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Teacher
October 1, 1962, Secretary McNamara directs Admiral Robert Dennison, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Atlantic Command (CINCLANT), “to be prepared to institute a [military] blockade against Cuba.” The commanders-in-chief of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force under the Atlantic Command are directed to position their
forces to execute the first stage of the airstrike, and ready themselves for a full-scale invasion of Cuba.
On October 8, 1962, Cuban President Dorticуs, addressing the U.N. General Assembly, calls upon the United Nations to condemn the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. Near the end of his address, Dorticґs declares, “If we are attacked, we will defend ourselves. I repeat, we have sufficient means with which to defend ourselves; we have indeed our inevitable weapons, the weapons which we would have preferred not to acquire and which we do not wish to employ.” The speech is interrupted four times by U.S. diplomats.
In the early morning of October 14, 1962, A U-2 spy aircraft flies over western Cuba, revealing MRBM sites in Cuba. Two days later, Kennedy learns about the data collected on the missile deployments. The U.S. government discusses several options from a surgical airstrike on the missile bases to a full-scale invasion. As discussions continue on proposals to destroy the missiles by an all-out surprise air strike, Robert Kennedy passes a note to the president, “I now know how Tojo felt when he was planning Pearl Harbor.”
On October 16, 1962, the U.S. Guided Missile and Astronautics Intelligence Committee (GMAIC) concludes that there is no evidence that nuclear warheads are present in Cuba and that the missile installations do not appear to be operational. On the same day the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Foy Kohler meets with Khrushchev, who insists that all Soviet activity in Cuba is defensive and counters with criticism of the U.S. nuclear missles already in Turkey (the full extent of U.S. nuclear proliferation around the world was unknown at the time). On the following day, U.S. spy agencies explain theyve seen an advanced SS-5 IRBM site (a missile with a 2,200 nautical mile range, more than twice the range of the SS-4 MRBMs). In fact, no SS-5 missiles were ever shipped to or located in Cuba, although this is denied by U.S. officials during the crisis. Two days later a Defense Department spokesperson publicly states that the Pentagon has no information regarding nuclear missiles in Cuba and that no emergency military measures are being implemented. The president is briefed (SNIE 11-18-62) that should the United States aggressively attack Cuba, it would likely lead to World War III.
On October 20, 1962, President Kennedy directs implementing a military blockade on Cuba: a full “quarantine”, preventing anything or anyone from going into or leaving Cuba. U.S. diplomat to the United Nations, Adlai Stevenson, aggresively protests to his boss that the blockade is invalid, citing analogies to a new Berlin wall, and point out the U.S. nuclear missiles already operational in Turkey and the U.S. naval base [storing nuclear capable bombs] already inside of the sovereign territory of Cuba. Stevensons protest produces strong reprimand, and on the following day Kennedy and Robert Lovett decide that Adlai Stevenson is not capable of handling negotiations at the United Nations and “should be assisted” by John McCloy.
A nuclear warhead storage bunker is identified at one of the Cuban MRBM sites for the first time. U.S. spy agencies do not detect whether warheads are actually in Cuba at any time, however, the ExComm naturally believes it prudent to assume that they are. In fact twenty nuclear warheads were actually in Cuba, though none of the warheads were ever put into the missiles (unlike the U.S. nuclear missiles in Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy, and &tc.; which were fully armed and ready to fire).
On the following day, the National Security Council proclaims to the International community what will happen to ships who do not abide by the U.S. military blockade of Cuba. The first stage is boarding and inspection. Any ships who refuse to be boarded will have a shot fired across their bow. If the ship does not surrender, it will be “crippled” by force.
On October 22, 1962, Soviet Colonel Oleg Penkovsky is arrested in the Soviet Union. From April 1961, Penkovsky has been a spy for British and U.S. intelligence services, providing them with material on Soviet military capabilities, including important technical information on Soviet MRBM and ICBM programs.
On the same day the U.S. State Department informs its NATO allies about the Cuban missile crisis, and the aggressive military options it has plans to pursue.