JFK: What happens next?

[Von Uber]

What investigators believe to have been the third, or possibly fourth, shot of the day was fired by Braden from the third floor of the Dal-Tex building, hitting the President in the back and causing him to slump forwards, across the lap of his wife.
Based on the evidence of the further shots that entered the car, from the direction of the Book Depository and potentially the storm drain on Elm; investigators later surmised that had the President remained upright, he would have suffered much more than the further minor wounds both he, and Governer Connoly, were subjected to. It was believed that one of these would most likely have been fateful.
A recuperating Kennedy, speaking from his hospital bed, was quoted as later saying to reporters "God was with me that day".'

So: what happens next?

 

[krieger11b]

What if Kennedy survives you mean?

Well I heard he was about to bust Lyndon Johnson for corruption and mob involvement, can't find the source.

Vietnam would have died off, if one thing Kennedy was good at, it was not being sucked in by the military in anti communist wars.

Civil Rights bill would have lingered on a lot longer. Kennedy's death was used very effectively by Johnson to promote it, however even more effective was Johnsons far more effective um... leaning.. on the US Congress. Kennedy was much weaker on this, and who really listens to a Vice President about anything? I bet the cold war would have gotten even colder. Though with more Conterim victories, however I doubt very much more.

I think another attempt may have been made though. I believe the military industrial complex was involved, though the list of enemies Kennedy had was not a short one. Though I find it interesting that both him and Martin Luther King Jr were both killed shortly after comming out against the war in Vietnam. MLK JRs job was pretty much done before his assasination, all he had left to do was the healing and comming together afterwards, something that was badly needed. He sucessors like Jesse Jackson were race baiter that used race to make money off it, so that no real interest in healing.

 

[unmerged(195591)]

Vietnam would have died off, if one thing Kennedy was good at, it was not being sucked in by the military in anti communist wars.

JFK quadrupled US 'advisors' in Vietnam during his presidency.

 

[krieger11b]

JFK quadrupled US 'advisors' in Vietnam during his presidency.

But no regular troops were sent until LBJ was President. Kennedy had plans of reducing them, and didn't want a full blown war, or police action, if one prefers the BS term.

 

[Jazumir]

He´s shot a week or two later...

 

[Von Uber]

I am aware some sort of mythos has built around him - was it based on his percieved promise or more due to his assasination?

Incidentally, I think that the rise in conspiracy theories really originate form this event (given that it fairly likely was a conspiracy).

 

[unmerged(195591)]

But no regular troops were sent until LBJ was President.

Well yes, because Vietnam didn't go to hell until JFK got rid of Diem in '63.

Kennedy had plans of reducing them

Kennedy was going to order a review of Vietnam policy when he was assassinated, no more than that.

and didn't want a full blown war, or police action, if one prefers the BS term.

Neither did LBJ.

 

[Jos de trol]

Vietnam would have died off, if one thing Kennedy was good at, it was not being sucked in by the military in anti communist wars.

Bay of pigs??

 

[krieger11b]

Well yes, because Vietnam didn't go to hell until JFK got rid of Diem in '63.

JFK didn't kill have Diem killed, his own people did that. He didn't help Diem either.

Bay of pigs??

That and the Cuban missile crisis. Had he gone with the Cuban Missile Crisis it is likely WW3 would have started. The Soviets had tactical nuclear missiles in Cuba at the time, and if they used them against an invasion force, all hell would break loose.

 

[Amallric]

That and the Cuban missile crisis. Had he gone with the Cuban Missile Crisis it is likely WW3 would have started. The Soviets had tactical nuclear missiles in Cuba at the time, and if they used them against an invasion force, all hell would break loose.

JFK did all he could to trigger WW3 during the cuban crisis. It's only thanks to Khrushchev that it didn't happen.

 

[krieger11b]

JFK did all he could to trigger WW3 during the cuban crisis. It's only thanks to Khrushchev that it didn't happen.

It was both men, the resistance of JFK and when Khrushchev willing to sacrafice his career to save the world.

 

[RedRalphWiggum]

JFK did all he could to trigger WW3 during the cuban crisis. It's only thanks to Khrushchev that it didn't happen.

I think Khrushchev deserves more crddit for the peaceful outcome, but it's not fait to say JFK did all he could to provoke war. He could have just said "OK, let's do what LeMay wants" and he would have got the war.

 

[Von Uber]

So how would the Cold War have gone on?

 

[Jos de trol]

I'm certain the US space efforts would have gone on the way it did. As for the rest I wouldn't know.

 

[krieger11b]

I think Khrushchev deserves more crddit for the peaceful outcome, but it's not fait to say JFK did all he could to provoke war. He could have just said "OK, let's do what LeMay wants" and he would have got the war.

Khrushchev does deserve credit, but eh also started the damn thing in the first place.

I'm certain the US space efforts would have gone on the way it did. As for the rest I wouldn't know.

