DATE= 10/28/97
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-37916
TITLE=CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS - PT. I
BYLINE=FRANK RONALDS
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO THIS MONTH, THE WORLD STOOD AT THE
BRINK OF NUCLEAR WAR, AS THE UNITED STATES AND THE FORMER SOVIET
UNION ENGAGED IN A TEST OF STRENGTH OVER THE PLACEMENT OF SOVIET
MISSILES IN CUBA. WHAT BECAME KNOWN AS THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
WAS SETTLED PEACEFULLY, AND THE DANGER WAS AVERTED. IN THIS
FIRST OF TWO REPORTS, V-O-A'S FRANK RONALDS TAKES A LOOK AT HOW
THE CRISIS BEGAN AND THEN RESOLVED.
TAPE: /// ACT TEASE (GENERAL GRIBKOV, IN RUSSIAN AND FADE) ///
ONE SMALL SPARK WOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH TO IGNITE A
CONFLAGRATION. WE STOOD ON THE EDGE OF AN ABYSS, OF A
NUCLEAR CATASTROPHE.
/// END ACT ///
THAT IS THE VOICE OF ANATOLY GRIBKOV, THE RUSSIAN GENERAL PUT IN
CHARGE OF PLANS BY SOVIET LEADER NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV TO DEPLOY
SOVIET TROOPS AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS ON THE ISLAND OF CUBA, JUST 150
KILOMETERS OFF THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES. THE WORLD FIRST
LEARNED OF THESE PLANS FROM A SPEECH BY PRESIDENT JOHN KENNEDY ON
THE EVENING OF OCTOBER 22ND.
///KENNEDY ACT///
THE SIZE OF THIS UNDERTAKING MAKES CLEAR THAT IT HAS
BEEN PLANNED FOR SOME MONTHS. YET ONLY LAST MONTH,
AFTER I HAD MADE CLEAR THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN ANY
INTRODUCTION OF GROUND-TO-GROUND DEFENSIVE ANTI-AIRCRAFT
MISSILES, THE SOVIET GOVERNMENT PUBLICLY STATED ON
SEPTEMBER 11 THAT, AND I QUOTE, 'THE ARMAMENTS AND
MILITARY EQUIPMENT SENT TO CUBA ARE DESIGNED EXCLUSIVELY
FOR DEFENSIVE PURPOSES.' THAT STATEMENT WAS FALSE.
//END ACT //
ACCORDING TO GENERAL ANATOLY GRIBKOV, PRESIDENT KENNEDY WAS
ENTIRELY CORRECT IN DESCRIBING THE MASSIVE SCALE OF THE
OPERATION, THE EFFORTS TO CONCEAL ITS NATURE, AND THE FALSITY OF
SUBSEQUENT STATEMENTS MADE NOT ONLY BY FOREIGN MINISTER ANDREY
GROMYKO BUT BY SOVIET LEADER NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV HIMSELF. GENERAL
GRIBKOV, WHO HAS WRITTEN A BOOK ON THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, SAID
THE SCOPE AND COMPLEXITY AND SCOPE OF THE OPERATION WENT BEYOND
ANYTHING ATTEMPTED BY THE SOVIET ARMED FORCES.
// GRIBKOV ACT: RUSSIAN & FADE UNDER TRANSLATION //
THAT OPERATION WAS UNIQUE. WE SENT MORE THAN FORTY
THOUSAND MEN, ARMED WITH THE LATEST WEAPONS, ACROSS THE
OCEAN, TEN THOUSAND KILOMETERS AWAY. NEVER BEFORE IN
THE HISTORY OF RUSSIA HAS SUCH AN OPERATION BEEN PUT
INTO EFFECT.
