Search Results for: missile crisis
Former U.S. ambassador to Moscow, with extensive knowledge of the Soviet Union, its language, history and culture, Thompson was described by Dean Rusk as “our in-house Russian during the missile crisis”. He supported the blockade and urged the President to accompany it with a demand that Khrushchev dismantle the weapons in Cuba. Thompson believed that
Having taught at Cambridge University and MIT, Walt Rostow became speechwriter for President Eisenhower in 1958, before joining Kennedy’s presidential campaign. In 1961 he became McGeorge Bundy’s deputy, and later in the year he was appointed Chairman of the Policy Planning Council at the State Department. During the missile crisis, Rostow recommended putting on more
Paul Nitze had famously drafted National Security Council memo NSC-68 in 1950, which helped shape U.S. policy during the Cold War, by calling for a substantial increase in military spending and “a rapid build-up of the political, economic, and military strength in the free world” to contain the Soviet threat. As Assistant Secretary of Defense
A business executive and former president of Ford Motor Co., Robert McNamara served as Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1968, before becoming president of the World Bank. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, McNamara viewed the Soviet deployment as a political issue, not one affecting the overall nuclear balance. He first raised for consideration the
From 1962 to 1964 Edwin Martin served as Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, guiding the Kennedy administration’s policies toward Latin America. During the missile crisis, he favored the blockade option and helped to brief members of the Organization of American States (OAS) to obtain their backing for it.
Vice President Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded to the presidency after President Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, was also consulted during the Cuban Missile Crisis and sat in most key ExComm meetings. On October 16 he sided with those in favor of a strike and advised the president unsuccessfully against conferring with congressmen and U.S. allies on
U. Alexis Johnson had served in various diplomatic roles in Asia before becoming Deputy Under Secretary for Political Affairs from 1961 to 1964. During the Cuban Missile Crisis Johnson was present at most ExComm meetings. He thought the blockade could be a valuable first step, combined with other political and military actions, and helped prepare
A graduate of Yale, with a background in law, Gilpatric served as Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1964. During the missile crisis, Gilpatric opposed the military strike option and supported the blockade. In a crucial meeting on October 20, as President Kennedy weighed the two options, Gilpatric summed up the arguments: “Essentially, Mr.
Secretary of the Treasury Dillon took a hard line during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Initially he favored a military strike but later, along with Thompson, Dillon proposed to begin with the blockade, refuse negotiations, demand removal of the missiles, and threaten further military action. Dillon argued that the President had to show his firm intentions
In 1953, at the age of 34, Bundy became the youngest ever dean of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, before serving as National Security Adviser from 1961 to 1966. During the Cuban Missile Crisis Bundy encouraged the President to consider all possible courses of action and sometimes played devil’s advocate or changed his mind.