Cuban Missile Crisis
...kade of weapons and open surveillance; the third is “military,” involving an attack on Cuba and the missile sites (Chang, Kornbluh 359). On October 17, Premier Khrushchev sends a message to Attorney General Robert Kennedy stating that the weapons are for defensive purposes in Cuba only. Meanwhile, the first of three SS-5 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) sites have been detected. The IRBMs are able to travel about 2200 nautical miles (about 2500 miles). It is estimated that these sites would not be operational until December but sixteen and possible as many as thirty-two MRBMs would be operational in about a week. During the evening on October 18, President Kennedy meets with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko at the White House. Gromyko quickly turns the discussion to Cuba, and says he was instructed to make it clear that the Soviets are rendering assistance solely for the purpose of defensive capabilities of Cuba. Afterwards the president attends an ExComm meeting during which time recommendations are presented to Kennedy. Most members support the blockade option while some members think that an airstrike is the best option. At a meeting on October 19, the members of ExComm decide to establish separate working groups to develop the blockade and airstrike options. After the different options are drafted they are exchanged between the groups and the supporters of the airstrike begin to shift their support to the blockade option instead. Later the same evening, U. Alexis Johnson, Deputy Under Secretary for Political Affairs, and Paul Nitze, Assistant Secretary for International Security Affairs, meet to prepare a timetable for carrying out all the components needed for an airstrike or a blockade of Cuba. It would include raising alert levels, reinforcing Guantanamo naval base and to brief NATO allies. All of this would revolve around the time President Kennedy would address the nation; known as the “P Hour.” Until this point President Kennedy has focused most of his time and energy on the campaign trail. He has been briefed about the outcome of meetings and has attended others that needed his attention. But on October 20, Kennedy’s Press Secretary announces that the President is canceling the remainder of his campaign trip due to an “upper respiratory infection.” Kennedy is needed back in Washington to make key decisions about the mounting tension over Cuba, which has not been made public to this point. ExComm continues meetings at the State Department to finalize the plans for implementing a naval blockade. Theodore Sorensen, special counsel to the president, has drafted a speech for President Kennedy, which is amended and approved, to use when he addresses the nation on October 22 at 7:00 P.M. Adlai Stevenson, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, entering the meeting late proposes that a removal of the U.S. missiles in Turkey and an evacuation of Guantanamo accompany the blockade proposal. Most of the committee is against this proposal, even Kennedy, who says that at an appropriate time in the future they would be willing to take strategic missiles out of Turkey, if the issue was brought up by the Russians. It is brought up during the meeting that a blockade signifies an “act of war,” so the committee starts referring to the blockade as a quarantine. After the meeting, Kennedy instructs Sorensen to redraft the quarantine speech and notes that he has not made a final decision on whether he will choose to implement the quarantine or an airstrike. His final decision will be made after he consults one last time with air force officials the next morning. The intelligence community prepares an inventory of major Soviet weapons identified in Cuba, which include: (a) twenty-two IL-28 jet light bombers; (b) thirty-nine MiG-21 jet fighters; (c) sixty-two less advanced jet fighters; (d) twenty-four SA-2 missile sites; (e) three cruise missile sites for coastal defense; and (f) twelve Komar-class cruise missile patrol boats. A nuclear warhead storage bunker is identified at one of the Cuban MRBM sites for the first time (Chang, Kornbluh 364). The next morning, October 21, Kennedy gives his final approval for implementing the quarantine option. Even though he has finalized plans for the quarantine, President Kennedy directs the military to be prepared to carry out a possible airstrike anytime after the morning of October 22. During a meeting of the National Security Council, Admiral George Anderson explains the procedures for the quarantine that he has drawn up earlier in the day. He explains that all ships that approach the quarantine line are to be signaled to stop to be boarded and inspected. If any ships fail to stop, a shot will be fired across the bow of the ship. And if there is still no response, a shot will be fired at the rudder of the ship to cripple it. Kennedy shows concern that this could ultimately sink the ship, but Anderson reassures the president that a ship can be crippled without causing it to sink. Around noon the next day, the Strategic Air Command (SAC) initiates a massive alert of its B-52 nuclear bomber force, guaranteeing that one-eighth of the force is airborne at any given time. B-52 flights begin around the clock, with a new bomber taking off each time another bomber lands. The alert is directed to take place quietly and gradually and to be in full effect by October 23. SAC also begins dispersing 183 B-47 nuclear bombers to thirty-three civilian and military airfields. The Air Defense Command (ADC) also disperses 161 aircraft to sixteen bases in nine hours. For the first time in ADC history, all aircraft are armed with nuclear weapons. A few hours later the Joint Chiefs of Staff notify the State Department that U.S. military forces worldwide go to DEFCON 3, effective at 7:00 P.M. And President Kennedy formally establishes the ExComm (Chang, Kornbluh 365). At 7:00 P.M. on October 22 President Kennedy formally addresses the nation. During his speech he tells the American people that “unmistakable evidence” of offensive missile sites are being erected. The only purpose for these sites is to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere. He also describes the types