//END ACT //
BY INTRODUCING NUCLEAR MISSILES WITH A RANGE OF 35-HUNDRED
KILOMETERS NEAR THE UNITED STATES, KHRUSHCHEV HOPED TO AT LEAST
PARTLY NEUTRALIZE THE GREAT ADVANTAGE THE U-S THEN POSSESSED IN
INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILES. // OPT // ROBERTA
WOHLSTETTER WAS AMONG THE MANY PEOPLE FEEDING INTELLIGENCE
INFORMATION TO THE WHITE HOUTE AT THE TIME.
// WOHLSTETTER ACT //
THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE CRISIS IS (WAS) THAT THE SOVIETS,
SUDDENLY AND SECRETLY, DRASTICALLY INCREASED THE NUMBER
OF WARHEADS CAPABLE OF HITTING THE UNITED STATES. IN
OTHER WORDS, THEY WERE CHANGING THE CORRELATION OF
FORCES UNDER COVER OF DECEPTION AND LYING ABOUT IT. AND
IF THEY'D BEEN SUCCESSFUL, IT WOULD HAVE HAD ENORMOUS
POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES IN THE U-S AND ALSO OVERSEAS WITH
OUR ALLIES.
// END ACT // END OPT //
AFTER HE WAS DEPOSED AS COMMUNIST PARTY FIRST SECRETARY IN 1964,
NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV RECORDED HIS REMINISCENCES ON TAPES, COPIES OF
WHICH ARE STORED AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN NEW YORK. HE WAS
CANDID ABOUT HIS MOTIVES FOR CHALLENGING THE UNITED STATES.
// VOICE READING FM DIARY //
WE HADN'T HAD TIME TO DELIVER ALL OUR SHIPMENTS TO CUBA,
BUT WE HAD INSTALLED ENOUGH MISSILES TO DESTROY NEW
YORK, CHICAGO, AND THE OTHER HUGE INDUSTRIAL CITIES,
NOT TO MENTION A LITTLE VILLAGE LIKE WASHINGTON. I
DON'T THINK AMERICA HAD EVER FACED SUCH A REAL THREAT OF
DESTRUCTION AS AT THAT MOMENT.
///END ACT///
THE FIRST REACTION OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S ADVISORS AFTER U-TWO
SPY PLANES PROVED DECISIVELY THAT THE SOVIETS WERE BUILDING
NUCLEAR MISSILE INSTALLATIONS IN CUBA WAS TO RECOMMEND AN ATTACK
TO DESTROY THE MISSILE BASES. WILLIAM SMITH, WHO WAS PRESENT AT
THE DISCUSSIONS AS AN ASSISTANT TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT
CHIEFS OF STAFF, RECALLS THE DISCUSSIONS OF THE MORNING OF
OCTOBER 16TH:
// 1ST SMITH ACT //
THE FIRST REACTION FROM ALMOST EVERY ONE OF THE
PRESIDENT'S CLOSEST ADVISERS WAS THAT THERE HAD TO BE
SOME ATTACK ON THOSE MISSILES, PROBABLY AN AIR ATTACK,
ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. BUT PEOPLE SAID, 'LET'S THINK ABOUT
THIS.' OVER THE NEXT DAY OR SO, THE CLIMATE (FEELING)
SHIFTED -- INSTEAD OF HAVING AN AIR ATTACK, TO HAVE A
QUARANTINE, WHICH WOULD STOP THE FURTHER FLOW OF
OFFENSIVE WEAPONS TO CUBA.
// END ACT //
BUT PRESIDENT KENNEDY IN PARTICULAR WAS VERY MUCH AWARE THAT
KRUSHCHEV HAD ALREADY SHOWN HIMSELF WILLING TO TAKE SERIOUS RISKS
TO FORCE THE WESTERN ALLIES OUT OF BERLIN. IF THE U-S FORCES
WERE TO ATTACK CUBA, HE REASONED, THEN WOULD SOVIET TROOPS IN
EAST GERMANY MOVE INTO BERLIN?
// OPT // PROFESSOR ERNEST MAY, CO-EDITOR OF A NEWLY-PUBLISHED
BOOK OF TRANSCRIPTS OF TAPES FROM THE KENNEDY WHITE HOUSE,
EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE THAT THE UNITED STATES ATTACHED TO
BERLIN.
