![]() |
|
#1
|
||||
|
||||
![]()
Interestingly, the reason JFK did not launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against ths USSR at the height of the cuban missile crisis= as advised by the Cheifs of Staff was that he had just finished reading Tuchman and saw how people could be drawn into a disastrous war if they didnt fully exhaust diplomacy...so he picked up the red phone and called...and we're all alive now because of it.
__________________
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, Straining upon the start. The game's afoot! |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
Well then, Many thanks go out to Barbara W Tuchman, Who I've never heard of before this thread.
![]()
__________________
Bluebell Carrier Armoured O.P. No1 Mk3 W. T84991 Carrier Bren No2.Mk.I. NewZealand Railways. NZR.6. Dodge WC55. 37mm Gun Motor Carriage M6 Jeep Mb #135668 So many questions.... |
#3
|
||||
|
||||
![]() Quote:
As for ending the crisis - Kennedy gets the credit in the West, and rightly so, for keeping his Chiefs of Staff at bay, notably Curtis Lemay. However it's arguably Krushchev who deserves most credit, for initiating direct negotiations, via his secret communique, and managing to keep the Soviets stood down throughout the crisis. He's generally painted as the villain of the piece, and indeed of the Cold War itself at that time, but in fact he was under even more pressure from his generals than Kennedy. The real villain of course was Castro, who as we know was a genuine psychopath. It can be difficult to judge these events half a century later, particularly as a lot of material remains classified, but there have been some interesting revelations over the years, including a statement by Deputy Chief of Staff Burchinal. At the height the crisis, when 80% of SAC planes were ready to launch, with large numbers on airborne alert, many of them orbiting Soviet airspace (as featured in Dr. Strangelove), Burchinal states that "the Russians were so thoroughly stood down, and we knew it. They didn't make any move. They did not increase their alert; they did not increase any flights, or their air defense posture. They didn't do a thing, they froze in place. We were never further from nuclear war than at the time of Cuba, never further." More recently however it was revealed that a Soviet sub off Cuba came within a hair's breadth of launching a nuclear weapon, and it was only thanks to the 2IC, who managed to dissuade the captain, that the launch was narrowly averted. US warships at the time were dropping depth charges around the sub, which had been out of radio contact for days, so the commander assumed war had already started. One suspects that if he HAD pushed that button, it WOULD have started.
__________________
One of the original Australian CMP hunters. |
#4
|
||||
|
||||
![]()
You are entirely correct....and have well-clarified the situ..
..my mention of calling the phone should have been stated more figuratively, which as you said, was created post-crisis .yes back channel negotiations, but the main point is that JFK read TUchman and saw the need to talk to avoid a catastrophe that would undoubtedly have been worse than the slaughter of WW1
__________________
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, Straining upon the start. The game's afoot! |
![]() |
|
|
![]() |
||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
CSMMI Annual Show and Sale June 8 and June 9, 2012 | Bill Alexander | Military Shows & Events | 0 | 04-06-12 16:16 |
1914-1918 medal info | alleramilitaria | WW2 Military History & Equipment | 3 | 25-05-08 19:07 |
D-Day + 63 years | Brad Mills | Military Shows & Events | 4 | 09-12-07 01:37 |
75 Years | Howard | The Sergeants' Mess | 1 | 28-11-06 12:20 |
60 years ago ! | Dirk Leegwater (RIP) | WW2 Military History & Equipment | 0 | 21-08-06 18:54 |