I think so too, one of the secret reasons why the US developed such great rocket technology the fear after Sputnik. Sputnik meant an ICBM was not far behind. It's nice if you can develope great rocket technology that can be converted to ICBMs and publically show up the USSR with a peace orientated space program. It was also a source of great national pride. With no serious threats of an economic crass on the horizon, spending a decent portion of the GDP on NASA was a great idea.

I still support NASA, though private technology is at a point where reducing the spending of the Federal Government to eliminate income tax would be the best way these days for non pure scientific research. NASA can then concentrate on things like astronomy and the discovering the history the universe. Private industry can work on more profitable things, like space based research on new technologies and the space elevator.

 

[Amallric]

Khrushchev does deserve credit, but eh also started the damn thing in the first place.

Well, he deployed missiles on Cuba. But there were also american missiles in Turkey(shares borders with the URSS), secret U-2 bases in Pakistan, etc. So it wasn't something THATintolerable, certainly not a casus belli on its own. Besides, there wasn't any real strategic advantage to remove missiles from Cuba, since the Soviets were able to strike the US from their mainland with long range ICBMs anyway. It was more of a prestige thing and yet Kennedy decided it was worth the risk of a nuclear apocalypse. It was gambling on the probability that Khrushchev makes the right decision - hell THAT guy wasn't really known for acting in a reasonable and responsible manner lol. So the whole affair was a hell of a lot of risk for little possible gain.
But I have to agree, at least this approach did leave a small chance of peaceful outcome to be seized by the Soviets, so it was better than an open attack on Cuba which would have cornered the Soviets.

 

[Zaleukos]

Besides, there wasn't any real strategic advantage to remove missiles from Cuba, since the Soviets were able to strike the US from their mainland with long range ICBMs anyway.

Was that really the case?

Increasing the launch-to-impact time by hours must be a significant improvement for the attacked, and probably made a first strike less of an option for the defender. Reducing that (perceived) risk would also hopefully reduce paranoia on the US side. Those advantages seem fairly significant.

 

[krieger11b]

Well, he deployed missiles on Cuba. But there were also american missiles in Turkey(shares borders with the URSS), secret U-2 bases in Pakistan, etc. So it wasn't something THATintolerable, certainly not a casus belli on its own. Besides, there wasn't any real strategic advantage to remove missiles from Cuba, since the Soviets were able to strike the US from their mainland with long range ICBMs anyway. It was more of a prestige thing and yet Kennedy decided it was worth the risk of a nuclear apocalypse. It was gambling on the probability that Khrushchev makes the right decision - hell THAT guy wasn't really known for acting in a reasonable and responsible manner lol. So the whole affair was a hell of a lot of risk for little possible gain.
But I have to agree, at least this approach did leave a small chance of peaceful outcome to be seized by the Soviets, so it was better than an open attack on Cuba which would have cornered the Soviets.

As a concession, Kennedy did remove those missiles quietly from Turkey. However that wouldn't have mattered if the button got pushed. Khruschev did do the logical thing in a bad escalation first.

The most pointless thing about it was that ICBMs were able to reach both countries from anywhere in the world soon, or from submarines that could launch very close to the enemies shores.

 

[Amallric]

Increasing the launch-to-impact time by hours must be a significant improvement for the attacked

Not hours. An ICBM has a speed of about 7km/s. So it's a question of minutes in any case. Also, I'm not sure Americans could have detected a lauch immediately in 1962 (they later spent enormous ressources to build NORAD right for this purpose). So the reaction time begins only when rockets are detected by radars, when they are already approaching their targets. That means the reaction time is the same whether the rockets come from Siberia or Cuba.

Reducing that (perceived) risk would also hopefully reduce paranoia on the US side.

Well that's how they tried to "sell" the whole thing to the population afterwards. But already in the '60 military and strategic analysts agreed that there was no rational benefit in this. I think it was really more the idea that Americans were unable to admit their domination over Latin America challenged. They were really shocked by the cuban revolution and this led to several irrational decisions motivated by the will to get control over Cuba again, and of course the only outcome of this was to corner Castro. The guy wasn't even communist at the beginning, but after the US openly attacked his country he had no choice but to go with the Soviets.

 

[RedRalphWiggum]

Khrushchev does deserve credit, but eh also started the damn thing in the first place.



I think so too, one of the secret reasons why the US developed such great rocket technology the fear after Sputnik. Sputnik meant an ICBM was not far behind. It's nice if you can develope great rocket technology that can be converted to ICBMs and publically show up the USSR with a peace orientated space program. It was also a source of great national pride. With no serious threats of an economic crass on the horizon, spending a decent portion of the GDP on NASA was a great idea.

I still support NASA, though private technology is at a point where reducing the spending of the Federal Government to eliminate income tax would be the best way these days for non pure scientific research. NASA can then concentrate on things like astronomy and the discovering the history the universe. Private industry can work on more profitable things, like space based research on new technologies and the space elevator.

He was trying to even things up. As has been pointed out, the Americans already had this ability; what he did was strategically logical. Had he got away with it it would have been considered a masterstroke.

While politically this was obviously going to be a big problem, technically and legally he did absolutely nothing wrong, sovreign Cuba has as much right to accept Soviet missiles as sovreign Turkey did Americans.