THIS WAS THE MOMENT THAT WAS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01350R000200630008-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 20, 2004
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: October 21, 1968
• Content Type: NSPR

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Approved For Release 2004fAfXt3Ii -RDP88 350R000J0,1610(0?$Z& c-+
E 1 OCT 1968
RR t Says The Joint' Chiefs Were Itching for War Over Cuba
XLYIW LU NA1. I:AC11ANUB "en. neura,?uy Wrote 7nat tlen: aown over Ulna, --at test Lnere tho The gravest moments of The memoirs also reveal some !:Curtis LeMay, then Au- Force: was almost unanimous agree-;
Cuban missile cants when! ! Chief o f Staff and now George - meat that we had t o a t t a c k ear
b confrontatio on nearly occurred nu g l i m p s e s into the e- 's vice
between a Soviet submarine and Published correspondence b e- I Wallace Presidential can-; 1Y the next morning with bomb-
a U.S. aircraft carrier, accord. ' 'then' President Kennedy and i didate, argued strongly with the exs, and fighters and destroy the
in- to newly published memoirs then Soviet Premier Nikita S. President that, military attack .,Sam (surface ?tmair missile)
"~ ?'
of the late Sen. Robert F. Ken. Khrushchev. In one letter, Pres. f was "essential.
The memoirs, published from -1 . = 114vu .LVb dzJ mlW'tAJaU4 '. J -k- W WLC aVLW IMLO, U4 W aULd-LCby: ILP-MW 6 WGLC.?
the Kennedy estate for more you or any other sane man Robert Kennedy wrote, Gen. dominated by consideration of
than $1 million and published would' in this nuclear age,, de- LoMay Insisted there would be 'the "morw question" of whoth-
yesterday in McCall's Magazine, ]iberately plunge the world into none. The President was skepti- : er, despite what 'had ;happened;
added new details to the histon? war which it is crystal clear no cal and told Gen. LeMay the the United States could attack a
could win .. Russians could not "do_not ' " I small nation like Cuba and still,
cal record of the showdown be country i about a U.S. attack on Cuba a moral position at
tween the United States and In an emotional letter to the l
Russia in October, 1962. President Oct. 26, parts of which that they would reply ither in home and in- the eyes of the';
At the height of the crisis on have appeared in print previous. Cuba or Berlin. world.
'Wednesday, Oct. *24, Sen. Keane ly Khrushchev said: "If people Son. Kennedy said. his brother His final conclusion was that
dy reported, two Soviet cargo do not show wisdom, them in the was distressed that, with the ex- war was averted by making it
ships approached the U.S. Navy final a aan, alysis cbli riswill come moles, to 'f le ception of Gen. i 1 i Maxwell wD. Tay firmly -clear to Russia that .the
United States would not tolerate
quarantine' barrier set up t h I J' 6. m
t t ]1441 an offens'v i1
e
1 e m
b
t
h
e
an se
iss are lt1
e
ermina
o give so a Cot1S1-
across the Atlantic approaches e n rec"prot?a ex
will begin. deration to the implications of ;, Cuba, while at the same time
to Cuba. ? A Russian sub was sailing submerged between the Robert Kennedy also reed the steps they suggested." refusing to push Russia to~ the
' extent that her own vital securi
two ships. that at one point in the. crisis He said the experience em= ? ,r
i
cuvillari ty was affcted.
President Kennedy ordered U.S. phasized the hoed for "civilian'
SIGNAL missiles withatomic. warheads':' direction and control" and for! He quoted his brother, as say
The U.S. Aircraft Carrier Es- in Turkey defused, sp.that if the 'raising "prgiiing questions". to lag: '?'If anybody. is around to
o
o
cis ater assassurat- .,-~+
appearance and thoughts of-t-is ed, were alone after the crisis ,1 He described how other pre.'
stve to force compliance. f w}y is neoes"q tvi
Robert Kennedy described the' pant moment when the two
th 1 ADVANCE STATISTICS ~ `' NPD
b
th b
Eby sound equipment to surface sponse to the Cuban crisis the t o u n d e r s t a n d that w e made ev-
and identify itself, Sen. Kennedy president rsonalt would have Then Defense Secretary Rob ~, effort to fi.
y ert S. McNamara was an earl I peace and ev--'
,said. He said that if It refused, to give permission before th
ey! advocate of the'"blockade" tac I cry ef to give our advensar wis the Essex was to drop depth could be used.
tic finally used, Sea: Kennet rooom m W move. I am not!
!
charges with "a small "P" l The article also told of a poig- reported - ? ? y; gO to the Russid
:dent Kennedy told the Soviet When the Prement asked the - Robert Kennedy said the first
"Was the world on the brinkI Alit: rLv 1uunt, revawng Aora-
of a s theist? Was it our ex. ham Lincoln's death after the
tor? A mistake? Was there Civil War, wryly commented:
th
i
e n
ght I should go to
something further that should L~
have been done? Or not done?I the beater."
His hand went up to his face, "If you do, I want to go with tines and airborne forces, and
and covered 'his mouth. Rol you," Robert Kennedy replied. 2000 air sorties against Cuban'
; As crisis MILITARY ANXIOUS
face seemed drawn, his eyes
pained, almost ' Robert Kennedy's account de-
Kennedy n not theot sanguine gray h about the re-
Robert Kennedy quoted the Each u
P r e s i d e in t as saying- "Isn't came to actual war in several salts Each hour the situa-'
ways - how military advisers
bon grow steadily more serious.
there some way we can avoid pressed for an' attack against,
having our first exchange with a Cuba; how advance prepare-i ing grew that this C
Russian submarine - almost; tions for such an attack were : was t m going to pass and that a
anything but that?" made; and bow, as the climax dicer eetoon[ront n u c M i n u t e s t e s later, a messageI approached, the chances for n two groatnuclear, powers Came that some of the Soviet miscalculation by both countries' was inethat e'
ships headed toward Cuba had, grew. He recalled that when a U2.
stopped. President Kennedy or From the beginning, be said ' `P Mane was atlast'
dered the Essex to do nothing the joint Chiefs of Staff were Y
but give the Russian vessels an' unanimous in a d v o c a t ln g
opportunity to turn bark: One immediate military action.
stage of the crisis was over.
---~ -.. ? j _L;
Approved For Release 2004/1'0/13: CIA-RDP88-01350R000200630008-7
parations were far advanced. for
anattack against Cuba should:
the blockade 'fail. ? Mr.
Mewnamara, for example, al-
ready had figured that 250,000
men would be required for 'an