CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
For thirteen days in October 1962 the world waited—seemingly on the brink of nuclear war—and hoped for a peaceful resolution to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba. President Kennedy did not want the Soviet Union and Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles. He met in secret with his advisors for several days to discuss the problem.
After many long and difficult meetings, Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade, or a ring of ships, around Cuba. The aim of this “quarantine,” as he called it, was to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more military supplies. He demanded the removal of the missiles already there and the destruction of the sites. On October 22, President Kennedy spoke to the nation about the crisis in a televised address.
No one was sure how Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev would respond to the naval blockade and US demands. But the leaders of both superpowers recognized the devastating possibility of a nuclear war and publicly agreed to a deal in which the Soviets would dismantle the weapon sites in exchange for a pledge from the United States not to invade Cuba. In a separate deal, which remained secret for more than twenty-five years, the United States also agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey. Although the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba, they escalated the building of their military arsenal; the missile crisis was over, the arms race was not.
Taken from:
https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/cuban-missile-crisis.
A song written by Bob Dylan reminds us of those days:
UTUBE LYRICS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBn08MjSwUM
Cuban Missile Crisis
Come gather ‘round you people, a story I will tell
(Venite gente, vi racconterò una storia)
About a night not long ago, you all remember well.
(Di una notte non lontana, che voi ricordate bene)
I tell it to you straight and true, I tell it like friend
(ve la racconto in modo schietto e sincero, come ad un amico, vi racconto tutto)
All about the fearful night, we thought the world would end
(di quella notte tremenda in cui pensammo che il mondo avrebbe avuto fine)
I was walkin’ down the sidewalk not causin’ any harm
(Passeggiavo tranquillamente sul marciapiede)
The radio reported, it sounded with alarm
(La radio riferì, (suonò come un allarme))
The Russian ships were sailin’ all out across the sea
(Che navi russe stavano attraversando il mare)
We all feared by daybreak it would be World War Number Three.
(Tutti tememmo che all’alba ci sarebbe stata la Terza Guerra Mondiale)
I was worried about an argument I had the day before
(Ero preoccupato per una discussione che avevo avuto il giorno prima)
Over some small matter, I’m sure it was nothin’ more.
(Su questioni banali, sono certo che non era nulla di più)
But just a day ago, how it wrinkled up my brow
(Ma solo un giorno prima, aggrottai la fronte)
The same thing today seems so unimportant now.
(E oggi la stessa cosa mi appare così insignificante)
