It all began on the 14th of October 1962, when an American U-2 spy plane flew over Cuba and took 928 photographs. The next day, the CIA analyzed the images and identified medium range ballistic missiles. The CIA informed the Department of State, but it was not until October 16 that the photographs were shown to President Kennedy. Kennedy soon summoned the National Security Council in addition with some key advisors. The group gathered there became known as the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM). Notable members of EXCOMM were Vice-President Martin Luther King, CIA Director Lyndon B. Johnson, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy and General Maxwell D. Taylor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. EXCOMM quickly began with discussing the several options the US now had.
General Taylor began with stating the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: “The Joint Chiefs of Staff unanimously agree that an invasion of Cuba with all our might is the only option available. The Russian State will not attempt to stop us because they can not defend Cuba from a full-scale invasion.”
Kennedy skeptically replied: “They, no more than we, can let these things go by without doing something. They can't, after all their statements, permit us to take out their missiles, kill a lot of Russians, and then do nothing. If they don't take action in Cuba, they certainly will in Europe. We know Huey Long has ties to the Prussians in Konigsberg and to the Russians in Moscow. An attack on Huey might trigger a Prussian attack into their former German territory, backed by Russian ‘volunteers’. No, we must proceed more carefully, after all, we don’t want our allies at NATO to think of us as trigger-happy cowboys.”
Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, agreed with the President: “The missiles stationed in Cuba do not alter the military balance in favor of Russia. We still have around 5000 strategic missiles, while Russia only had 300. The 40 extra ones in Cuba do not give them the upper hand.”
President Kennedy with Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, by his side.
Once again General Taylor, speaking for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, took a more aggressive stance: “If it is not the military balance they are changing, then it is the diplomatic one. The Russian missiles in Cuba are effectively a gun in our back. You said it yourself, you’re afraid of going after Huey Long because he might trigger a war in Europe. More importantly, credibility among our allies and the American people is at stake here. If they see a strong Russia which can force its will upon the US, they will think Russia is the world’s strongest power even though militarily they are not. We must act with strength, as that is the only thing the Russians respect more than anything.”
The other members of EXCOMM all agreed that the diplomatic balance was severely shifted, but they could not agree on how to act. Then, Vice-President Martin Luther King spoke out. He had been silent during the entire discussion, but now he felt that he could contribute on the matter. “I suggest we gather more information before we act. Invite the Russian ambassador, ask him about the missiles and their purpose. In the meanwhile, our spy planes can continue gathering information on the amount of Russian troops and missiles in Cuba.” “You suggest we wait and do nothing?” General Taylor said with a lingering resentment. “I suggest we learn more about the situation before acting on it. A good soldier knows which battle he’s fighting in, General”, the Vice-President responded. And so it was agreed. Kennedy saw the Russian ambassador the next day, while U-2s were taking more photographs of Cuba.
Example of a photograph shot by a U-2 spy plane.
On the 21st of October, EXCOMM convened again, this time with more information. The Russian ambassador had told the President that the missiles were merely intended for Cuba’s defense and would only be aimed at the US if they were to attack the island. In the meanwhile, two helicopters had crashed while on secret missions over the Gulf of Mexico. Three options were now considered: a targeted hit by the US Air Force on all rocket sites in Cuba or a naval blockade preventing further missiles from reaching Cuba. Alternatively, the US could ‘ask’ Castro to rise up, giving Huey Long something else to worry about, but the President feared that Russian presence on the island would doom the uprising. General Taylor, as always, favored the more aggressive stance of using the Air Force. But Kennedy was too worried that Russian casualties would provoke retaliation. The other option, a blockade, also proved somewhat of a problem. According to international law, a blockade was an act of war. During the Cuban-Haitian and Cuban-Caribbean war, the US had issued blockades, but with the consent of the Organization of American Nations. Now, the US had to be more careful, as Russia was now directly involved. That is why President Kennedy came up with a plan. Instead of a blockade, the US would instate a quarantine around Cuba to prevent Russian convoys from bringing more missiles. Once again, he asked the consent of the Organization of American Nations, who agreed and some nations even offered to send their own fleet, afraid of Cuba’s aggressive expansion of the last few years.
The quarantine would prevent ships carrying missiles from reaching Cuba.
