These recommendations were for planning purposes, intended to provide a guide for crafting a single plan. The Joint Chiefs of Staff recommended sinking a US ship and blaming the Cubans in order to create national support for a US invasion of Cuba. The JCS sent Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara a list of possible courses of action to garner support for an invasion of Cuba entitled Operation Northwoods. Fortunately, authorization from three other officers was needed. The Soviet commander believed that war had started and prepared to fire. Unbeknownst to the Americans, the sub was carrying a nuclear-tipped torpedo. One Soviet officer’s reluctance saved the world from nuclear war. On October 27, American destroyers forced a Soviet submarine to surface near the quarantine line using depth charges. Here are five things we now know about the Cuban Missile Crisis:ġ. After declassification of top-secret information and years of analysis by scholars and government officials, the reality of how close the world actually came to nuclear war is startling. But while Don Draper and company were dancing to the Monster Mash (don’t judge, it was a graveyard smash), others were beginning to see that the situation in Cuba was more intense than even President Kennedy was aware. The Crisis was over and the nation could breathe again.
Thirteen days after the start of the Crisis, Khrushchev accepted the offer and called back Soviet ships. Privately, Kennedy promised to withdraw US nuclear missiles from Turkey within six months. Publically, Kennedy promised not to invade Cuba if the Soviets withdrew their missiles. Faced with the very real possibility of nuclear war, Kennedy decided to approach Khrushchev with a deal to end the standoff peacefully. Over the next week, Soviet ships carrying weapons to Cuba were locked in a stalemate with US warships in the Caribbean. In a speech to the nation on October 22, Kennedy called for the removal of missiles already in Cuba and the destruction of all launch sites. After secretly conferring with a group of advisors (nicknamed ExComm), Kennedy announced the establishment of a naval blockade on all further armament shipments to Cuba. Given the proximity to the US and the already looming threat of the Soviet Union, President Kennedy knew that he could not let this stand. Kennedy faced off with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in waters just offshore of Cuba.Įarlier in the month, a U-2 spy plane over Cuba captured images of nuclear missile launch sites being built by the Soviets.
The nation held its breath as President John F. It is October after all, the month in which the US and the Soviet Union came closer to nuclear war than any other time in history. Slick back your hair, grab a scotch, and don’t forget to triple check that route to the nearest Fallout Shelter.