On this day in 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech in Chicago, and then rushed back to Washington, DC, telling his press secretary to give out a cover story that the President was “indisposed” and would be out of the public eye for a few days.
Kennedy had just found out about the installation of nuclear missiles in Cuba, put there by an agreement between Nikita Khrushchev, Prime Minister of the Soviet Union, and Cuba’s leader, Fidel Castro.
For the next 13 days, the world stood on the brink of nuclear war, the greatest crisis ever faced by a President, and Kennedy’s calm, cool leadership, along with tough bargaining, averted what could have become a nuclear holocaust.
This is something to keep in mind as we have neoconservatives, advisers to Mitt Romney, who regularly talk about attacking Iran, rather than using diplomacy and economic sanctions, and leaving an attack to a last resort.
This needs to be brought up in the Lynn University debate on foreign policy in Boca Raton, Florida, next week, if not brought up at the Hofstra University debate in Hempstead, New York, tomorrow night.
Barack Obama has been a cool, calm, decisive President in foreign policy, much like John F. Kennedy was 50 years ago.
Before we elect Mitt Romney, this factor needs to be considered, as Romney’s statements and views on Iran, and foreign policy in general, have been worrisome!