of missiles that have been found and that the Soviets have repeatedly denied any such armaments and equipment have been sent to Cuba. The president goes on to outline seven steps to be taken to end this crisis: (1) a quarantine of Cuba, to halt the offensive buildup; (2) to continue close surveillance and to take further action if needed; (3) if missiles launched from Cuba, the U. S. will consider it an attack by the Soviet Union requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union; (4) to evacuate dependents and reinforce our base at Guantanamo; (5) to call a meeting of the Organ of Consultation under the Organization of American States, to invoke the necessary steps needed to provide regional security; (6) to call an emergency meeting of the Security Council and call for the prompt dismantling and withdrawal of the offensive weapons before the quarantine will be lifted; finally (7) he calls upon Premier Khrushchev to stop this latest threat to world peace. To join in an historic effort to end the arms race to change the history of man and to help find a peaceful and permanent solution to this crisis. President Kennedy also appeals to the Cuban people, who are listening by special radio facilities, that these weapons are by no means good for their peace and well-being. He also says that the Cuban leaders have become puppets for an international conspiracy which has turned Cuba against America. Kennedy then turns his attention to the American people and says: My fellow citizens: let no one doubt that this is a difficult and dangerous effort on which we have set out. No one can foresee precisely what course it will take or what costs or casualties will be incurred. Many months of sacrifice and self-discipline lie ahead-months in which both our patience and our will will be tested-months in which many threats and denunciations will keep us aware of our dangers. But the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing. 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. Thank you and good night. The following morning Khrushchev sends a letter to Kennedy in response to his speech the previous evening. Khrushchev writes: I must say frankly that the measures indicated in your statement constitute a serious threat to peace and to the security of nations….We reaffirm that the armaments which are in Cuba, regardless of the classification to which they may belong, are intended solely for defensive purposes in order to secure [the] Republic of Cuba against attack of an aggressor. I hope that the United States Government will display wisdom and renounce the actions pursued by you, which may lead to catastrophic consequences for world peace (White 207,222). Later that afternoon, Cuban representative Mario Garcia Inchaustegui denounces the quarantine and calls it an “act of war.” Soviet representative Valerian Zorin claims the U.S. charges are “completely false.” Zorin drafts a resolution calling for the U.S. to end its naval activities around Cuba and to enter into negotiations to bring an end to the crisis. John McCone, director of the CIA, indicates that Soviet submarines have been found heading into the Caribbean. The president orders the navy to track the subs and to employ measures to protect our aircraft carriers and other ships. Later, the president signs Proclamation 3504, formally establishing the quarantine, it is set to begin and 10:00 A.M. the following day. The quarantine line, called the Walnut Line, was originally set at eight-hundred miles from Cuba, but was shortened to five-hundred miles from Cuba to give the Soviets more time to analyze the situation. A Gallop poll survey taken on October 23 shows that eighty-four percent of the U.S. public who know about the Cuban situation favor the blockade while only four percent oppose the action. At the same time, roughly one out of every five Americans believe the quarantine will lead to World War III (Chang, Kornbluh 369). During the early morning of October 24, Soviet ships enroute to Cuba appear to have slowed down, stopped or reversed their course. Of the nineteen ships enroute , sixteen of them, including five large-hatch cargo ships, reverse their course and head back to the Soviet Union. Naval intelligence indicates that two Soviet ships, the Gagarin and the Komiles, are approaching the quarantine line with no indications of stopping. Intelligence also shows that a Soviet sub has positioned itself between the two ships. The Joint Chiefs of Staff direct the SAC to increase its alert status to DEFCON 2, for the first time in history. Later that afternoon, a new intelligence report arrives and it seems to indicate that some of the Soviet ships have stopped dead in the water. Dean Rusk, Secretary of State, leans over to McGeorge Bundy and says, “We’re eyeball to eyeball and I think the other fellow just blinked” (Chang, Kornbluh 370). The Under Secretary of State George Ball drafts a cable to U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Raymond Hare and U.S. Ambassador to NATO Thomas Finletter, telling them that the U.S. is considering a Turkey-for-Cuba missile trade to possibly bring an end to the crisis. That night, in his first public statement since the onset of the crisis, Khrushchev warns the U.S. that if they carry out their “act of piracy,” the Soviet Union will have no alternative but to “make use of defensive measures against them.” Khrushchev also wants to meet with Kennedy to discuss a possible end to the crisis and to bring to an end the threat of a nuclear war. The deputy of chief of naval operations, Vice Admiral Griffin, issues a Notice to Mariners 45-62, Special Warning 32, “Submarine Surfacing and Identification Procedures When Contacted by Quarantine Forces in the General Vicinity of Cuba.” It reads: U.S. forces coming in contact with unidentified submerged submarines will make the following signals to inform the submarine that he may surface in order to identify himself: Signals follow-Quarantine forces will drop 4 to 5 harmless explosive sound signals (hand grenades) which may be accompanied by the international code signal “IDKCA” meaning “Rise to the surface.” This sonar signal is normally made on underwater communications equipment in the 8 kc. Frequency range. Pro...