Serhii Plokhy describes how on October 16, 1962, National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy informed President Kennedy that U-2 spy planes had discovered Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. Kennedy felt personally betrayed by Khrushchev's prior lies regarding

Season 8 Episode 979  ·  Jun 08, 12:47 AM
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Serhii Plokhy describes how on October 16, 1962, National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy informed President Kennedy that U-2 spy planes had discovered Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. Kennedy felt personally betrayed by Khrushchev's prior lies regarding the deployment. Faced with intense political pressure and accusations of being "weak" during the midterms, Kennedy initially acted as a hawk, leaning toward an immediate air strike. Robert Kennedy was also surprisingly hawkish during early deliberations. However, advisors like Robert McNamara eventually persuaded the President to adopt a quarantine (blockade) to avoid an immediate nuclear escalation. (1)
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Serhii Plokhy explains that Khrushchev placed missiles in Cuba to counter the U.S. "missile gap" and the Jupiter missiles in Turkey. He chose General Issa Pliyev, a loyal cavalryman, to lead Operation Anadyr because of his experience with multi-force coor
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