History Book: 60 years since the Cuban Missile Crisis

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Monday, October 24th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

Remember just a few weeks ago the controversy President Biden generated over Russia and Ukraine? He told a group of Democrat donors that the threat of nuclear war was as great as it was during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Well, that crisis was 60 years ago this week.

EICHER: Yes, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the United States and the Soviet Union truly to the brink of nuclear war. While the crisis lasted 13 days in October, the chain of events that caused it began much earlier.

WORLD’s Harrison Watters did the background research, and Paul Butler has this week’s WORLD History Book.

KENNEDY: I John Fitzgerald Kennedy do solemnly swear…

PAUL BUTLER, REPORTER: At John F. Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961, he inherited a covert military operation codename: Operation Mongoose.

The CIA led plan was to train Cuban resistance fighters to overthrow Communist dictator Fidel Castro with U.S. air and sea support. The invasion was to take place along the Bay of Pigs. Kennedy expressed doubts with the plan, but agreed to let it go forward—as long as U.S. involvement was covered up.

Publicly, Kennedy insisted that America would stay out of Cuban affairs.

KENNEDY: There will not under any conditions be an intervention in Cuba by United States armed forces…

But on April 15th, 1961, four American airmen died in the first sortie of an invasion.

KENNEDY: They were serving their country. The flight that cost them their lives was a volunteer flight…

Bombers arrived ahead of the fighters sent to protect them and Castro’s forces shot down two B-26s. And that was only the start of trouble.

In the end, of the 1,400 Cuban resistance fighters trained in a $13 million program—nearly 300 were killed. More than one thousand were imprisoned. Four months into his presidency, Kennedy’s reputation on the global stage was badly damaged at the Bay of Pigs.

FIDEL CASTRO:

By contrast, Fidel Castro’s reputation in Cuba was strengthened after mobilizing the country to repel what he called “imperialist invaders.” Castro appealed to the USSR for protection and weapons—the very thing the US was trying to prevent.

NIKITA KRUSCHEV:

Russian Premier Nikita Kruschev saw the fiasco as a way to solve a problem of his own. In 1958 the United States installed missiles in Turkey—a member of NATO since 1952.

So when Castro came begging for an alliance and weapons, Kruschev saw an opportunity to put the US in check. He could place Soviet missiles just 90 miles from Florida.

During the summer of 1962, the Soviets began secretly shipping missile parts and personnel into Cuba aboard cargo ships. That fall, CIA analysts examining high altitude photos of Cuba with magnifying glasses discovered the unmistakable signs of missile bases under construction. The following day, Kennedy met with the Executive Committee of the National Security Council or ExComm.

JFK TAPE 28: This is the result of the photography taken Sunday, sir. Medium range ballistic missile site…

The committee discussed the feasibility of an airstrike, but without knowing just how many missiles were in Cuba Kennedy feared a second Bay of Pigs—or worse. So Kennedy decided on a more cautious course of action.

Six days later, Kennedy addressed the nation.

JOHN F KENNEDY: 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.

Kennedy laid out his plan for responding to the threat of these missile bases to the Western Hemisphere.

KENNEDY: To halt this offensive build-up, a strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba is being initiated…

A blockade cutting all ships off from Cuba would be considered an act of war. So ExComm chose a quarantine instead. It would prevent all ships—except those carrying food and fuel—from sailing to Cuba.

KENNEDY: It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States...

Because there was no direct line of communication between the White House and the Kremlin, Kennedy passed a letter on to Kruschev through Foy Kohler, his ambassador to the Soviet Union.

In response to Kennedy’s warning about the dangers of nuclear war, Kruschev tipped his hand by agreeing with the President. He offered to pull the missiles out of Cuba if the United States agreed to announce they would never attack Cuba.

NEWSCASTER: If Kruschev elects force, he has really then given us no choice at all…for the world can not forever endure this sort of Soviet pressure…

While Kennedy and Kruschev exchanged letters, American warships played chicken with Soviet ships and submarines.

NEWS CLIP: Washington…the White House emphasizes the arms quarantine on Cuba will continue. The Defense Department also reported at least a dozen Soviet ships bound for Cuba turned back...

The world’s two superpowers were standing toe to toe as the world held its breath. Then on Saturday, October 27th, Cuba shot down an American U2 spy plane—killing the pilot.

That afternoon, Kennedy and ExComm talked through possible responses…now that the Soviets had fired the first shot. Several committee members pushed for an air strike or invasion. But President Kennedy was convinced Kruschev had not authorized the missile strike. He doubled down on finding a diplomatic solution.

Kennedy’s proposal? If the Soviet Union pulled missiles out of Cuba, the US would secretly pull missiles from Turkey, though Kennedy wouldn’t announce the move for 3 or 4 months. And if the Soviets did not accept the deal within 48 hours, Americans would invade Cuba. The meeting ended without a deal.

On Sunday morning, October 28th, Kruschev met with the Presidium—the Communist Congress. They decided the risks of nuclear war were too great and pointed in America’s favor..

CLIP FROM WAR AND PEACE IN THE NUCLEAR AGE: ‘This is Radio Moscow. Premier Kruschev has sent a message to President Kennedy today. The Soviet government has ordered the dismantling of weapons in Cuba, as well as their crating and return to the Soviet Union.’

By November 21st, the Soviets had pulled all missiles and nuclear bombers out of Cuba. The following April, Kennedy pulled American missiles out of Turkey.

The two leaders established a Telex hotline to connect the White House and Kremlin in hopes that better communication would help avert future crises. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamera later explained that Kennedy’s commitment to diplomacy required a counter-intuitive approach to victory.

ROBERT MCNAMERA: Give your opponent an out…Look at the options that you are considering from his point of view. Try to pick an option that achieves your purpose at minimal cost to him - political, military, otherwise - that avoids pushing him into an emotional frame of mind in which he is likely to lash out irrationally with great cost to him and you.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Paul Butler.

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