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President Kennedy orders an airstrike on the missiles and other key Cuban military installations
http://goo.gl/0wcJV (2:30 and 6:00)
Kennedy meet with the Soviet Foreign Minister, Andrei Gromyko, at the White House. Kennedy does not reveal that he knows about the missile build up in Cuba. Gromyko tells Kennedy that Soviet Cuban only used the missiles for the "defensive capabilities of Cuba." The amount of missiles believed to be stationed in Cuba was 40
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Cuban Missile Crisis
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Military action
JFK discusses many military options and possible consequences with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Chiefs chairman General Maxwell Taylor states that the JCS was initially agreed on military action along with the blockade. But, he expresses doubt about the political impact especially on our friends, while admitting that all the sites wouldn’t be destroyed. JFK concludes that an air strike would give the USSR "a clear line" to take Berlin the way they took Hungary. -
Final Planning
historyExComm(The Executive Committee of the National Security Council was a body of United States government officials that the President though were useful during the crisis) meetings continue at the State Department. The Final planning of a naval blockade is completed, and Theodore Sorensen's draft speech for President Kennedy is approved. As McNamara leaves the conference room, he reportedly phones the Pentagon and orders four tactical squadrons to be readied for a possible airstrike on Cuba. -
Kennedy Addresses The Nation On The Cuban Missile Crisis
John F. Kennedy gives his offical statement on the Cuban Missle Crisis, he validates that the U.S. government has been monitoring the Soviet military buildup, and confirms that the Russians have been constructing missile sites in Cuba. Kennedy also provides statements from the Soviet government, all of which are false. [Kennedy Addresses The Nation On The Cuban Missile Crisis](goo.gl/1ix42) <a href='http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/history/cold-war/cuban- -
Robert Kennedy gets irritated
Robert Kennedy expresses irritation about the failure of US intelligence to discover the missiles earlier. Discussion of how to handle the press - specific reporters to be briefed by specific ExComm members on a strictly off-the-record basis. McNamara indicates that a ship carrying offensive weapons will have to be stopped and perhaps disabled. But Kennedy states that the Soviets will likely turn around such ships on their own to avoid a confrontation. -
JFK concludes a dead line
video JFK concludes that if we invade in the next ten days, the missile base crews in Cuba will likely fire at least some of the missiles at US targets. He asks whether we could evacuate civilian populations from cities a few days before the invasion. Response is that cities actually provide the best protection against radiation. -
Khrushchev Sends A Letter To Kennedy
Khrushchev sends a letter to Kennedy, this letter confirms that an offer was made through Scali. The missiles would be removed if the US made a pledge to never invade Cuba. Fidel Castro then sends a letter to Khrushchev, but Khrushchev mistakes the explanation and thinks it is an appeal for a Soviet nuclear first-strike. Source -
Construction Of IRBM And MRBM Bases In Cuban Proceed Without Interruption
The CIA memorandum reports information, noting that construction of IRBM and MRBM bases in Cuba are proceeding without interruption. The CIA begins to put more force behind surveillance on the construction of these IRBM and MRBM sites. The construction of these sites in Cuba could provide easy nuclear strike capability from Cuba to the United States. Source -
Radio Moscow Begins To Broadcast Radio Transmissions
Radio Moscow begins to broadcast radio transmissions from Premier Khrushchev, In contrast to the private message of the day before, the new message calls for the dismantling of the U.S. missile bases in Turkey, in return for the removal of the Soviet missiles in Cuba. Source -
Removal of Missiles
historyKhrushchev announces over Radio Moscow that he has agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba, but Kennedy insists that an aerial photo can prove whether the missile sites are actually being taken down. Later that day when Kennedy is about to leave the room, he calls his secretary to discuss having commemorative calendars made for that month of October, with the dates of the crisis highlighted.
