Thirteen days kennedy. Thirteen Days (film) 2022-12-18
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"Thirteen Days" is a 2000 historical film that depicts the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, a 13-day political and military standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union over the installation of nuclear missiles in Cuba. The film is based on the book "The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis," which was edited by Ernest R. May and Philip D. Zelikow and published in 1997.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the United States and the Soviet Union came close to the brink of nuclear war. In October 1962, President John F. Kennedy and his advisors learned that the Soviet Union was secretly installing nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from the United States. Kennedy was faced with a difficult decision: to take military action against the Soviet Union and possibly trigger a full-scale nuclear war, or to negotiate with the Soviet Union and potentially appear weak in the face of aggression.
The film "Thirteen Days" focuses on the behind-the-scenes actions of Kennedy and his advisors as they navigated this crisis. It portrays the intense debates and discussions that took place within the White House as Kennedy and his team weighed the options available to them. The film also highlights the role of Kennedy's brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, in the decision-making process.
Ultimately, Kennedy and his advisors decided to pursue a diplomatic solution to the crisis. They imposed a naval blockade around Cuba to prevent further Soviet shipments of missiles, and Kennedy publicly announced that the United States would not tolerate the presence of nuclear missiles in Cuba. The Soviet Union eventually agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a secret promise from the United States not to invade Cuba.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a crucial moment in the Cold War, and it remains one of the most studied events in modern history. "Thirteen Days" offers a unique perspective on the crisis, depicting the tension and the high stakes involved in the decision-making process. It is a powerful reminder of the importance of diplomacy and the need for leaders to carefully consider the potential consequences of their actions.
Thirteen Days (book)
Failure to gauge the reaction of ordinary U. The strains on the NATO alliance would have been severe and perhaps fatal. There was an additional fact that Khrushchev knew that was extremely important and this was a fact he had not understood when he gave the order to put the missiles in Cuba. RFK gives an excellent account of what was occurring behind the scenes and how various parties felt during the crisis. Japan had not declared war on the U. These could obliterate US cities up to the Canadian border.
If there are flaws, it's that some lessons can be repeated too often the weight of decision and that the afterword is dry academicese. . It was therefore impossible for any U. Everything depends on what they decide. However, they did show that there was no difference if one was killed by missiles launched by Cuba or by the USSR in a retaliatory strike. General LeMay thought that nuclear war with the Soviets was inevitable and wanted it to occur before the U. Here's a quote from the Foreward talking about a Havanah conference bringing together former leaders of the US and USSR: "General Anatoly Gribkov, who had been in Cuba during the 13 days.
He strongly opposed a massive attack by a large country on a small one because he believed such an attack to be inhuman, contrary to American ideals and traditions, and an act of brutality for which the world would never forgive the United States. He also knew that there would have been a very strong reaction, probably an all out war, if nuclear weapons were used on U. The following additional background will be helpful in understanding the concerns of the participants and their statements, as set out in the film. In history classes and other books I'd read it seemed that like JFK was not a good president because of various things. Both sides developed highly destructive nuclear weapons. This makes nuclear war very unlikely. He steered his bellicose advisors towards a far less antagonistic "quarantine" of Soviet ships and saved humanity from nuclear annihilation.
President Kennedy's determination to negotiate with his aggressor, rather than attack head on or threaten with intimidation, helped ensure a favorable outcome. One asked the other how the war came to be and the other said that he wished he knew. Source: Sergei Khrushchev, pp. JFK had started the events but no longer had control over them. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. If we go in and take them out on a quick air strike, we neutralize the chance of danger to the United States of these missiles being used, and we prevent a situation from arising, at least within Cuba, where the Cubans themselves have the means of exercising some degree of authority in this hemisphere. Lots of gems here: the candid letter Khrushchev sends Kennedy without consulting his advisors, how JFK swims before a meeting to decide whether to take military action or precede with a quarantine, how Bobby Kennedy takes his girls to a horse show while waiting for the Soviets to response to a critical letter, the chapter titles that echo the opening lines of each chapter - like poems! When a U-2 came back with photographs of missile sites under construction, President Kennedy convened his advisors before announcing the discovery to the world.
I love RFK's memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis--a raw, emotional retelling of what occurred in those thirteen days. Retrieved July 12, 2020. However, the film argues that the artifice they are forced to use. He ratcheted up the pressure on the Soviet Union with steps that always left the Soviets room to maneuver and time to rationally decide what to do. To avoid arousing public concern, the president maintained his official schedule, meeting periodically with advisors to discuss the status of events in Cuba and possible strategies.
Thirteen Days by Robert F Kennedy 1969 Hardcover 1st Edition, No Dust Jacket
The Russians did not withdraw their forces from Eastern Europe. He sees that his refusal to agree to Soviet demands will cause the negotiation to end in failure, and he knows the President wants a successful negotiation—so he backtracks carefully and presents an alternative solution that both sides can agree upon and that will allow the US to save face even as it gives in to Soviet demands regarding missiles in Turkey. Thus, Excomm came into being. Otherwise, our answer would be quite easy…. . Since I was still a kid at the time, a movie like this was something I was completely unaware of and would have been uninterested in at the time. In private cables to the State Department and in public speeches, Ambassador Kennedy supported the Munich compromise.
They will exercise research and writing skills in the expression of these insights. . The effort to place missiles in Cuba was an effort by the Russians to improve their nuclear capability quickly and inexpensively. The narrative is wonderfully concise, clear, compulsively readable, and even if the positive aspects of JFK's handling of the crisis may perhaps be a little overstated, RFK manages to keep editorial balance and also present Secretary Khrushchev in quite a positive light. Another important element in the decisions made by Khrushchev is the fact that Communications in 1962 were not what they are today. Source: The Kennedy Tapes, pg.
By restraining those who wanted to initiate air strikes or an invasion, and by starting the U. But the great tragedy was that, if we erred, we erred not only for ourselves, our futures, our hopes, and our country, but for the lives, futures, hopes, and countries of those who had never been given an opportunity to play a role, to vote aye or nay, to make themselves felt. For instance, if what he writes about several highest-rank military commanders and their pressure to attack Soviet Union immediately is true, this is really scary and puts a huge dent in my rather positive opinion of the military. Kennedy in Thirteen Days p. Source: The Kennedy Tapes, pp. . If IRBMs could be immediately installed in Cuba rather than waiting to build the ICBMs that could strike the U.
FREE Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis PDF Book by Robert F. Kennedy (1968) Read Online or Free Downlaod
The book itself is pretty short and is a fast read, but the afterword is more lengthy. The secret deal about the missiles in Turkey was not a substantive concession because the missiles were obsolete. From the time of Munich until long after the U. Khrushchev forgot or never knew and his experts on the U. He describes the crisis from start to finish, the Ex Comm's meetings, the discussions on how to proceed, the back channel communications - and, above all, the cool, calm and very presidential JFK steering his country, no, make that the whole world, through this crisis, towards life sounds dramatic, yes, but that's because IT WAS. He was actually an outspoken and influential participant in the discussions and was more often, except in the case of the Turkey-Cuba trade, a louder voice for caution and diplomacy than anyone other than President John F. They always understood each other," describes Stern the wonderful trust and loyalty that existed between the Kennedy brothers.
