean Rusk stated, ''We've just went eyeball to eyeball and the other fellow blinked!'''... But, the crises was not over yet. There still remained the issue of the missiles in Cuba to be removed. Khrushchev was not bringing any more to the island, but, he was also not taking them out either. Again, this is where Robert Kennedy was so crucial to history. With his brother's support he went back-channel with the Russians. He told key people in the Russian embassy in Washington that the United States was fully prepared to launch an invasion to take the missiles out. Back and forth went the negotiations while the world moved closer to the brink. Finally, the Russians, on the thirteenth day, announced that they would be dismantling the missiles with the agreement that the U.S. would not invade Cuba at any time. Also, there was a backroom agreement for the U.S. to remove their missiles from Turkey in the near future. This last demand was kept from the public. It was not that much of a concession--- JFK had wanted the Turkish missiles removed for many months, but, to save face, it was kept hush-hush for many years... Robert Kennedy emerges as the hero during the crisis. By controlling, with his brother, the hawks in his government, along with the stubborn negotiations he undertook with the Russians, he saved the world from nuclear destruction. There were other heroes on both sides, certainly, but, Bobby was the ringleader, the center of all activity.... The ground were the missiles were in Cuba was plowed over, and within a few months there was no sign of any evidence of how close the world came to ending.... My Dad once told me how harrowing those days were. I was not yet born, but, he had my mother, my sister, and, my infant brother. He told me how he would go to work and cry-- along with the other men he worked with-- that there was a chance that he would never see his small family again. Finally, he decided that he would stay home from work with his family and hold them close.... I believe, in those desperate times, many people around the world were doing the same thing....