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For some time since the beginning of September 1962, US-based U-2 spy planes had been engaging in aerial photography of the island of Cuba. During that time, the construction of missile bunkers, a full-fledged missile base and the arrival and unloading of Soviet ships carrying crated equipment had been photographed and relayed to the White House. McGeorge Bundy advised Pres. Kennedy of the pending major crisis on the morning of October 16, 1962. Kennedy was aware of what was going on, and made phone calls to former Presidents Hoover, Truman, and Eisenhower to brief them about what was going on.<\/p>\n
Subsequently, he made a formal address to the nation on October 22, 1962. I was still in high school. This came during our dinner hour, broadcast from the White House at 7:00 PM EST.<\/p>\n
The link to the video of that speech is here:\u00a0 https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=EgdUgzAWcrw<\/a><\/p>\n Pres. Kennedy did hold a press conference later, including use of the aerial surveillance photos that clearly showed the missile base under construction on the island of Cuba. His decision to use the US Navy to blockade all ships heading toward Cuba brought us to the very brink of war, not because he wanted it, but because Nikita Krushchev was just as stubborn as Jack Kennedy.<\/p>\n The Mexican standoff began on October 22, 1962. It was Krushchev who finally blinked and backed down. Subsequent negotiations included the establishment of a direct line between the White House and the Kremlin. Fidel Castro felt betrayed by the Soviet Union, on whose military backing he had been counting, because he was ignored in the negotiations to end the blockade. The full text of those events is at this link: http:\/\/microsites.jfklibrary.org\/cmc\/<\/a><\/p>\n Simply put, we were as close to the edge of a nuclear war as you can get without actually starting one.<\/p>\n And now we are facing the same brinksmanship by North Korea, although it seems to be mostly threats and arm waving by Kim Jong-un. His prime minister says we should take him seriously. Well, I certainly do, even if I appear to not do so by making jokes about it. \u00a0He may be threatening to set off an airbust H-bomb over the South Pacific, but we do have ships and personnel in that area, despite small groups of protesters.<\/p>\n However, on October 25, 2017, the Russian government launched a long-range guided missile, a Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile from Plesetsk cosmodrome aimed at the Kura testing range in Kamchatka on the country\u2019s Pacific coast. \u00a0It left a glowing blob of light in the Siberian night sky, spooking the locals, who wondered if it was an alien UFO or another large meteor strike. \u00a0If you look at the map in the attached article https:\/\/wattsupwiththat.com\/2017\/10\/27\/spectacular-ufo-reported-in-siberia\/<\/a>\u00a0 you can see that the Topol-M can easily reach North Korea.<\/p>\n I can only hope that Pres. Trump will congratulate Mr. Putin on his successful missile test, and offer him any necessary aid in stopping Fatty Kim da T\u2019ird from starting a nuclear war.<\/p>\n Because that\u2019s what I would do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"