// OPT // MAY ACT //
BERLIN, WHICH WAS OF COURSE AN ISLAND IN THE MIDDLE OF
COMMUNIST EASTERN GERMANY, WAS THE SYMBOL OF AMERICAN
DETERMINATION TO DEFEND EUROPE. AND IT REMAINED THAT
THROUGHOUT THE COLD WAR -- ALWAYS THE GUAGE OF WHETHER
OR NOT THE UNITED STATES WOULD REALLY KEEP ITS
COMMITMENTS IN WESTERN EUROPE.
// END ACT //
// OPT // PROFESSOR PHILIP ZELIKOW, THE OTHER EDITOR OF THE TAPE
TRANSCRIPTS, SAYS PRESIDENT KENNEDY AND HIS ADVISERS BELIEVED
THAT KHRUSHCHEV WANTED NOT ONLY TO ESTABLISH A NUCLEAR BASE ON
CUBA, BUT ALSO TO FORCE AMERICA, BRITAIN AND FRANCE OUT OF WEST
BERLIN.
// OPT // ZELIKOW ACT //
THEY IMMEDIATELY REALIZED -- I THINK CORRECTLY -- THAT
KHRUSHCHEV WAS PUTTING THESE MISSILES IN CUBA IN ORDER
TO CHECKMATE THE AMERICAN THREAT TO USE NUCLEAR WEAPONS
TO DEFEND BERLIN. THAT MEANS THAT AMERICA MUST PREVAIL
ON THIS THREAT TO CUBA, IF WE HOPED TO PREVAIL IN THE
BERLIN CRISIS KHRUSHCHEV HAD PROMISED TO BRING TO A HEAD
NEXT MONTH.
// END ACT // END OPT ///
CONCERNS OVER BERLIN, AS WELL AS KHRUSHCHEV'S EFFORT TO ALTER THE
BALANCE OF POWER, WERE MAJOR FACTORS IN THE DECISION TO DECLARE A
NAVAL QUARANTINE OF CUBA, ANNOUNCED BY PRESIDENT KENNEDY IN HIS
SPEECH OF OCTOBER 22ND.
IN THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL, AN AMERICAN RESOLUTION
CALLED FOR THE PROMPT DISMANTLING AND WITHDRAWAL OF ALL OFFENSIVE
WEAPONS IN CUBA UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF U-N OBSERVERS. IN OTHER
WORDS, PRESIDENT KENNEDY HAD DECIDED TO USE THE THREAT OF FORCE,
BUT ALSO GAVE PREMIER KHRUSHCHEV THE CHANCE TO SAVE FACE.
ON THE EVENING OF OCTOBER 27TH, HE SENT HIS BROTHER ROBERT, THEN
U-S ATTORNEY GENERAL, TO SEE SOVIET AMBASSADOR ANATOLY DROBRYNIN.
ROBERT KENNEDY TOLD AMBASSADOR DOBRYNIN THAT THE UNITED STATES
WOULD PLEDGE NOT TO INVADE CUBA IF THE SOVIETS WOULD BEGIN
WITHDRAWING THE MISSILES IMMEDIATELY. IF THE SOVIETS DID NOT
MAKE A COMMITMENT TO WITHDRAW THEIR MISSILES FROM CUBA WITHIN 24
HOURS, ROBERT KENNEDY ADDED, THEN THE UNITED STATES WOULD REMOVE
THEM BY FORCE.
WITHIN HOURS, KHRUSHCHEV HAD ACCEPTED KENNEDY'S CONDITIONS. THE
TENSE STANDOFF ENDED ON OCTOBER 28TH. THE SHADOW OF NUCLEAR WAR
LIFTED -- AND THE WORLD HAS NEVER BEEN AS CLOSE TO A NUCLEAR
EXCHANGE SINCE. (SIGNED)
NEB/FR/WFR/MMK
28-Oct-97 10:19 AM EST (1519 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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