mPresident

Kennedy wamsthe nationabout the

Soviet missiieson October 22.

THE CUBAN MISSILEFifty years ago, the U.S. and the Soviet Unioncame dangerously close to nuclear war

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For President John F.Kennedy, word came whilehe was still in his pajamas.On the morning of Tuesday,

October 16, 1962, his nationalsecurity adviser, McGeorge Bundy,brought him news as alarming as

WORDS TO KNOW

• biockade [n): a barrier of war-ships or troops used to isolatean enemy

• Cold War [n]-. a worldwide politicaland military rivalry between theU.S. and the Soviet Union andtheirallies (1945-1991)

• Soviet Union [n): a massiveCommunist nation made up ofRussia and neighboring republics(1922-1991]

a ticking bomb. If it were true, itcould lead to nuclear war with theSoviet Union.

Photos from CIA spy planesshowed Soviet technicians buildingmissile bases in Cuba, only 90miles from Florida. Within days, itwas thought, the bases could housenuclear missiles that could kill80 million Americans.

Kennedy immediately assembledhis top advisers. Over the next fewdays, as word came of more Sovietships approaching Cuba, the menwrestled with the urgent question:What should the U.S. do?

Some of Kennedy's advisersfavored an immediate air strike.But such an attack could killthousands of innocent Cubans,said Attorney General Robert F.

Kennedy, the President's brother."For 175 years, we have not beenthat kind of country," he said.

Instead, the President decidedto establish a naval blockadearound Cuba. Then he would warnSoviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev(KROOSH-choff): Any missilelaunched from Cuba would beregarded as a Soviet attack, subjectto U.S. retaliation.

What then? Suddenly, total warwas a frightening possibility.

A Dark PeriodHow did disaster come so close?

Fifty years ago, the world wasentrenched in the Cold War. Thislong conflict between the U.S. andthe Soviet Union lasted from theend of World War II (1939-1945)

1 2 JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC/OCTOBER 1,2012

A U.S. warship(bottom)

comes close toconfronting aSoviet ship.

Americanstudents

/ "duciiandcover."

CRISISuntil 1991. Both nations engagedin a massive buildup of theirnuclear arsenals.

The result was a daily fear ofcatastrophe for Americans andSoviets. In the U.S., schools trainedstudents to "duck and cover" undertheir desks in case of an attack.

Cuba became a player in theCold War in 1959. Soon afterFidel Castro seized power there{see Key Dates], he declared Cubaa Communist ally of the SovietUnion. As relations with Americawent downhill, the U.S. triedrepeatedly to overthrow Castro.

For Castro, the Soviet missileswere a gesture of defiance. ForKhrushchev, they were a chance todefend an ally and to look tough tothe Americans.

"Eyeball to Eyeball"On Monday evening, October 22,

President Kennedy informed thecountry on national TV about the

missiles in Cuba. In the comingdays, Americans steeled themselvesfor the worst. Some even outfittedbomb shelters to live in after anuclear war.

Meanwhile, the Soviet shipssteamed toward Cuba. OnWednesday, October 24, a group ofthem approached the blockade linewhere U.S. Navy vessels waited. Atthe White House, the President'smen held their breath. "I felt wewere on the edge of a precipice andit was as if there were no way off,"Robert Kennedy later wrote.

At nearly the last moment,the Soviet ships slowed, stopped,turned around, and sailed away."We're eyeball to eyeball, and Ithink the other fellow just blinked,"said one presidential adviser.

Four more tension-filled daysfollowed before Khrushchev

agreed to withdraw the missiles inexchange for Kennedy's promisenot to invade Cuba. JFK alsosecretly agreed to remove someU.S. missiles in Turkey, near theSoviet border.

Fifty years later, the CubanMissile Crisis is considered the mostdangerous episode of the Cold War.The Soviet Union broke apart in1991. Fidel Castro has retired (hisbrother Raúl now leads Cuba), andwhile Cuba is still a Communiststate, it's not a threat to the U.S.

Many historians credit PresidentKennedy with keeping the U.S. andSoviet Union from war. "October1962 was not only Kennedy's finesthour in the White House," hisbiographer Robert Dallek wrote. "Itwas also an imperishable exampleof how one man prevented acatastrophe." —Bryan Browr\

OCTOBER 1, 2012 /JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC 1 3

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