On the 22nd of October, after having informed all major world leaders, including Khrushchev, President Kennedy addressed the nation on the radio: “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 Russian State on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Russian State. To halt this offensive buildup, a strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba is being initiated. All ships of any kind bound for Cuba, from whatever nation or port, will, if found to contain cargoes of offensive weapons, be turned back. This quarantine will be extended, if needed, to other types of cargo and carriers. We are not at this time, however, denying the necessities of life.”
At the same time as the speech was on the radio, all US troops got the directive that would put them on DEFCON 3. In the following days, the world reacted with both fear and hope. Several newspapers in France and Germany accused the Russians of actively seeking death and destruction in Europe. Pope John XXIII even sent a telegram to Khrushchev, urging him to “do all that is in their power to save peace”. The crisis escalated even further when on the 24th, the Russians broadcasted their answer to the world. They saw the US quarantine as outright piracy and an act of aggression and their convoys were instructed to ignore it. On the 25th, the US requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, while the US military was put on DEFCON 2. In the meantime, the quarantine was challenged by Russian ships succeeding in outrunning the US Navy. The situation seemed at a stalemate, Russia would not back down and neither would the US. Huey Long prepared for the worst. Of course he did not want nuclear war destroying the US, but the Americans could easily invade Cuba and destroy everything he had worked for. Long realized he had lost control and that the Cuban Crisis had transformed into a stand-off between the US and Russia. The only thing he could do was keep his army ready for the worst. On the 26th, Long ordered all anti-aircraft weapons to fire on the US Airforce if they came in groups larger than two.
Pope John XXIII, concerned with peace in Europe, urges Khrushchev to stay on the path of peace.
That same day however, the crisis took a turn. Khrushchev had sent a letter to Washington for the President himself. The letter made Kennedy realize that Khrushchev was as afraid of war as he was. Khrushchev used the following words in particular: “Mr. President, we and you ought not now to pull on the ends of the rope in which you have tied the knot of war, because the more the two of us pull, the tighter that knot will be tied. And a moment may come when that knot will be tied so tight that even he who tied it will not have the strength to untie it, and then it will be necessary to cut that knot, and what that would mean is not for me to explain to you, because you yourself understand perfectly of what terrible forces our countries dispose. Consequently, if there is no intention to tighten that knot and thereby to doom the world to the catastrophe of thermonuclear war, then let us not only relax the forces pulling on the ends of the rope, let us take measures to untie that knot. We are ready for this.”
On the 27th, Radio Moscow broadcasted Khrushchev’s proposal for a solution to the Cuban Crisis. Russia would remove its missiles and military personnel from Cuba if the US would remove its Jupiter missiles from Byzantium and Italy. Khrushchev had ordered this to be broadcasted, to much opposition of his fellow party members, who still believed that an aggressive stance would bring the Americans on their knees. While all seemed to be calming down, a US aircraft was shot down over Cuba, killing its pilot. Huey Long had made the first blood as it was he who ordered anti-aircrafts to be on high alert. President Kennedy, however, chose to not act too soon. He would only strike if Cuba were to shoot down another aircraft. And so the first blood also remained the only blood shed in the Cuban Missile Crisis. That same day, the world was nearly thrown into a nuclear war, when American depth charges hit a Russian submarine equipped with nuclear weapons. That sub was permitted to use its nuclear arsenal if it was attacked. The use of the nuclear weapons, however, required unanimity among the three officers aboard. Because officer Vasili Arkhipov objected, the world was saved from mutually assured destruction.
The Russian sub which was hit by depth charges, forced to the surface.
On the 28th, after heavily debating with EXCOMM and with the Byzantine and the Italian Prime Ministers, President Kennedy accepted Khrushchev offer. The Missile Crisis was seemingly at an end. In the following days, the world press admired both Kennedy and Khrushchev for their ability to keep their heads cool. The US removed the Jupiter missiles from Italy and Byzantium, while Russia retreated from Cuba. Huey Long was disappointed. With all his attempts to have some kind of safeguard against the US, he nearly destroyed the world. He realized now that Cuba had no equal voice in the global conflict between Russia and the US. His attempt to use Russia for the interests of the Golden Circle had failed. Now unrest was boiling hotter than ever and Russia was not willing to stick out its neck for Long again. As a result, the Golden Order decided that for a while, they had to not cause any further trouble. The message was spread, also among loyalists inside the US.
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The world lives to see another day, Long's plan to play out the US against Russia has failed. Now, it is just a matter of time for Huey Long to meet his end.